PETALING JAYA: The Producer Price Index (PPI) for local production, which measures the prices of goods at the factory gate, shrank 0.8% year-on-year (y-o-y) in February 2023 against a 1.3% growth in January 2023, due to the base effect and lower prices of primary commodities.
The downward trend was mainly due to the decline in agriculture, forestry and fishing, and mining sectors, the Statistics Department reported.
The agriculture, forestry and fishing index decreased 26.1% (January 2023: 20.9%) with the fresh fruit bunch price recording a 40.5% decline in February 2023.
The mining index slipped 6.5% (January 2023: 2.2%) mainly due to a 16.1% drop in the extraction of crude petroleum index, while the manufacturing index grew 3% in February 2023 versus 4.5% growth in the previous month.
