Foreign Trade director-general Department Apiradi Tantraporn yesterday said the measure was in response to the UN Security Council's weapons sanction against the communist state for its plans to proceed with nuclear testing.

Thailand also forbids the import and export of weapons to and from six other countries: Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and the Congo. North Korea is the most recent addition to that list.

Quality upgrade for fruit, vegetables

The Board of Trade has joined with GTZ in Thailand, an international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development, to develop a production standard for fruits and vegetables, to gain access to more EU markets.

The joint cooperation is expected to upgrade Thai production standards to meet EurepGap Option 2 and boost the export value of Thai fruits and vegetables to the EU. Average annual sales value is ¤200 billion (Bt9.25 trillion), accounting for less than 1 per cent of the EU's total imports of fruits and vegetables.

The project is aimed at encouraging 600,000 farmers to develop a focus on raising standards to match EU requirements.

Choosak Chuenproyod, vice chairman of the Board of Trade's Agriculture Business and Foods Committee, yesterday said GTZ and the Agriculture Ministry would jointly provide knowledge and advice to small farmers.

Thai fruits with high export potential to the EU market include longans, durians, pomelos, tangerines and mangosteens.

Siemens given ETA management deal

The Industrial Solution and Services Group of Siemens (Thailand), together with its consortium partner Siemens AG from Germany, have received an order from the Expressway and Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand to install a complete system for toll collection and traffic management for the Ram-Indra/Outer Ring Road.

The order is worth Bt274 million, with completion expected by the end of next year, said Michal Peter, the group's executive vice president.