Vietnam's national index of industrial production advanced 2.4 percent year on year in the first nine months of this year, according to the country's General Statistics Office on Friday.

The main driver of the rise, the processing and manufacturing sector, went up 3.8 percent. The electricity production and distribution sector expanded 2.8 percent, and the water supply and waste management sector was up 3.3 percent, according to the office.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the supply chain, causing difficulties for local industrial production, especially in the processing and manufacturing sector, the office noted.

In the nine-month period, the production of refined sugar witnessed the largest output reduction year on year, at 22.7 percent, followed by liquefied petroleum gas (down 16.7 percent), beer (down 14.6 percent), crude oil (down 14.1 percent) and automobiles (down 11.8 percent).

Meanwhile, the production of television sets was up 18.3 percent, Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium fertilizers up 10.8 percent and monosodium glutamate up 9.5 percent.

As of Sept. 1, the total number of employees in the industrial sector declined by 1.7 percent on a yearly basis. Employment in the processing and manufacturing businesses dropped 1.8 percent, while that of mining ones went down 1.2 percent, said the office.