RIYADH, 6 August — Australian authorities have threatened to halt meat exports to Saudi Arabia after the Kingdom’s Commerce Ministry blocked the entry of 40 shipments of sheep carcasses from Australia and New Zealand because they allegedly contained spinal cord residual.
The Australian Meat Authority said the difficult conditions imposed by Saudi authorities would affect negatively the country’s meat industry. It indicated that meat traders from Australia and New Zealand would stop exporting to the Kingdom.
The Australian body insisted that the Saudi authorities should apply on their frozen meat exports the same laws they impose on local meat, which is not subject to the condition of removing spinal cord residues. The Kingdom was holding 680 tons of frozen meat at the Jeddah port for not complying with its standards as part of a general effort to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
