|
Jeddah, November 28, 2009 – The first shipment of
246,000 Somali sheep arrived at Jeddah Islamic Port on Sunday, November
22, 2009, after Saudi authorities granted permission to businessmen to
import live cattle from the east African country.
The government permission also stipulates that the cattle are healthy
and in line with international export regulations concerning livestock.
The shipment is mainly intended for sacrificial slaughter undertaken by
the Islamic Development Bank as part of a project to distribute
sacrificial meat to poor people in Muslim countries.
The shipment has been imported by companies such as Al-Jabri, Fahd Al-Shalawi
and Dukhayyel Al-Rifaei.
“The import will bring down cattle prices in the domestic market on the
one hand and end the hardship faced by importers, particularly during
the Haj season,” said Suleiman Al-Jabri of the Al-Jabri Company.
The Kingdom plans to import three million sheep from Somalia annually,
Al-Jabri said, adding that he had a contractual obligation with the IDB
to supply 525,000 sheep for this year’s Haj.
“We also want to steady the market price of animals to make it
affordable to all people, particularly in the present Haj and Eid Al-Adha
season,” he said
Source: Arab News, Nov 22, 2009
|
|
