Sheep exports increase by 15 per cent in first quarter

AMMAN — The volume of Jordan’s sheep exports increased by 15 per cent during the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period last year, an official said on Monday.

The increase in the country’s exports of sheep is attributed to a rising demand from the Gulf countries, Ministry of Agriculture Spokesperson Nimer Haddadin said.

“A total of 121,546 heads of sheep have been exported to the Gulf since the start of the year, which constitutes a 15 per cent increase compared to the same period last year,” Haddadin told The Jordan Times.

Indicating that exports to the Gulf countries are picking up after a lower demand in 2016, Haddadin said that the majority of sheep exports went to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait.

“A total of 5,100 heads of sheep have been exported today alone,” he highlighted.

The ministry announced last week that the Kingdom’s exports to the Arab Gulf market are increasing with the addition of Kuwait as a new destination for sheep exports. 

In 2016, the Kingdom exported some 450,000 heads of sheep,  over 70 per cent of which were destined for 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 countries in general, and Saudi Arabia in particular.

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 the DoS.