Fatima Muhammad Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Sheep traders who have started preparing for the Haj season to help cover demand both locally and for Haj sacrifices are facing a number of obstacles including getting their sheep out of the port quickly, ensuring they are healthy, feeding them and setting prices. Hamid Al-Jadaani, an investor in the sheep market and member of the sheep traders committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, called for giving these traders priority at the seaport, as their livestock is placed in danger if any delay happens. Sheep, he said, can die and face illnesses when they do not leave the port immediately. “Sheep are imported from Africa and they cannot stay at the port for days. That is harmful and also result in losses for us,” he said. Al-Jadani has just allocated SR16,000 to import his new shipment of sheep from Africa in time for the Haj season. His shipment, he said, arrived at the port on Thursday at 7 a.m. However, as of now he still has not gotten his sheep. A-Jadani explained: “The vets at the port ended their working hours early Thursday and my sheep had to stay at the port over the weekend (Friday and Saturday). “I then approached the port on Sunday but was told that I still cannot receive my sheep because some of them developed a skin illness. “That is not my fault; it is the port's mistake they kept my sheep in bad conditions because of their delay and neglect.” He called for setting different shifts over the weekends for port employees to ensure vets are available to check on animals and release them immediately. Local sheep, he said, are decreasing in number because female sheep are being used in traditional rice dishes including Mandi and Madbi. He said: “There must be constant awareness to ban the use of female sheep in cooking. “Previously we used to have a reserve of 12 million sheep locally, but now we have only 5 million. “We have called on the Ministry of Agriculture to ban the use of young female sheep to protect our reserves. “Unfortunately we always file recommendations and demands to concerned bodies but we receive only nominal responses.” Previously, Saudi Arabia was the only country that imported from Africa, he said. However, now over 15 countries including GCC states are importing from the continent as well. “This has increased competition and the prices have increased as a result,” said Al-Jadani. Demand is high for sheep coming from Somalia as they are inexpensive. “They are sold for $120 a head, an increase of $20 compared to just last year,” said Al-Jadani. The general manager of Jeddah Islamic Port, Sahir Tahlawi, said that there was no delay in anything being released from the ports. Muhammad Al-Malki, another investor in sheep market, said that traders are trying their best to maintain stable sheep prices. However, the cost of shipping and fodder is “forcing” them to increase prices year after year. According to him, there is a lack of sheep in the Kingdom due to a lack of investment in the sheep market. “Our culture demands a larger sheep supply as we need them to cater for the increasing number of grand ceremonies, weddings and other gatherings,” said Al-Malki, He added that local sheep production is not sufficient, therefore traders import from different countries, especially African nations.African sheep, he said, provide meat that has a taste favored by locals, compared to sheep from other countries such as Turkey and Australia. The prices of imported sheep from Africa range from SR450 to SR750 a head, but local sheep are sold for at least SR1,000. The market now, he said, is not active but traders are expecting an increase in demand as the Haj season approaches.
