(Interfax) - Russian industrial production grew 5.3% year-on-year in the first eight months of this year, the State Statistics Committee reported on Tuesday. In the first eight months of 2000, year-on-year industrial production growth measured 13.0%. In August 2001 alone, industrial output was up 5.1% year-on-year and 6.2% from the previous month. Adjusted for the number of working days, industrial output in the eight months rose 5.4% year-on-year, including 5.1% in August alone. The greatest year-on-year growth in the eight months was 88.9% in the biotech industry. Production also rose 23.6% in the printing industry, 16.5% in the glass, porcelain and earthenware industry, 8.5% in engineering and metalwork, 8.0% in the food industry, 6.6% in chemicals and petrochemicals, 6.1% in the fuel industry, 5.5% in light industry, 5.3% in nonferrous metallurgy, 5.0% for construction materials, 3.5% in grain milling and formula feed, 2.4% in forestry, timber processing and pulp-and-paper, 1.8% in the power sector, and 0.1% in the iron and steel industry. Production slumped by 2.0% in the medical industry. In other sectors, output was up 5.7%.