BANGKOK, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's industrial output declined for the 15th straight month in December 2023 due to an ongoing fall in automotive products amid high household debt and interest rates, official data showed on Wednesday.
The manufacturing production index dropped 6.27 percent last month from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Industry.
The drop was attributed to a major contraction in auto production for the domestic market, along with lower production of sugar and electronic parts, the ministry said in a statement.
For the whole of 2023, the index shrank 5.11 percent, dragged down by a significant drop in computer and peripherals, electronic parts, and furniture production, said the ministry's Office of Industrial Economics Director-General Warawan Chitaroon.
The office targets the index growth for 2024 at 2 percent to 3 percent, Warawan told a news conference. ■