Kingdom starts sheep exports to Kuwait

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s sheep exports to the Arab Gulf market are increasing with the addition of Kuwait as a new export destination, an official at the Ministry of Agriculture said on Wednesday.

Jordan has started exporting live sheep to Kuwait earlier this week, after Kuwaiti authorities allowed the Jordanian import, ministry’s spokesperson Nimer Haddadin said.

“Demand for sheep from Jordan is already increasing with exports standing at 3,300 animals daily to the Gulf countries,” Haddadin said.

Exploring the Gulf market as a major destination for sheep exports is among the ministry’s priorities, officials at the ministry said recently.

Official figures indicate that daily sheep exports to the Gulf countries stood at around 1,000 head at the start of the year.

Haddadin indicated that the World Organisation for Animal Health has recently praised the Kingdom’s health measures to remain free from transboundary diseases.

In 2016, the Kingdom exported some 450,000 head of sheep; over 70 per cent of which were destined to Saudi Arabia.

The country’s exports of live sheep in 2016 dropped by 26.4 per cent compared to 2015, according to the ministry, which attributed the decrease to a lower demand from Gulf Arab countries in general, and Saudi Arabia in particular.

But efforts targeting the Gulf market as a main destination for sheep exports are paying off, according to Haddadin.

Results of a livestock census conducted by the Department of Statistics (DoS) in 2016 indicated that the number of sheep and goats in Jordan rose by 13.8 per cent compared to 2015.

The number of sheep increased from 2.846 million to 3.261 million, while the number of goats rose from 939,000 to 1.044 million, according to DoS.