...MANUFACTURING CONTRIBUTES 29.6% VALUE ADDED

MBABANE - Manufacturing contributed 29.6 per cent to total value added, compared to 29.9 per cent in 2022.

The decline in the performance of the manufacturing sector is partially attributed to high production costs, competition from imported goods and the poor performance of the sugar industry in the recent past. Manufacturing activity is expected to contribute to higher growth in the medium term, benefiting from completed and ongoing expansions in different industries, boosting supply capacities. Under the manufacture of beverages, the industry is anticipated to increase production capacity backed by new investment in plant capacity and a warehouse, an investment that was worth over E200 million.

Furthermore, the textile industry, which has been constrained for the past three years, is expected to rebound in line with new investment in firms (i.e. Gamula, Jonson & Jonson factories) as well as capacity expansions in existing firms. Other food manufacturing, particularly sugar processing, is also expected to benefit from supply capacity expansions. The ongoing expansions under the LUSIP II project are expected to boost sugar production in the medium term, with ongoing cultivation earmarked to add 4 500ha to sugarcane output by the year 2025.

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