DUSHANBE, March 6, Asia-Plus  -- In January 2008, industrial production in Tajikistan dropped 16.1 percent, according to the CIS Interstate Committee for Statistics. 

Among the CIS states, the lowest drop in industrial production was reported in Armenia, where the industrial production in January dropped only 0.1 percent.  

In the meantime, Belarus topped the CIS countries in January in terms of the volume of production of industrial goods.  In Belarus, the industrial production rate for January stood at 12.1 percent. 

Belarus was followed by Azerbaijan, where industrial production in January rose 11.3 percent, and Kyrgyzstan with a 6.8 percent rise in industrial stood third.

In Kazakhstan, industrial production rose 2.6 percent in January.

In all, the CIS industrial production rose on average 5 percent in January this year.  In January, the CIS gross domestic product (GDP) rose on average seven percent.