January 28, 2004

 

 

Thailand Hope To Solve Bird Flu Problem Within Six Months

 

Seeking to regain international confidence in the Thai government, Thaksin acknowledged that "mistakes and human errors" are possible and stressed the need for transparency and cooperation among regional authorities in dealing with the epidemic.

 

"Transparency and disclosure of information are essential to bring back confidence and trust to the general public," he said. "That is what I have instructed my ministers to do, and that is also the purpose of this meeting."

 

He said the severe acute respiratory syndrome crisis, or SARS, last year resulted in a fast-acting public health system that would help deal with the bird-flu outbreak and bring the situation under control.

 

Talking to reporters soon after his speech at the conference, Thaksin said he expected the outbreak to be tackled within six months, a less optimistic estimate than his earlier one-month forecast.

 

Thailand, the world's fourth largest poultry exporter, hopes to persuade its top export markets, Japan and the European Union, to resume imports of Thai chicken products soon after the outbreak comes under control. The two accounted for at least 80% of Thailand's 40 billion baht ($1=THB39.249) worth of chicken meat exports last year.

 

The European Union Monday criticized Thailand for lack of transparency and indicated that its ban on Thai chicken imports may be long. It said independent verification would be needed before it lifts the ban.

 

"In these circumstances, in which we have seen non-transparency, only a complete reliance on Thai assurances doesn't seem to be the best way to go forward," said Beate Gminder, an E.U. spokesman.

 

Thaksin said he didn't expect a significant impact on overall exports from the loss of poultry exports, as they represented a very small percentage of the country's total exports, valued at $80 billion last year. The government maintains a 15% export growth target this year and an economic growth target of at least 8%.

 

However, the prime minister appeared mindful of the potential threat to public health and the economy in case the virus pairs up with human influenza and begins transmitting among people, as scientists have warned.

 

"This catastrophic scenario must be prevented at all cost," said Thaksin.

 

Seeking to put behind him criticism of his government's earlier handling of the disease, he said that "whatever may have happened, this is what the Thai government is doing right now. Our top priority is to get the situation well under control."