Mubasher: Qatar’s industrial production index (IPI) retreated 4.4% year-on-year to 103.4 points in March 2018, the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS) said in a statement.
The manufacturing index of the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter consists of three main components, namely mining represents 83.6%, while manufacturing, electricity and water account for 15.2%, 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively.
The statement attributed the drop to the decrease of the mining segment by 4.9%, in addition to the fall in the manufacturing sector by 1.4%, the ministry's data showed.
The manufacturing group levelled down due to the drop in two subgroups topped by manufacturing of refined petroleum products and chemical products with 7.4% and 1.9%, respectively.
Meanwhile, the other six subgroups of the manufacturing group witnessed an increase topped by the beverages and food products with 26% and 24%, respectively.
The electricity group retreated 7%, while water declined 10.8%, the ministry said.