Saudis turn to imported sheep

Local demand for Sudanese Sawakni sheep has risen by more than 80 percent, raising prices from SR650 to SR750 a head, local media reported.
This consumer shift from local to imported sheep is attributed to the price hikes of locally bred sheep such as the Al-Naimi and Al-Najdi in Riyadh markets, local salesmen say.
Last year, prices of Naimi sheep skyrocketed, reaching more than SR2,000 ($533), a matter that influenced the consumer shift to imported sheep for competitive prices.
This has since sent the price of Naimi sheep to the lowest recorded price of SR1,600 a head, dealers said.
Sheep dealer Mukhalaf Al-Anzi said that the Saudi consumer culture has changed due to price discrepancies.
The livestock market also witnessed an influx of more than 250,000 head of Syrian sheep during the holy month of Ramadan, with prices pegged at SR1,100 a head, he noted.
He said that the price of the Najdi breed has not exceeded SR1,700 per head compared to SR2,200 last year and that the price of the Al-Hari breed has also not exceeded SR1,200 compared to SR1,500 last year.
Demand for goat meat from Somalia has increased since the end of Ramadan, especially in light of the fact that prices now range between SR450 to SR500 per head, unlike previous periods where demand was weak, Al-Anzi said.
Al-Anzi expressed his belief that demand for Naimi and Najdi sheep would grow during the Haj season but that prices would not exceed SR2,000 per head nonetheless.
He said that a significant supply of all kinds of sheep is currently available on the market, denying any shortfall and maintaining that supply still exceeds demand, with produce entering the country from Africa, Jordan and Turkey.
Mohammed bin Ali, another sheep dealer, said there has been a slump and a subsequent period of stability in demand and price during the period under review compared to the same period last year.
He attributed the slump to supply surpassing demand.
“A steady supply plays a major role in the decline of prices. The cost of barley, for instance, has not changed since last year and has remained at SR40 per bag,” Mohammed said.