Romanians drink, eat, smoke and read more

Food and drinks output, as well as tobacco processing output, has increased one fifth over the first six months of the year, as compared to the year-ago period. The publishing and polygraphic output gained 40%, according to the National Statistics Institute.

These fields, together with machines, electrical devices and equipment (plus 14%), crude processing and chemistry (plus 14%), and metallurgy (plus 12%), have driven the processing output up 12.7% over the first six months of 2001.

“I find this increase veridical, mentioning however that, in the case of Arta Grafica (Graphic Art), the evolution was fuelled by output aimed at export. Increased interest in books is also obvious, together with the slight increase in purchase power, not matching however the jump in production.

We are expecting an even bigger increase in the future, since most contracts, both for exports and for the domestic market, are usually signed in the second half of the year,” says Ramona Visloguzov, head of Arta Grafica printing house.

The steepest decrease in production was posted by radio and television devices and equipment, down 43%, followed by wood processing (furniture exclusive), with 7%, and road transportation means, with 1%. Other than the above-mentioned sectors, the entire processing industry is on the rise.

Consequently, industry as a whole posted over 10% in increase for the first semester, despite the drop in the electric power, gas and water output (minus 2.4%).

Industrial output dropped in June as compared to the previous month, down 5.3% in absolute volume, but is still 5% higher as compared to the same month last year.

For H1 2001, industrial output delivered by industrial enterprises went up as compared to the year-ago period, gaining 10.4% and 12.4% respectively, mainly due to the processing and extracting industry.

Output was bigger in absolute volume in the processing industry, in over 2/3 of its branches, mainly in the sectors that focussed on exports, such as clothing, chemistry and synthetic and artificial fibres, machinery and equipment, and metallurgy.

For the first time since the beginning of the year, industrial companies produced less as compared to the previous month.

This trend was posted mainly by the extractive and intermediary goods industries, which posted decreases of 11.6% and 7.4% respectively, and by the industry of long-lasting goods, which posted a 7.1% decrease.

The only sector that managed to preserve the ascending trend was the capital goods department, which registered a 1.4% increase in absolute volume in June.