Qatar’s industrial output up 12.5% in December as mining output grows

Qatar’s industrial production in December 2021 rose 12.5 percent from November mostly due to a jump in the mining output, which includes oil and gas production.
According to the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA), the key Industrial Production Index stood at 104.4 points in December, down 5.7 percent from a year ago.
The mining component of the index, which has a relative weightage of 83.6 percent, showed an increase of 15.5 percent month-on-month and 4.7 percent year- on-year.
The m-o-m climb in mining output was driven by increased production of crude oil and natural gas, by 15.5 percent. However, production under the “other mining and quarrying” group showed a month-on-month decline of 5.7 percent.
Qatar’s manufacturing output — which has a relative weightage of 15.2 percent in the index — increased 0.9 percent from that in November. PSA attributed this to rise in the manufacture of printing and reproduction of recorded media by 19.5 percent, basic metals by 6.3 percent, cement and other non-metallic mineral products by 2.3 percent, rubber and plastics products by 2.2 percent and chemicals and chemical products by 1 percent. However, manufacturing output in two groups went down — beverages by 4.2 percent and basic metals by 2.3 percent.
As for printing and reproduction of recorded media, the production was stopped during the month of May 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The relative weight of this group was distributed to the rest of the sub-groups of the manufacturing sector.
The manufacturing component of the IPI in May showed a 6-percent decline when compared with that in the same month last year.
The fall was driven mainly by decreased productions of cement and other non-metallic mineral products by 30.3 percent; refined petroleum products by 22.7 percent; basic metals by 17.7 percent; rubber and plastics products by 6.6 percent and beverages by 5.5 percent. However, manufacturing output went up in three groups year-on-year — beverages by 4.8 percent, refined petroleum products by 3.9 percent and food products by 2.1 percent.
Electricity output — which accounts for 0.7 percent of IPI — decreased 18.1 percent in December month-on-month and rose 8.3 percent year-on-year.
Similarly, water production (desalination), which carries a weightage of 0.5 percent, showed a decline of 7.5 percent month-on-month and an increase of 22.3 percent year-on-year.