Despite a sharp increase in the prices of livestock, in some cases 30 to 50 percent, economists expect more than one million sheep to be slaughtered this year at a cost of about SR2 billion, a 20 percent increase over last year. Livestock traders attribute the rise in prices to high demand and to the increase in fodder prices. At Jeddah Central Sheep Market, Khaled Al-Hazmi said he used to buy a sheep for the sacrifice for about SR1,000 in the past. Now, he said, he was forced to pay SR1,500. Another buyer, Sa'ad Al-Amri, left the market refusing to pay SR1,400 for what he used to buy for SR900. Others in Jeddah, like Abdulrahman Al-Zahrani, Fahd Al-Shihri and Motaz Abu Waheeb, turned to livestock markets in the region's villages like Al-Kamil, Khulais and Al-Leeth, hoping they could get grass-fed sheep that are relatively cheap, as prices there range from SR600 to SR800 and rarely reach a thousand. However, livestock traders in these villages attribute the city residents' demand for their sheep to the good quality of their meat. In Riyadh, the situation is similar with prices exceeding SR1,500 for Najdi sheep, an increase of 30 percent. Traders there, however, think that the price is still reasonable. In the Eastern Province, livestock traders have started arriving from outside the region especially from places in the north like Hafr Al-Batin, although some are complaining of high prices and demanding the intervention of the Commerce Ministry. According to a major livestock trader in the province, Muhammad Al-Hajri, traders expect a brisk trade after a rainy season that helped in creating pastures. Waleed Al-Shalali, another trader, expected a large number of sheep to be slaughtered and said Najdi sheep are most in demand with prices ranging from SR1,000 to SR1,500. Noaimi sheep come second, he said, with prices from SR850 to SR1,100. The sharpest increase in prices was in Khamis Mushayt where sheep were being sold for more than SR1,700 per head. Traders there attributed the price increase to the lack of pastures and the high price of fodder.
