Latest figures show that the industrial production of Ireland's manufacturing industries fell 5.5% in March compared to the same month last year.
Production was also 1.3% lower in March than in February, the figures from the Central Statistics Office showed.
The most significant changes were in the pharmaceutical and beverages sectors, which saw decreases of 8.7% and 7.6% respectively. The seasonaly adjusted volume of industrial production for manufacturing industries for the three month period from January 2011 to March 2011 was 0.5% lower than in the preceding three month period.
Production in the 'modern sector' - which comprises a number of high-technology and chemical sectors - showed an annual decrease in production for March 2011 of 7.4%. A decrease of 1.1% was recorded in the 'traditional sector'.
The fall in production in the 'modern' sector in March follows a fall of 0.8% in February, the sector's first annual fall since April 2010.
Industrial turnover for manufacturing industries was down by 2.1% in the three month period from January to March of this year compared to the preceding three months, according to the seasonally adjusted index. On an annual basis turnover was 3.4% higher in the first quarter compared to the first quarter of 2010.
