RIYADH, 6 July — Saudi authorities have seized 3,800 tons of Brazilian, New Zealand and Australian meat at the Dammam port because they passed through countries from where meat import has been banned by the Kingdom.
Dr. Hamad Al-Oufi, director of laboratories and quality control at the Ministry of Commerce, said the certificate accompanying the consignments did not specify the countries the meat passed through.
“The absence of these statements makes us believe that the meat passed through countries from where meat import is banned by the Kingdom,” Al-Oufi said.
On their part, meat importers in Dammam complained to the authorities about the difficulties faced by Saudi and foreign shipping companies to supply the details of the routes of the containers coming to the Kingdom as per orders. They also complained that the delay at the seaport would lead to the payment of a huge demurrage and cold storage fees.
Meat factories that await the supply of meat will also suffer if the consignments are not released immediately, the importers said. They demanded to be exempted from the new regulation until the end of their current contracts with foreign suppliers since they were signed before the new regulation was issued.
The importers also expressed willingness to abide by all future orders in this regard after the current contracts are over.
However Al-Oufi said shipping companies were responsible for supplying certificates of their consignments and therefore importers had the right to ask them for these certificates. “The order to list the countries that consignments pass through and supply them to importers was issued to all concerned agencies the moment the order was given. Public interest and preserving the health and safety of local consumers is its only aim,” he said.
The importers said the Commerce Ministry was the right authority to enforce the law and see that local shipping agencies strictly complied with it.
The importers complained however that consignments that were seized from them at the port upon arrival, fulfilled all Saudi specifications and carried official documents and certificates of health to prove their freedom from diseases and fitness for human consumption. The ministry had earlier confiscated 11 consignments of meat imported from India at the Jeddah Islamic Port because they came from a country on the banned list.
On the other hand, 90 consignments of Brazilian meat was released from the port even though they had passed through countries which had the foot and mouth disease because the importer requested an exemption on the grounds that the distance between the country of origin and Saudi Arabian ports was so great that the ships needed to refuel which required stopping at some ports on the way.
The Kingdom has banned the import of beef and mutton from several countries due animal epidemics such as foot and mouth disease and Rift Valley Fever that were reported there.
