JEDDAH, 5 December 2006 — A Chinese cargo vessel, Danny F2, docked at the Jeddah Islamic Port on Sunday carrying 75,000 heads of Chinese goats and cows, the first shipment of its kind in two decades.
The SR50-million shipment is earmarked for this year’s Haj to be used as the sacrificial meat to be distributed among the poor. This shipment of Chinese livestock is one of the results of the visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to China in January, according to the proprietor of the Al-Jabri Commercial Establishment, Suleiman Saeed Al-Jabri, who imported the livestock, told Arab News yesterday.
The Chinese consignment is the first among several others heading for the Kingdom as part of the government’s efforts to diversify the sources of livestock in the Saudi market.
“The Chinese cattle are known for their quality and they are suited for the Saudi market because they belong to the Naeemi variety of goats,” Suleiman said.
The Badr 3, another ship carrying 100,000 goats and 2,000 heads of cattle valued at SR45 milllion from Australia, arrived at the Jeddah Islamic Port on Saturday. More shipments will be coming from Arab and European countries in time for the Haj tradition of sacrificing livestock, Suleiman said.
The importer underscored the importance of encouraging investments in the domestic farms in order to have continuous and sufficient supply of animals to the market. “However, the import of cattle will steady the prices and make them affordable,” he said.
