Industrial output on the increase   Sport shoes being produced for export at a private company in Ha Noi. The country's processing and manufacturing sector reported relatively positive growth of 7.3 per cent year on year in the first quarter of 2014. - VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet HA NOI (VNS)  - The country's index of industrial production (IIP) in the first quarter this year improved year on year, rising 5.2 per cent against 4.9 per cent in Q1 last year. According to the General Statistics Office, the processing and manufacturing sector reported a relatively positive growth of 7.3 per cent year on year; the production and distribution of the electricity sector jumped by 9.2 per cent; and that of the water supply, sewage and waste management sector rose by 5.7 per cent. However, the mining sector's growth fell by 2.9 per cent year on year in the first 3 months of this year, the data showed. In the processing and manufacturing sectors, textile production gained the highest IIP growth of 20.2 per cent in the first three months. Footwear and leather production followed with a surge of 19.4 per cent. Several others sectors also registered high IIP growth in the first three months, including electronic products, computers and optical products which were up by 12.6 per cent; motor vehicles by 12.3 per cent; fabricated metal products by 9.8 per cent; beverages by 9.3 per cent; the production and distribution of the electricity sector by 9.2 per cent; and paper and paper products by 8.7 per cent. On the down side, some sectors reported a decrease in IIP, of which hard coal and lignite exploitation dropped by 8.9 per cent; motors and motorbikes by 4.2 per cent; and metal production by 2.4 per cent. While industrial production improved in Q1, the consumption did not, GSO expert Vu Quang Ha said. The industry's inventory index, as of March 1, 2014, remained high at 13.4 per cent compared with the 12.7 per cent rate on February 1, 2014, Ha said. GSO experts attributed the low consumption to a slow rebound of the world economy as well as the low demand in the domestic market. - VNS