A decrease in output by pharmaceutical companies contributed to a 10.3 per cent fall in industrial production over the 12 months to the end of October.
The main contributor to the decline was a 35 per cent fall in the volume of basic chemicals production, a category that includes output from pharmaceutical firms.
The so-called modern sector which includes the high-technology and chemical sectors showed an annual decrease of 10.9 per cent in the year to October while the traditional sector decreased by 7.6 per cent.