Fed: Aust vets/trade officials to Saudi to kickstart live trade

AAP General News (Australia)
12-11-2003
Fed: Aust vets/trade officials to Saudi to kickstart live trade

Australian trade and veterinary officials will head to Saudi Arabia next month for
talks on resuming the live animal trade.

Trade Minister MARK VAILE says getting an agreement in place which ensures transparency
in the animal trade, is vital before it starts again.

The trade with Saudi Arabia was stopped in August after a load of 57,000 sheep were
rejected by a Saudi vet on health grounds.

Saudi Arabia was, until that point, Australia's biggest market for live animals.

Since the ban, live animal exports have slipped dramatically.

Mr VAILE has spent the past week in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait, and says getting
the trade back is vital to Australian farmers.

He says a number of options are being looked at, including Saudi vets examining sheep
before they leave Australia and the establishment of a quarantine facility in Saudi Arabia.

AAP RTV sw/rcg/rp

KEYWORD: SHEEP (CANBERRA)

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