JEDDAH, 17 August — The Ministry of Commerce has destroyed 300 kilos of banned frozen meat imported from a European country.
Mohammed Al-Harbi, director of the ministry’s office in Jeddah, told Arab News that the meat was impounded at Jeddah Islamic Port.
“The consignment was checked by the customs department and was found that it was imported from a European country,” he said. “We rejected the trader’s proposal to donate the meat to the International Islamic Relief Organization,” he added. However, the ministry gave the trader a choice of either re-exporting the meat or destroying it. A team was later formed with representatives from the ministry, customs department and port to destroy the consignment.
The ministry had slapped a blanket ban on meat imports from 15 European countries following reports that they used artificial hormones — which cause cancer and infertility — as fodder.
Al-Harbi called upon businessmen not to import any meat products from Europe to avoid financial losses. “They should also contact the ministry before they import any foodstuff and other consumer items from foreign countries,” he added.
The ministry had earlier banned beef and sheep meat imports from all European countries without exception fearing the spread of mad cow disease.
Saudi authorities had 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.
A number of countries, including Australia, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates and India, are trying to take full advantage of the lack of supply to Saudi Arabia’s beef market, estimated at SR1.5 billion a year.
Saudi Arabia imports about two-thirds of its beef for local consumption, put at 100,000 tons in 1999. It also imports 11 million tons of poultry meat and poultry meat products annually from many countries including the Netherlands, France and Brazil.
Earlier this week, France had protested to Riyadh against the blanket ban on European meat imports.
The Kingdom recently lifted embargoes on sheep meat imports from Pakistan and Ethiopia after the countries gave assurances that they would abide by Saudi conditions.
The Saudi- Pakistan accord came a few weeks ago following a meeting between Commerce Minister Osama Faqeeh and Pakistani Ambassador Muhammad Assad Durrani. The Ethiopian embargo was lifted earlier this week after Ethiopian Minister of Trade and Industry Germa Birri assured Faqeeh that Saudi norms would strictly be adhered while exporting goat and sheep meat to the Kingdom.
