Industrial production up 9.1% in Q1   The processing and manufacturing sector increase 9.6%, as opposed to 7.4% in Q1 last year. Vietnam's industrial production index (IIP) saw relatively high growth in the first quarter of this year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).  The index grew 9.1%, compared with 5.3% in the first quarter last year and 4.9% in 2013. GSO analysts attributed the improvement to the industrial consumption index's strong growth in the first two months of this year. It rose 14.7% on the year, much more than last year’s 4.3% during the same period. The processing and manufacturing sector, which contributed more than three fourths of overall growth, increased 9.6%, as opposed to 7.4% in Q1 last year. About 61.5 million mobile phones were produced during the first quarter, doubling last year's output. Meanwhile, production of powdered milk fell by 16.8%. Other industrial products posting high IIP increases during Q1 included automobiles (52.6%), television sets (38.6%), fish food (27.4%), chemical paint (17.2%), leather and footwear (16.3%), fresh milk (16.2%), rolled steel (12.4%) and petroleum (9.8%). Products with low IIP included aquatic products and seafood (8.9%), cement (5.9%), coal (3.2%) and natural gas (0.2%). Sectors with decreased IIP included sugar (-0.1%), clothes (-0.3%), liquefied gas (-6.5%) and motorbikes (-11.8%). The country’s IIP increase is still low compared with increases of 14-16.17% before the world economic downturn. GSO analysts attributed the slower growth to low product competitiveness. Fake versions of domestic products were sold at much lower prices. VNA