Prices shoot up

As Ramadan gets closer, beef cattle, lamb and sheep prices have shot up in Saudi Arabia as much as 40%, a proprietor of a local tannery told Leather International. 'I am really surprised to find that prices of sheep in Saudi Arabia went as high as 150 dollars to 250 dollars. Last month, prices were around 100 dollars.' An auctioneer at a slaughterhouse blamed the price rise on the government ban on imported livestock. Sellers have taken advantage and raised the prices of their own sheep, he said. There is a big demand for sheep as Ramadan approaches and about two million people visit Makkah and Madina via Jeddah on a pilgrimage. 'We are not taking advantage of our customers but it is a normal situation', he said. New slaughterhouses around Jeddah have been opened to meet the Ramadan demand, with 8,000 head of sheep being slaughtered daily at the northern slaughterhouse. This is an average of 333 head per hour which has never happened before because the capacity of the slaughterhouse is 2,500 head daily, he said.