Processing industry stabilizing gradually

In recent months foreign demand for certain types of processing industry products has gradually increased and cost optimization measures taken within the industry have acted to stimulate stabilization of production in some branches of the processing industry. For several months running there has been an increase in the production of metal and chemical products. Any talk of overall stabilization in industry as a whole would be premature, however, because foreign demand is yet to become consistent and it has not been renewed for some products while domestic demand continues to fall.

Although in the past few months the wood processing industry had managed achieve substantial growth in production by finding empty niches and, in the case of some products, even beating producers from other countries with the help of diversification of both its production and markets, in September the volume of production shrank.

The seasonally adjusted data suggest that in September the amount of processing industry production, in comparative prices, diminished by 1.7% over August. Yet production has increased in the third quarter overall by 0.9% over the second quarter. A positive development is an annual rise observed in such branches of industry as the production of wood pulp and chemicals.

The increasingly positive evaluations of the situation in industry by entrepreneurs are further testimony that in the next few months a gradual recovery will continue. Even in the branches where the downslide will continue, it is not likely to be as steep as in the first half of the year. In October, the conditions in industry continued to ameliorate as the assessment of both the existing demand and the industrial development expected in a month improved.  Entrepreneurs are optimistic in regard to the development of exports, noting increases in the competitiveness of production in the markets both inside and outside the EU.