Sudan’s acting Minister of Livestock and Fisheries, Adel Farah, has announced that the export of livestock from Sudan to Saudi Arabia has been stopped, subject to the signing of a commercial protocol. At a press conference at the ministry on Wednesday, the minister noted that “there is currently no commercial protocol that clarifies the rights of exporters and importers, or to ensure that livestock exports flow to all countries in a sound manner”. Minister Farah warned critics of the policy that: “If anyone exerts pressure on me to retract my position before signing of the protocol, I will push his resignation from the post immediately,” he said. He said that one million head of livestock have been exported during the last period, and that his ministry intends to return to all the conditions and agreements signed with Saudi Arabia regarding livestock confiscation.
Farah acknowledged that the exporters were exposed to millions of dollars in losses as a result of the export halt. In October 2019, Saudi Arabia stopped importing livestock from Sudan after the Sudanese Ministry of Health announced an outbreak of Rift Valley fever. In January this year, Sudan confirmed the resumption of livestock exports to Saudi Arabia, after the completion of the administrative arrangements between Khartoum and Riyadh, and the approval of the latter in principle.