Output prices for producers in the mining and quarrying industry declined by 0.4 per cent for the month of August 2022, the Statistical Institute of Jamaica has said.
The decline is primarily attributed to a 0.4 per cent fall in the index for the major group ‘bauxite mining and alumina processing.
There was also a decline in the index for the other major group, ‘other mining and quarrying’, which moved down by 0.1 per cent.
For the second consecutive month, the index for the manufacturing industry declined. In August, the index fell by 0.6 per cent.
The main contributor to this downward movement was a 2.8 per cent decline in the index for the major group ‘refined petroleum products’. The index for the major group ‘food, beverages and tobacco’ recorded a negligible movement.
Within this major group, there was an increase in the index for the group ‘manufacture of other food products’ of 0.1 per cent. This was influenced by the 0.3 per cent increase in the index for the sub-group ‘bakery products’, due to increased prices for wheat and flour.
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The movement in the group’s index was tempered by declines in the sub-groups ‘sugar, cocoa, coffee, chocolate and sugar confectionery’ (-0.3 per cent) and ‘seasoning, spices, sauces and condiments’ (-0.1 per cent).
For the one-year period August 2021 to August 2022, the index for the mining and quarrying industry increased by 3.2 per cent, primarily as a result of an upward movement of 3.0 per cent in the index for the major group ‘bauxite mining and alumina processing’.
The point-to-point index for the manufacturing industry moved up by 19.6 per cent, due to increases in the index for the major groups; ‘refined petroleum products’ (50 per cent), ‘food, beverages and tobacco’ (14.7 per cent), and ‘chemicals and chemical products’ (8.8 per cent).
