For March 2021, output prices for producers in the mining and quarrying industry increased by 3.7 per cent and by 2.8 per cent in the manufacturing industry as released yesterday by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN).

The movement in the index for the mining and quarrying industry was influenced mainly by an increase of 3.8 per cent in the index for the major group ‘Bauxite Mining & Alumina Processing’. The index for the other major group ‘Other Mining & Quarrying’ moved upward by 1.3 per cent.

The main contributors to the increase in the index for the manufacturing industry were the major groups, ‘Refined Petroleum Products’ which moved up by 8.0 per cent, ‘Food, Beverages & Tobacco’ up by 1.7 per cent and ‘Fabricated Metal Products’ which increased by 8.1 per cent.

For the period March 2020 – March 2021, the point-to-point index for the mining & quarrying industry rose by 10.9 per cent, due mainly to an increase of 11.2 per cent in the index for the major group ‘Bauxite Mining & Alumina Processing’. The point-to-point index for the manufacturing industry increased by 7.5 per cent.

For the 2020/2021 fiscal year, April 2020 – March 2021, the index for the mining & quarrying industry increased by 30.0 per cent, while the index for the manufacturing industry increased by 9.7 per cent.