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       PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s Producer Price Index (PPI) for local production increased 11.7% year-on-year (y-o-y) in July 2021, mainly supported by prices of primary commodities, namely, crude oil (64.4%), fresh fruit bunches (FFB) (57.3%) and crude palm oil (42.7%).

       The PPI, which measures the costs of goods at the factory gate, rose 11.5% y-o-y in June 2021.

       Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin (pic below) said the growth was mainly contributed by the mining index, which jumped 57.7% y-o-y due to higher prices of natural gas and the continuous increase in crude oil commodity prices.

       Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin during the press conferences in Putrajaya on Friday, January 8,2021. — MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star

       This was followed by the agriculture, forestry and fishing index which expanded 31.5% y-o-y (June 2021: 29.8%), attributed to the increase in prices of FFB and other commodities.

       “Meanwhile, the manufacturing index rose 7.1% y-o-y due to higher prices of primary commodities and construction-related commodities,” he said in a statement yesterday.

       In terms of utility indices, Mohd Uzir said water supply as well as the electricity and gas supply indices improved by 1.3% y-o-y and 0.2% y-o-y, respectively.

       On a month-on-month (m-o-m) basis, he said the PPI in July 2021 registered a marginal increase of 0.6% versus a 0.2% growth in the previous month.

       “This positive growth was due to the mining index which grew 3.9% m-o-m, followed by the agriculture, forestry and fishing as well as the manufacturing indices which increased by 2.2% m-o-m and 0.2% m-o-m, respectively,” he said.

       However, Mohd Uzir said both the electricity and gas supply as well as the water supply indices declined 0.2% m-o-m.

       Meanwhile, he noted that the increase in the PPI local production by stage of processing was mainly due to the 35.8% y-o-y growth in the crude materials for further processing index.

       “Similarly, the index of intermediate materials, supplies and components also increased 10.5% y-o-y.

       “However, the index of finished goods registered a decrease of 0.4% y-o-y,” he said. ― Bernama