He said he had reprimanded the company for mishaps in the past.

"I won't let this be repeated," he said. "If it's not ready to be in charge of this important job, the contract could be reviewed."

Pig Board soon

The Agriculture Ministry will soon appoint members of the Pig Board to streamline market regulations and controls.

Deputy permanent secretary Yukon Limlaemthong yesterday said the board should convene soon after its appointment. Primarily, it will require the registration of pig breeders nationwide in cooperation with the breeders association. Such registration would allow the ministry to have an exact figure on the Kingdom's output and help it come up with more efficient development strategies. 

He attributed the current decline in pork prices to an oversupply of more than one million tonnes. Annual production is now 16 million pigs, while demand is 14.5 million-15 million.

Last year, Thailand exported 10,000 tonnes of boiled pork meat, worth more than Bt5 billion. Frozen pork is barred from export due to foot and mouth disease.

BoI website alert

The Board of Investment yesterday clarified that the website www.boi-express.com did not belong to the agency.

In a statement, it said the site offered services to investors who want to obtain investment promotion privileges from the BoI and a link to the BoI's official website www.boi.go.th.

The BoI insisted that applying for promotion privileges carried no fee.

Diesel down today

Oil retailers will cut the retail price of high-speed diesel by 40 satang per litre today to Bt22.94. Petrol prices will be maintained.

Chaiwat Choorit, a senior executive of PTT, warned that retail prices could shoot up later due to several geopolitical risk factors as well as a production-capacity cut among Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries next month.

Rail-link decision

The State Railway of Thailand will decide next month when the Sino-Thai consortium must complete the Bt25-billion Airport Rail Link project, after the consortium asked for a 500-day delay.