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Thai tvinges til å utsette Airbus-kjøp
BANGKOK, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Thailand said on Tuesday it will delay buying some $2 billion of Airbus aircraft until the European Union eases food import restrictions.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters he had instructed Thai Airways International to delay ordering the planes until restrictions were lifted on its shrimp, poultry and farm products.
"I have made it clear that no order contracts are to be signed, and only letters of intent can be initialled for the planes," Thaksin said. "We need to get clarification from the EU that it will not mistreat us, agree to be fair to us, and will buy more of our farm products. We are also concerned about our current account." Thai Airways received cabinet approval earlier on Tuesday for a plan to buy 14 new aircraft worth more than $2 billion over 5 years, including eight Airbus planes, a government official said.
Airbus in August valued the list price of its portion of the order at more than $2 billion and said it included six double-decker A380s, the world's biggest airliner, one A340-500 and one A340-600.
Thai Airways said the other six planes would be Boeing 777-200 ERs.
In September, the EU extended its ban on Thai poultry and pet bird imports until the end of March due to fears about the bird flu epidemic, which has hit Thailand hard.
But Thaksin said Thailand had effectively contained the avian flu epidemic and prevented fresh human infections in recent months.
The highly contagious bird flu disease has rampaged across Asia since early this year. It devastated poultry industries in several countries, including Thailand, previously the world's number four chicken exporter.
Thailand, the world's biggest frozen shrimp exporter, has protested against strict EU food safety inspections of Thai shrimps since 2003.
REUTERS
BANGKOK, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Thailand said on Tuesday it will delay buying some $2 billion of Airbus aircraft until the European Union eases food import restrictions.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters he had instructed Thai Airways International to delay ordering the planes until restrictions were lifted on its shrimp, poultry and farm products.
"I have made it clear that no order contracts are to be signed, and only letters of intent can be initialled for the planes," Thaksin said. "We need to get clarification from the EU that it will not mistreat us, agree to be fair to us, and will buy more of our farm products. We are also concerned about our current account." Thai Airways received cabinet approval earlier on Tuesday for a plan to buy 14 new aircraft worth more than $2 billion over 5 years, including eight Airbus planes, a government official said.
Airbus in August valued the list price of its portion of the order at more than $2 billion and said it included six double-decker A380s, the world's biggest airliner, one A340-500 and one A340-600.
Thai Airways said the other six planes would be Boeing 777-200 ERs.
In September, the EU extended its ban on Thai poultry and pet bird imports until the end of March due to fears about the bird flu epidemic, which has hit Thailand hard.
But Thaksin said Thailand had effectively contained the avian flu epidemic and prevented fresh human infections in recent months.
The highly contagious bird flu disease has rampaged across Asia since early this year. It devastated poultry industries in several countries, including Thailand, previously the world's number four chicken exporter.
Thailand, the world's biggest frozen shrimp exporter, has protested against strict EU food safety inspections of Thai shrimps since 2003.
REUTERS
