The price of sheep is expected to drop by 10 percent during Ramadan thanks to the King's decision to increase the fodder subsidy and its byproducts by 50 percent, said Sulaiman Seed Al-Jabri, Chairman of the Livestock Merchants at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He said a large shipment of one million sheep from Somalia and Sudan is expected to arrive at Jeddah Islamic Seaport in the coming days to meet the demand during Ramadan and Dhul Hijja. The arrival of this large shipment will significantly reduce the skyrocketing price of sheep by 10 percent. More shipments will start arriving from some other countries in the next few weeks, which will bring the price down further. He also lauded the cooperation between the ministries of Commerce and Industry and Agriculture for tightening control over the livestock markets in the Kingdom. He said the Livestock Committee at the JCCI has submitted a recommendation to the ministries of Commerce and Agriculture asking for funds to support livestock merchants as is the case in other countries. This will also help reduce the price of sheep and lighten the burden on consumers. He said the increase in the international price of sheep and the exchange rate of some foreign countries against the dollar is directly responsible for the soaring price in this country. He said immediate action should be taken to provide livestock importers with a cash subsidy per head of imported sheep. This measure will bring down the price. Citing an example, he said some neighboring countries such as Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar provide a cash subsidy to their importers which has contributed to price stability in those countries. He said another measure which will help stabilize the price is to have veterinarians treat diseased animals at the seaports instead of shipping them back. This will save importers lots of money. He said more areas should be allocated for importers to set up pens to feed and breed animals. This will encourage more investments and enable merchants to build stock which will protect the market from any fluctuation in livestock prices. __
