Swedish Pm Rejects Jets-for-chicken Trade

[george]

Swedish PM Rejects Jets-For-Chicken Trade

The Swedish government cannot negotiate a deal with Thailand to trade jet fighters for raw chicken meat, Prime Minister Goeran Persson said Thursday.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who met with Persson in the Swedish capital Thursday, told Thai media earlier this week he hoped to broker a poultry-for-planes deal with Sweden, as his country's chicken exports have suffered badly from a bird flu outbreak.

Persson said he would love to see the JAS 39 Gripen jet fighter sold to Thailand, but that it was up to Saab, the aircraft maker, to negotiate the terms.

"I realize the Thai Prime Minister always makes deals that are extremely keen on the current economic situation," Persson told reporters during a joint news conference with Thaksin.

"But how they should arrange (a deal) is not up to the Swedish government, it's up to the commercial partner, Saab," he said. "We will try to figure out which conditions we should have, state to state, for Saab to make a commercial deal."

Thaksin reiterated his hopes for agricultural products to be used as currency.

"We would prefer to have a countertrade, instead of paying cash up front," Thaksin said. If Sweden should have a need for chickens or other agricultural products, "then that can be arranged, easily."

Thaksin did not say how many jet fighters Thailand wants to buy.

A Saab spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

Thailand, among the top four poultry exporters in the world, has been badly hit by two outbreaks of avian influenza that killed 28 people in Asia this year, including nine in Thailand. Thaksin said earlier this week that the country has a huge inventory of raw chicken meat stored in warehouses.

"My government will do whatever to help chicken farmers sell their chicken meat," he told Thailand's state-owned Channel 9.

Thaksin has also tried to trade chickens for arms with Russia.

Sweden has previously sold or leased Jas 39 Gripen planes several other countries, including the Czech Republic and Hungary.

--AP 2004-09-25

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Chicken Wings with each jet fighter ?

[ovenman]

"My government will do whatever to help chicken farmers sell their chicken meat," he told Thailand's state-owned Channel 9.

"Chicken farmers" meaning my good buddies at CP Group.

[Darth Bangkok]

did the article imply that the deal was not reached with Russia either? Ihaven't heard anything about that in a while.

[sriracha john]

Russia rejected the offer, same as the Swedes most likely.... Bottom line is, what does SAAB want with chicken gizzards?. Do anyone find it interesting that for a big businessman, Thaksin doesn't know that the governments of 1st world countries don't "own" the weapons/jet-fighters/ship-making companies? And what do these companies want with chicken, mangosteens, or anything else Thailand has to offer. They deal with MONEY.......

It's pie-in-the-sky..... run it up a flagpole and see if anyone salutes it.. time.

[thaiwing]

Finger lickin fighters

[george]

PM says visits to Italy and Sweden a huge success

BANGKOK: -- The Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, who returned home early this morning, said his official visits to Italy and Sweden earlier this week were highly successful.

Many Italian businessmen have expressed interests in investing in Thailand, while Sweden is likely to be a good market for Thai agricultural products, Mr. Thaksin told his audience during his weekly radio programme, "Premier Thaksin talks with the public", broadcast nationwide this morning.

Italian automobile manufacturers, fashion designers and leading industrialists have been invited to visit Thailand to meet Thai businessmen, Mr. Thaksin said.

This could lead to joint investment, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), he added.

The premier said he was interested in the car company Fiat’s latest innovation – a car with the ‘Flexile’ engine which uses gasoline mixed with ethanol.

So far only three manufacturers produce a similar engine - Fiat, Volkswagen and GM.

Mr. Thaksin said senior Fiat officials had expressed interest in visiting Thailand to explore the possiblity of producing the company's cars in Thailand.

The government has been promoting production of ethanol made from sugarcane or tapioca.

The ‘International Forgiveness Award 2004’, which was presented to Mr. Thaksin during the visit, he said, was a tribute to the government’s success in helping the country’s poor, especially the war against drugs.

Mr. Thaksin said the Swedish government wanted to sell its G ripen fighters, which are as efficient as the US F-16 ones, but more modern.

Negotiations are continuing, the prime minister said, but any future deal was likely to be on a barter trade basis, he added.

Several Swedish businessmen also wanted to use Thailand as their production base, and others were prepared to explore Sweden’s market potential for Thai agricultural products, said the Thai leader.

-- TNA 2004-09-26

[george]

Huh? Does Thaksin not understand that most western countries does NOT barter??

Especially not chicken!

[sriracha john]

The ‘International Forgiveness Award 2004’, which was presented to Mr. Thaksin during the visit, he said, was a tribute to the government’s success in helping the country’s poor, especially the war against drugs.

The award should be reworded to International Forgetfulness Award 2004.... as the world turns a blind eye to thaksin having 2500 citizens summarily murdered in thaksin's drug war.

Countries especially don't barter trade for chicken from bird-flu tainted Thailand as yet two more succomb to the re-emerging threat... with the first possibly human to human transfer of the fatal virus occuring up north.

