The Ministry of Agriculture has established an integrated plan to meet the growing demand for meat during the holy month of Ramadan, said Engineer Jaber Al-Shihri, undersecretary in the Ministry of Agriculture for Animal Resources Affairs. The announcement was made at a time when meat prices in Riyadh are rising by at least 20 to 30 percent as Ramadan is drawing near. A market worker who said the price of calf meat has risen from SR20 to SR27 per kilogram expects the price to reach SR35 during Ramadan, which is described as butchers' season. Consumers have called for a special index for meat, as is the case for other food. Al-Shihri said the ministry has made the necessary measures to import five million heads of livestock and assigned a team of veterinarians to ensure that the animals are fit for human consumption and do not have infectious diseases. No land or sea shipment will be cleared until it has been inspected and diseased animals will be sent back to their point of origin, Al-Shihri said. He said the Ministry of Agriculture has 135 branches throughout the Kingdom, laboratories at all of the Kingdom's 15 ports and a central laboratory at Jeddah Islamic Seaport. An informed source at a company that imports frozen and chilled meat said the Saudi market annually consumes more than one million tons of imported meat and poultry. He said 900,000 tons of frozen chicken come from Brazil and India; there are limited shipments from Africa; and 45,000 tons of frozen lamb are imported from Australia and New Zealand.
