China's industrial output slowed down in April, due partly to the SARS outbreak, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday.

Industrial output stood at 319.7 billion yuan (US$38.5 billion) for the month, an increase of 14.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2002, the bureau said in a statement.

The growth rate was 2.3 percentage points lower than the first three months, due partly to the impact of SARS, it said.

The faster growth rate and larger base of industrial production in April 2002 also helped bring about slower industrial growth.

For the first four months, industrial output rose year-on-year by 16.4 per cent to 1,154 billion yuan (US$139 billion), the bureau said.

The impact of SARS on some sectors of the economy became apparent in April, it said.

Meanwhile, cargo transport that month was down on the previous year by 0.1 per cent, with highway transport 2.3 per cent less.

The auto sector also slowed sharply in April, down 19 per cent from the 54 per cent rate seen in the first quarter, with much of the reduction seen in trucks, down 12.6 per cent.

Sedan output remained strong, rising 83.6 per cent to 167,000 units.

In April, exports handled by the industrial sector reached 207 billion yuan (US$24.9 billion), a year-on-year increase of 28.8 per cent.

Zhang Xueying, a senior economist with the State Information Centre, said for the whole year, the SARS factor would not have a large negative effect on the industrial sector, which contributed more than 50 per cent to the gross domestic product.