[siam]

So where has all of this chicken come from "Stored"I thought they should've been destroying it all,Not stock piling,

As had happened to the UK after foot and mouth,It took a longtime to start selling the meat again,for money not for anything else.

[Heng]

"My government will do whatever to help chicken farmers sell their chicken meat," he told Thailand's state-owned Channel 9.

"Chicken farmers" meaning my good buddies at CP Group.

And Saha Farms, Better Foods, GFPT, and Laemthong, etc. as well, surely.

[rss]

Maybe I need to brush up on Econ 101 again, but isn't the reason the "country's chicken exports have suffered badly from a bird flu outbreak" because nobody wants to buy them?

They should try giving them away first to see if there is a need.

And that makes as much sense as the article itself.

[meadish_sweetball]

It's so very Thaksin, this whole idea. However, he is not totally out on a limb by negotiating with Göran Persson regarding this deal - our beloved Swedish Prime Minister likes to think that he does indeed have the authority to speak for the whole of Sweden, companies included...

Thaksin and Göran traded personal mobile phone numbers on the Swedish PMs visit to Thailand earlier this year.

"I realize this may be a bit hard to swallow for the employees of the Swedish Foreign Office, but some things are more efficiently discussed in private", Mr. Persson was quoted as saying.

[Darth Bangkok]

So where has all of this chicken come from "Stored"I thought they should've been destroying it all,Not stock piling,

As had happened to the UK after foot and mouth,It took a longtime to start selling the meat again,for money not for anything else.

you would think. but remember last time, when it first broke? the EU banned imports of Thai chicken, so all the ships on the way to the EU turned around and came back to Thailand. the gov't had to buy new refridgerators to be able to store it all until they sold it - to us!!! Thats why I haven't eaten chicken in Thailand since then. eggs too if I can avoid it. It may be safe, but at least I am voicing my (silent) protest.

[Thetyim]

Maybe he could buy a football club with all the chickens or maybe even pay a certain invoice from CNN.

Thailand the world hub of chicken bartering

[sriracha john]

They should try giving them away first to see if there is a need.

Earlier in the year, they were giving it away free to the prisons.... until even the prisons turned it down.... must be REALLY crappy food for even the prisons to turn it down.

[Jeff1]

Chicken Wings with each jet fighter ?

Or better yet , teach the chickens to fly and attach little bombs under their wings

[Richard W]

Chicken Wings with each jet fighter ?

Or better yet , teach the chickens to fly and attach little bombs under their wings.

Can they expect to catch Malaysian MiG 29s on the ground?

[penzman]

Pillows!

Pillows against fighters and weapons!

[siam]

Maybe they can teach these birds to fly into jet engines or the H5N1 birds can dive bomb strategic places.Now that's barter fodder,or is he clucking mad,

Ting Tawng Party us up

[Khun Larry]

PM says visits to Italy and Sweden a huge success

Many Italian businessmen have expressed interests in investing in Thailand

Especially NANA and Pattaya

BG FOR JET FIGHTERS

[eljeque]

When I read one man's mockery of the whole situation, with the Swedish PM whispering to his swedish aide, I thought it was entirely made up. Then, when I saw it in black and white, I decided to move to Malaysia.

The chickens could be ground up into fish food or crocodile food. I doubt that the virus is transferable between mammals and fish or reptiles.

[dfwbkk]

The joke back in Sweden (my home turf) seems to be that chickens for the JAS39 Gripen is a fair trade - seeing as their respective flying capabilities are fairly equal...

Thaksin and Göran Persson - somehow they seem interchangeable...

/// dfw

[Thetyim]

The joke back in Sweden (my home turf) seems to be that chickens for the JAS39 Gripen is a fair trade - seeing as their respective flying capabilities are fairly equal...

Aahh yes but the chickens have a much better track record,

they have killed more people .

[Lioneric]

Sorry to say guys but your country is having problems and people are dying and I don't think it's time to joke let's pray that before 15 OCT the virus will totally out of Thailand and TRT must review it's colony pratice in politic.

Because politician indirectly affected the luck of the whole country.

[scorecard]

Such barter deals are very hard to get off theground, for a very simple reason: nobody can ever agree how many carrots you swap for one hour of water management consulting, etc.

[animatic]

The joke back in Sweden (my home turf) seems to be that chickens for the JAS39 Gripen is a fair trade - seeing as their respective flying capabilities are fairly equal...

Aahh yes but the chickens have a much better track record,

they have killed more people .

And much more useful in retirement.

[Jdietz]

And it took you seven YEARS to come up with that?

year-old posts without responses should be auto-locked...

[hellodolly]

October Fools Day

Good article seven years ago

[wana]

such a wonderful sneaky idea .......our chickens may have bird flu so nobody will buy them and we cant eat them ourselves ................................wait ,i know !

lets swap them for multi million dollar fighter jets instead ..........any takers?