KUALA LUMPUR – The Producer Price Index (PPI) (local production) surged 13.2% year-on-year in October 2021 compared with a 3.6% drop in October 2020, said the Statistics Department.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the increase in PPI (local production) in October 2021 is mainly attributed to the mining index that surged 82.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) as opposed to the 43.5% decline previously, driven by higher prices for petroleum and natural gas commodities.
“Moreover, the increase in PPI (local production) was also supported by the agriculture, forestry and fishing index that moved up 24.8%, followed by the manufacturing index (7.9%).
“The utility index registered an increase of 0.7% for electricity and gas supply, while the water supply index recorded a marginal drop of 0.7%,” he said in a statement today.
Uzir said in terms of a month-on-month comparison, the PPI local production rose 1% in October 2021.
“The increase was contributed by a 5.5% rise in the mining index, which is foreseen to remain in an upward trend until the end of this year due to positive global economic recovery as demand bounces back despite tightened supply, especially during winter,” he said.
In addition, the agriculture, forestry and fishing index increased 1.2% contributed by the higher price for fresh oil palm fruit bunches.
“The price for this commodity increased for the fourth consecutive month in October 2021, largely underpinned by subdued production due to the ongoing migrant labour shortage,” he said.
Meanwhile, Uzir said the manufacturing index edged up 0.4%, supported by indices for the manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats (1.5%), manufacture of refined petroleum products (0.6%) and manufacture of electronic components and boards (0.1%) subsectors.
The electricity and gas supply as well as water supply indices also recorded an increase of 0.4% and 0.1%, respectively.
Uzir said the rise in commodity prices in October 2021 contributed to the spike in the index of crude materials for further processing, which recorded a new high with a 40.4% y-o-y increase in October 2021 compared to -13.2% in October 2020.
However, he said, the index of finished goods registered a decrease of 0.5% due to a drop in capital equipment index (-2.9%).
He added that the PPI is expected to remain high for the remainder of the year due to the continued increase in input costs, mainly in the prices of crude oil and natural gas. – Bernama, December 1, 2021
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