Livestock supply sufficient for eid —  Agriculture minister

AMMAN — As Eid Al Adha draws near, the Kingdom’s livestock merchants say that the amount of live sheep and cattle in the local market is sufficient.

Minister of Agriculture Khaled Hneifat on Sunday assured the public of the sufficient amounts of livestock for sacrifice and denied any increase in prices.

“There are 460,000 head of cattle this year compared with 410,000 last year,” said Hneifat. He noted that the Kingdom imported 629,600 head of sheep this year and only 575,374 sheep last year.

 On Tuesday, Yahya Ali, a butchery owner in Sweifieh, told The Jordan Times over the phone that the prices of local sheep at his shop range from JD230 to JD245. Ali noted that he only sells local sheep because he believes “they have the best taste”. 

 Livestock merchants The Jordan Times contacted on Tuesday expected that prices would go up during Eid Al Adha due to the increase in demand. The merchants added that “the prices range from JD200 to JD250 for local sheep” and “the prices of imported sheep vary between JD120 and JD180”. 

Theeb Odeh, a livestock merchant, said over the phone that “lots of people started calling me asking about the prices of the sacrificial, many of whom reserved sacrificial sheep for Eid Al Adha.”

 The celebration of Eid Al Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice, marks the end of the Hajj or the greater pilgrimage to Mecca, a major ritual in Islam. During Eid Al Adha, Muslims of sufficient means are required to sacrifice livestock in remembrance of Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail to God, according to Muslim belief. 

The Kingdom imports cattle and sheep predominately from Australia, France, Romania and Spain, according to a ministry statement made available to The Jordan Times.

 The Jordan Times contacted the ministry’s spokesperson several times for comment, but he was not available.