Thailand’s manufacturing production index (MPI) in January rose by 6.03% to 101.82 from 96.03 points in December amid the new Covid-19 outbreak as officials expect better economic prospects in the months ahead following the recent delivery of vaccines.
Plastic bead manufacturing, which increased by 10.8% year-on-year, was among the industries that boosted the MPI in January due mainly to work-from-home guidelines that stimulated demand for packaging products, according to the Office of Industrial Economics (OIE).
The government’s stimulus packages, including the co-payment scheme, also played an important role in increasing people’s purchasing power and building confidence among businesses.
“The second wave of the pandemic during December 2020 to January 2021 affected the economy only for a short time,” OIE chief Thongchai Chawalitpichaet said yesterday.
“Now…
