RIYADH, 20 November 2002 — Saudi and Sudanese traders have protested an exclusive agreement between the Khartoum government and Prince Alwaleed ibn Talal to export Sudanese sheep and meat to Arab countries, saying the deal would harm their business.
The agreement, which was signed in September, had raised a big hue and cry among Sudanese sheep traders who considered the deal as hijacking of their business rights. They also feared the agreement would prevent them from fulfilling their commitment to Saudi sheep importers. The traders have decided to take legal action to restore their rights.
Meanwhile, 11 Saudi firms which import sheep from Sudan, have lodged complaints on the issue with both Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, and Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir.
In their complaint, the Saudis said the “unjust” agreement would hurt their legitimate rights. They said the agreement will force many Saudi traders to look for new competitive markets such as Syria, Jordan, Somalia, Turkey and Australia.
The Saudi traders said they would suffer heavy losses as a result of the agreement. It will also force them to retrench 3,000 employees, mostly Sudanese.
Prince Alwaleed, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company, refused to comment on the issue. However, he said he decided to invest in Sudanese livestock because the country is closer to Saudi Arabia and import will take only four days. “Import of sheep from Australia will take 21 days and a large number of sheep will die on the way,” he pointed out.
Sudanese Foreign Trade Minister Abdul Hameed Mousa Kasha said his ministry signed the agreement after its efforts to market livestock abroad had failed.
The ministry said the agreement will come into effect this week with export of 150,000 heads of sheep to the Kingdom.
The minister was expected to make a statement to the Sudanese Parliament on the issue on Monday but was postponed to another date due to time constraints. A parliament member had asked the minister to make a statement on the issue.
Saudi Arabia and Sudan reached an agreement in December last year on procedures to lift the ban on sheep imports from Sudan. The accord was reached during talks between Agriculture and Water Minister Dr. Abdullah Muammar and his Sudanese counterpart Dr. Riak Gai.
Meanwhile, the first consignment of 300 tons of frozen Ethiopian sheep meat arrived in the Kingdom this month after Riyadh lifted a ban on sheep meat import from the African country. Saudi Livestock Company said it has established an abattoir in Addis Ababa at a cost of SR20 million.
Saleh Abdullah Al-Hosaini, vice chairman of the company, told Arab News that the arrival of sheep meat from Ethiopia will meet the growing need for fresh and frozen meat in the Kingdom. “Ethiopian meat will cover 20 percent of the Kingdom’s requirements,” he pointed out.
The Kingdom lifted the ban imposed on imports of chilled and frozen mutton and its products from Ethiopia in August. The decision was taken after Minister of Commerce Osama Faqeeh reviewed the ban on imports of frozen, chilled and canned meat of sheep and goat from Ethiopia following an assurance by visiting Ethiopian Minister of Trade and Industry Germa Birri that necessary precautionary measures will be taken when it exports mutton to the Kingdom. Saudi sheep imports have declined by half over the past few years from six million heads in 1995 to 3.2 million heads last year.
