Saudis to import livestock for Ramadan rush - leatherbiz: Leading news Leatherbiz

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Saudis to import livestock for Ramadan rush

15/07/2011
Reports from Saudi Arabia say the government there plans to import livestock from Africa, Europe and South America in the build-up to Ramadan, which this year begins in August. The ministry of agriculture has said it expects demand for meat to increase substantially and for prices to go up too. Its hope is that importing livestock from other countries will help it keep the market stable.

The countries the Saudi government wants to import from include Ethiopia, which is no surprise as it has, since the division of Sudan into two countries, the largest cattle herd in Africa. However, the inclusion on the list of Mauritania, Senegal and Romania is more surprising. Saudi officials have travelled to these countries to carry out quality checks on the animals awaiting export.

Jaber Bin Muhammad Al-Shehri, the ministry’s assistant under-secretary for animal resources told Saudi media that locally raised livestock will be able to meet only 25% to 30% of market demand. He said the country usually imported around five million sheep, camels and cows a year, a market valued at more than $800 million.


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