Illustrative photo (Source: AFP/VNA)

Bangkok - Thailand's industrial output further declined more than expected in December 2022, as a global slowdown hit demand for Thai exports, according to the Ministry of Industry.

In the month, its manufacturing production index (MPI) dropped 8.19 per cent from the same time in 2021, mainly due to lower production of furniture, hard disk drives and plastic pellets.

Factory output is likely to fall again in January 2023 due to slowing global demand and a high base despite some support from increased domestic activity, the ministry said in a statement.

In 2023, the ministry anticipated the MPI would increase 2.5 per cent -3.5 per cent, after a 0.62 per cent rise in 2022.

Industrial goods account for about 80 per cent of Thailand’s total exports, which in December contracted 14.6 per cent from a year earlier.