Economy and commerce
All imported raw prawns to be pulled for white spot testing; fears that prices will rise
There are fears the price of prawns is about to go “through the roof” following a decision by the Federal Government to recall all imported raw prawns. The importation of green, or uncooked, prawns into Australia was suspended in January, but prawn farmers have expressed ...
White spot in prawns the latest in biosecurity failures highlighting impact of cuts to staff, research
After a huge increase in exotic pests and diseases, Australian agriculture and environmentalists are demanding more focus on biosecurity. The past five years of failures ranges from the attacking red fire ants, banana diseases, myrtle rust and a melon disease to an exotic disease in ...
East Asia’s agreement to keep the world economy open
What the Trump administration will ultimately do to the shape of the global trade regime is difficult to foretell but there’s no question that it will change it forever, even if there is strong global push-back against Trump’s threat to unravel trade agreements and carry ...
Fukushima peach exports recover in Southeast Asia, sparking hope for other produce
Fukushima peaches are making inroads into Southeast Asian markets in what prefectural officials see as a model case of recovery in its farm produce. Fukushima grabbed the top share of Japanese peach exports to three Southeast Asian countries last year — 73.9 percent in Thailand, ...
Risk and the public balance sheet in Asia: a work in progress
While there are natural catastrophes all over the world, Asia is a unique confluence of people and perils. More than half of the world’s population lives in Eastern, Southern and Southeast Asia. The region hosts more than 1.6 billion urban inhabitants and seven of the ...
Opportunities exist for rice exports in high-end market
Experts believe that Vietnam should focus on producing high-quality rice instead of striving to earn money from selling low-cost rice products. Soon after Vietnam began harvesting the 2016-2017 winter-spring crop, the Thai government announced it planned to sell all its stockpiled rice – estimated at 8 ...
Top Myanmar retailer to launch e-wallet with Thai technology
As Myanmar has enjoyed a dramatic increase in the number of data users over the past three years, its leading retailer City Mart Holding Ltd plans to launch its first e-wallet service in mid-2017 with the support of T2P, a Thai FinTech company belonging to ...
Govt gives in to protesters’ demands to order new study of Krabi coal-fired plant
The government has accepted demands from protesters and ordered that the Environmental and Health Impact Assessment of the Krabi coal-fired power plant be restarted from the beginning. The move has concerned officials at the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, who voiced fears that the delay ...
SRT considers electric rail to Malaysia
The State Railway of Thailand has been asked to consider an electric train project linking Hat Yai to Padang Besar in Songkhla, said the Transport Ministry. The proposal which was made by the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning, concerns the double-track railway ...
Ministry needs to strive further in cooperation efforts
Despite the significant achievements which have been made in international cooperation, the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism needs to exert greater efforts in furthering its diplomatic endeavours. This was the call made at a meeting of the ministry held last Friday to review its ...