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Published on January 21, 2008

The Xinhua News Agency quoted the Burmese weekly Myanmar Times reporting that private businesses would ask the country's Trade Council, its top export and import-regulator, to allow them to directly import fuel.

The council's supervisory committee said: "Under the existing procedures, only government-affiliated organisations and private companies, the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings and Htoo Trading may import fuel directly."

Norse flights to Surat Thani

Tui Nordic, a subsidiary of the world's largest tour-operator, Germany-based Tui, is operating direct, weekly charter flights from both Stockholm and Helsinki to Surat Thani.

The charters will help the Tourism Authority of Thailand diversify its range of beach destinations of-fered to European holidaymakers to keep them coming back.

The Boeing 757 charters began in December and will continue until April, the peak travel season for outbound Scandinavians. The inaugural Stockholm-to-Surat Thani flight took off on December 13 and the Helsinki charter eight days later.

Shrimp slump on the cards

Total shrimp production this year is expected to fall 20 per cent to 500,000 tonnes, according to the Fisheries Department of the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry.

The decrease is a result of falling domestic prices following oversupply last year. Total shrimp production jumped 11 per cent to 530,000 tonnes in 2007.

Lower production will ensure prices stabilise.

Total world production is expected to increase 6.76 per cent to 2.1 million tonnes. International demand is for larger, disease-free shrimp, the department's director-general Somying Piumsomboon said.

The Nation