The activities in the Dutch manufacturing sector had a high growth in September, according to figures published by the Dutch Association for Purchasing Management NEVI on Tuesday.

The monthly purchasing managers index (PMI) published by the NEVI rose from 53.5 in August to 55.8, the highest level since April 2011 when the index reached 59.2. The month-on-month increase of 2.3 was the largest since 2006.

According to the NEVI, the Dutch industry benefited from a growing demand from within the Netherlands and from abroad, while new products also did well.

Arjan van Weele, professor of purchasing management at Eindhoven University of Technology, was positively surprised by the figures. "This is remarkable," he told Xinhua. "Three months ago we were under 50, so you would expect figures like 51, 52 now."

The PMI is based on an investigation of several sub-indices. The number of new orders grew strongly, while the number of new export orders was higher as well, for the fifth consecutive month. Employment in the sector also increased slightly in September, finishing a seven-month period of decline.

Van Weele gave multiple explanations.

"Exports develop well for some months," he said. "In addition, the domestic demand grows. There is a demand recovery and new products appear to do well. The consequences are significantly increasing production volumes at the companies concerned, which leads to increased purchasing and inventory volumes."

"I expect the positive development of the PMI to continue in the coming months, until the purchase and sales go through the roof," said Van Weele. "Then there will be an end to this development. But that is still a long way off. We are moving in the right direction. A nice perspective."