The Producer Price Index for Manufacturing remained unchanged at the end of November last year, when compared to the previous month.
According to data produced by the Barbados Statistical Service, increases were recorded in the Index for Beverages by 0.7 per cent and the Index for Fabricated Metal Products, except Machinery and Equipment, by 0.4 per cent.
Decreases were recorded in the indices for Other Manufacturing by 5.6 per cent; Petroleum and Chemical Products by 0.8 per cent; and Furniture by 0.4 per cent.
Those price indices which remained unchanged from October 2015 to November 2015 were Food Products, Wearing Apparel, Printing and Reproduction of Recorded Media, Rubber and Plastics Products, and Other Non-Metallic Mineral Products.
Between November 2014 and November 2015, the Producer Price Index declined by 2.6 per cent, from 107.7 to 104.9 points.
The Index for the Food Production Sector decreased by 1.2 per cent at the end of November 2015, when compared to one year earlier. A decrease in the sub-group indices for Sugar of 21.9 per cent; prepared animal feeds of 8.2 per cent; and processing and preserving of meat of 0.3 per cent, contributed to this decline. There was an increase in the sub-group index for Processing and preserving of fish, crustaceans and molluscs of 8.1 per cent.
The year-on-year Beverages index for November 2015 showed a decline of 0.5 per cent due to a decrease in the sub-group index for distilling, rectifying and blending of spirit of 12.8 per cent. An increase was recorded in the sub-group index for soft drinks: production of mineral waters and other bottled waters increased by 26.6 per cent in November 2015 over November 2014.
The comparison of the prices for November 2015 and November 2014 in the Other Non-Metallic Mineral Products Sector showed a decrease of 1.9 per cent. This decrease resulted from a decline of 3.3 per cent in the articles of concrete, cement and plaster sub-group.
The year-on-year price index for Fabricated Metal Products, except machinery and equipment, declined by 8.8 per cent. This was attributed to the sub-group indices for forging, pressing, stamping and roll-forming of metal, powder metallurgy, of 8.9 per cent; and Structural Metal Products of 14.1 per cent. An increase was recorded for Other Fabricated Metal Products of 10.0 per cent.