Saudi imports of livestock, animal products total $2.08bln in 5 months

Riyadh – The Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture managed to provide livestock and cattle in Saudi markets during the COVID-19 crisis, as part of the kingdom’s food security strategy and the ministry’s efforts to support the local market and maintain price stability.

The kingdom’s imports of livestock and animal products amounted to SAR 7.8 billion during the first five months of 2020, an annual drop of 10.97% or SAR 961.5 million, according to data collected by Mubasher.

March contributed the most to the livestock import value with SAR 1.83 billion, followed by May with SAR 1.61 billion, whereas January was the least on the list with just SAR 1.2 billion worth of imports.

During the January-May period in 2020, Saudi Arabia's exports of livestock and animal products totalled SAR 2.25 billion, compared with SAR 2.46 billion in the year-ago period.

In the first half (H1) of 2020, the kingdom imported 1.269 million heads of livestock, according to official data.

In 2019, the kingdom's imports of livestock and animal products recorded a value of SAR 19.51 billion, down by 7.8% from SAR 18.1 billion in 2018.