Producer prices in the manufacturing sector also declined

For October 2022, output prices for producers in Jamaica’s Mining and Quarrying industry declined by 9.4 per cent with the group ‘Bauxite Mining & Alumina Processing’ being the main contributor.

At the same time, the Manufacturing industry producer prices dropped 1.0 per cent based on the Producer Price Index for October 2022, released by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN). STATIN reports a 9.9 per cent fall in the index for the major group ‘Bauxite Mining & Alumina Processing’ which dragged down the movement in the index for the Mining and Quarrying industry.

The index for the other major group, ‘Other Mining & Quarrying’ recorded a negligible movement. STATIN says the main contributor to the one per cent decline in the index for the Manufacturing industry was the major group, ‘Refined Petroleum Products’, which fell by 6.4 per cent.

INCREASE IN POINT-TO-POINT MOVEMENT FOR MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

The impact of this fall on the industry was tempered by a 0.4 per cent increase in the index for the major group, ‘Food Beverages & Tobacco’. For the period October 2021 – October 2022, the Mining & Quarrying industry’s index fell by 19.8 per cent while the point-to-point movement for the Manufacturing industry’s index increased by 14.6 per cent.

The three major groups contributing to the movement in the Manufacturing industry were ‘Refined Petroleum Products’ (24.7%), ‘Food, Beverages & Tobacco’ (13.5%), and ‘Chemical and Chemical Products’ (12.4 %).