JEDDAH: Despite lifting the ban on the import of meat from many European countries, the African market remains the primary source of livestock for Saudis due to lower shipping costs, availability of quality meat and large volume of supplies.
Fahad Al-Sulami, board member of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said concerned parties are facilitating livestock importation procedures from all possible markets that have high quality and reasonably priced meats, provided that there are no prohibitions to importing from these countries.
He said the Saudi market is a large consumer of red and white meat, yet prices are still lower than on other markets due to the large quantity of imported live or frozen livestock.
Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia are preferred import markets, said Al-Sulami, due to optimal prices and quality.
Mishari Al-Otabi, a cattle trader, said the African market is one of the best available options for importation into the Saudi market due to the large quantity of livestock, the reasonable prices, as well as the quality of meat, which many importers are keen on ensuring. He said imports from the African market are expected to grow in the coming years, mostly due to the advantageous prices and to the reduced shipping periods and shipping costs, compared to European markets.
Al-Otabi said consumption of meat by the Saudi market will continue to grow, thus increasing demand for imports from African countries, a trend that has been observed over the past few years.
The FDA decided to lift the temporary ban on imports of cattle, goats, sheep and meat products from Spain, imposed due to the emergency of the mad cow disease.
The FDA approved of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Food as a certified supervisory body, and permitted the import of beef, goat, lamb and other licensed products into the kingdom in coordination with the FDA.