15,500 Aussie sheep for Eid arrive today
MARKET BOOSTER: Livestock consignment to bolster availability of fresh meat ahead of festival
Yangtze Harmony made its maiden voyage the following month with a shipment of Australian livestock to the Sultanate. The vessel, owned by Chinese consortium Sino Marine, is expected to be a key transporter of Australian live animals to the Omani market going forward.
Unloading operations will commence as soon as the vessel docks at Mina Sultan Qaboos, a process likely to take between 15–20 hours, according to the company official. After veterinary checks, the animals will be loaded into special livestock transporters to holding pens located on the outskirts of the capital region.
Thereafter, the animals will be supplied to approved abattoirs and dealers that are certified to operate under guidelines set by the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS) introduced by Australian exporters to help entrench international animal welfare standards in distribution networks.
Under Australian livestock export regulations, animal handling and slaughter in the recipient country must necessarily conform to World Organisation for Animal Health standards.
While the demand for Australian sheep is still strong in Oman, the uptake of Somali goats continues to grow, according to the representative. “It’s simply a matter of customer choice: Somali goats are not only cheaper by half, but they also weigh proportionately less. So, depending upon the size of the household and their specific requirements, customers choose between Australian live animals and Somali goats,” he said.