The industrial production in August 2005 recorded a significant increase, shedding optimism for the competitiveness of the Cyprus industry, which has been hit by low productivity and high production cost.

According to CYSTAT data released on Tuesday, the Industrial Production Index in August showed an increase of 7.5% to 90.7 points against 84.4 points in August 2004.

The sector of manufacture recorded an increase of 6.1% to 76.7 points against 72.3 points in 2004.

As for industrial production, the sectors of mines and quarries and electricity, natural gas and water increased by 12.1% and 10.2% respectively.

The food and drink industry also showed an increase of 7.4% to 111 points against 103.4 points in 2004.

In January-August 2005, the general industrial production index rose by 0.8% to 868.8 points against 861.7 points in the corresponding period of 2004.

Invited to comment on the latest figures, CCCI Manager of Industry, Marios Tsiakkis expressed his satisfaction for the increase of industrial production.

“The increased demand of manufacturing products in the domestic market and the increased exports of industrial goods after the EU accession pushed industrial production up”, he told StockWatch.

“At first sight, it seems that the government’s plans for the technological improvement of industries in the past few years is fruitful and contributes to the improvement of competitiveness”, he added.

“The sector’s contribution to GDP has been stabilized to 10%”, Mr. Tsiakkis concluded.