Australia: sheep exports to Saudi Arabia could pick up again
28/04/2014
Exports of live sheep to the Middle Eastern country have declined in recent years in the face of competition from cheaper supplies from Pakistan and Africa. Mr Joyce has said Australia could ship as many as a million sheep a year to the Saudi market.
However, Australian media have picked up on a suggestion that Saudi Arabia will not sign up to regulations that Australia has drawn up on the treatment of animals from Australia in overseas abattoirs. The regulations came into effect following controversies in abattoirs in Indonesia in 2012.
In recent comments to the media, Mr Joyce said he thought Saudi Arabia was unlikely to agree to the regulations because this could, potentially, undermine Saudi Arabia’s reputation. He insisted he had seen evidence that Saudi Arabia treats animals humanely.
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