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Hargeysa, Somaliland, November 7, 2009 (SL Times) –
The government of Saudi Arabia on Thursday removed an 11-year ban on
livestock imports from Somaliland and Somalia after fears of Rift Valley
Fever were allayed, senior Somaliland officials told the VOA.
The decision was well received across Somaliland and Somalia as hundreds
of thousands of farmers heavily rely on animal exports to the oil-rich
Middle East. Under the new arrangement, Saudi officials will closely
examine animals before they are shipped off to Saudi soil.
"This is a tremendous decision for Somalis across the Horn of Africa,"
said Idiris Ibrahim Abdi, the livestock minister of Somaliland, which
has developed one of the most sophisticated animal processing plants in
its port town of Berbera.
According to news accounts, the Saudi agricultural ministry said the
decision is based on years of cross examination and monitoring of animal
farms in Somaliland and Somalia.
Animal trade is one of the few surviving economic engines of Somalia’s
largely destroyed economy. Business leaders and animal farmers have
welcomed the Saudi decision with widespread jubilation.
"This decision will allow me to triple my animal sales to shipping
companies," said Mohamed Hassan Kahde, an animal farmer in the central
town of Beledweyn. He said the ban was not only bad for business, but it
was also bad for the animals.
An official with the Puntland Meat Processing Authority told the VOA
that they expect to export more than half a million heads of goats and
cows to Saudi Arabia in time for the Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage,
which will be performed by early December.
Source: VOA, November 5, 2009
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