The prices of sheep have seen a tremendous increase, Bassam Bin Jameel Akhdhar, member of the Jeddah Municipal Council, has said. As the holy month of Ramadan was approaching, he said, traders hiked the prices so that the price of a head of sheep sometimes equals half the salary of a person from limited income group. Calling the hike as unjustified, Akhdhar wondered how the prices could increase so much in a very short period of time. Rejecting claims that the prices are justified and are subject to demand and supply in the market, he said meat has always been in demand in the Kingdom and “it has got nothing to do with the season.” Akhdhar expressed his hope that the decision of the Ministry of Commerce would contribute in opening the import of livestock from Sudan and Jordan. He hoped that the imported livestock would reduce the high demand for local sheep. Akhdhar welcomed the idea of selling live animals by weight in kilos instead of the current system in the sheep market. He said trading this way will do no injustice to either the buyer or the seller. Many Arab and Muslim countries, he said, have already implemented this method of selling livestock. He demanded a permanent health quarantine center at the Kingdom's ports of entry. He said the temporary quarantine centers during the Haj season are not enough to serve the purpose. If there were permanent quarantines, the Kingdom would not have been forced to stop the import of sheep from neighboring countries. He said the cessation has affected the sheep trade negatively. During a tour of the Central Sheep Market in south Jeddah, Okaz noticed a considerable rise in the prices of livestock exceeding SR1,200 per head of sheep. Sheep traders justified the rise in prices and attributed it to the advent of the holy month of Ramadan. At the same time, they said the prices during such seasons rise to such levels. Several consumers Okaz spoke to urged setting up of a supervisory authority to put a limit to this “crazy” rise in prices in the livestock market.
