Riyahd - The first shipment of livestock left an Australian port bound for Saudi Arabia yesterday, marking the resumption of thriving livestock trade between the two countries after a controversial two-year ban. "The Jeddah-bound MV Maysora Express carrying about over 76,000 sheep and cattle will reach the Red Sea port sometime next month," said Australian Ambassador Ian Biggs, here yesterday.
Ambassador Biggs said that this would be the first shipment of Australian livestock to be exported to the Kingdom under the provisions of an agreement endorsed by the two countries recently. "I am very pleased to learn that the ship is on its way to Jeddah," said the diplomat, adding that the MV Maysora left the Australian Port of Fremantle yesterday with 72,500 sheep and 3,900 cattle on board.
The new agreement, which now regulates the livestock trade between Riyadh and Canberra, calls for closer cooperation in agriculture and livestock sector. The two countries have agreed to comply with the provisions of the new arrangement, which also ensures total transparency in the trade. The two sides, have also agreed to unload animals into a quarantine facility in Jeddah in the event of a dispute.
Australia's livestock trade with Saudi Arabia has been in the proximity of SR500 million annually, making the Kingdom the largest importer of Australian livestock. "But, the availability of suitable sheep and quality is proving to be a very big concern for the trade and this particular shipment certainly wasn't an easy one for exporters to put together," said John Edwards from the WA Live Exporters Association of Australia.
"It's proving a case for all live shipments to the Middle East at the moment, be it from Western Australia or the eastern states," said Edwards in a statement made available to Arab News. Saudi Arabia alone consumes more than 10 million head of livestock annually of which 80 percent are imported from different countries. The Kingdom was Australia's biggest sheep market until 57,000 sheep were left stranded at sea on board the Cormo Express in 2003 following a quarantine dispute.
Now, after a two-year ban, Australia's lucrative live sheep trade with Saudi Arabia has resumed. Apart from the Kingdom, the Middle East as a whole is a major destination for live sheep exports.
By M. Ghazanfar Ali Khan
© Arab News 2005
