Q3 INDUSTRIAL GROWTH REFLECTS THIS YEAR'S OVERALL GROWTH

Jakarta, June 26 (ANTARA) - The government sees the third-quarter industrial growth will serve as an indicator of overall conditions this year, Secretary General of the Industry Ministry Agus Tjahyana said.

The third-and fourth-quarter industrial growth would be better than the first-quarter one, he said.

"The industrial growth is estimated to have contracted 1.5 percent in the first quarter with some sectors recording minus growth and others seeing positive growth," he said.

Among the sectors recording minus growth were automotive and machinery sectors, he said.

The sluggish growth of automotive and machinery sectors almost occurred in all over the world, he said adding if the sectors grew slightly vehicle sales would recover.

In the meantime, food, beverage, textile, garment and footwear industries recorded positive growth, he said.

The Industry Ministry had projected the industrial growth to reach 2.5 percent this year, he said.

The first-quarter industrial growth stood at 1.18 percent, led by the food industry, he said.

Meanwhile, chief of the ministry's industrial research and development board (BPPI) Dedi Mulyadi said first-quarter industrial growth was normally lower than the other quarters'.

"Normally, it goes up in the second and third quarters and goes down in the fourth quarter," he said.

Low demand for transport equipment also contributed to a downward trend in the industrial growth, he said.

"The transport equipment industry saw a minus 5.5 percent growth due to low demand," he said.