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Slaughterhouses to get upgrades
The National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards will upgrade standards guarantees of 25 slaughterhouses, mainly to prove the quality of their products exported to the United Arab Emirates, which could serve as the Kingdom's distribution centre to the Middle East.
The bureau has worked closely with the Central Islamic Committee and the Thai Broiler Processing Exporters' Association to upgrade halal standards to meet international demand. Somchai Charnnarongkul, deputy director of the bureau, said the UAE had not only a high import volume of halal food items, but also fierce competition. As a result, Thailand should develop manufacturing standards and a certification system that met international requirements. "Thailand must upgrade both our processing and our export standards, to strengthen our export competitiveness. Otherwise, Thailand will lose its share in major markets," he said. He said the UAE had a great potential to become a gateway for Thailand in the export of halal food to the Middle East. Success would mean more than US$10 billion (Bt384 billion) in foreign-exchange revenues annually.
Samui condos Aquarius Estate Co Ltd, owner of Casavela, a low-rise condominium on Koh Samui, has reached a Bt150-million agreement with General Engineering Plc (GEN) for construction work on the project, which is expected to be completed in October 2007. Aquarius Estate CEO Yongyutt Chaipromprasith said GEN had the professional experience and financial strength to handle the job smoothly. Casavela will consist of only 32 units priced Bt10 million to 20 million each, with a total investment budget of Bt400 million on 6 rai of land at Laem Sett. Current sales are running at 60 per cent. The project is expected to generate an investment return of 8-10 per cent.
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