Thai production output down in 2013

Thailand witnessed a decrease of 3. 18 percent in production output index in 2013, with production capacity utilization rate lowered according to the Office of Industrial Economics Wednesday. In 2013, the country's capacity utilization rate fell to 64.38 percent from the previous year's 66.02 percent amid the escalating political instability. During the past year, the rate of finished goods inventory increased 8.88 percent year-on-year, said the office. The International Trade Studies Center under the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce earlier said the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to fall below 3 percent in 2014 if anti-government protest is prolonged into the second quarter, as operation of businesses, especially the small and medium enterprises, has been severely impacted, resulting in declining orders from clients. However, Thai experts are still positive about the outlook of the country's production output in 2014, forecasting the index would expand by 1.5-2.5 percent.