Somalia to start exporting livestock to Egypt

Somalia’s Federal government has reached an agreement with the Egyptian authorities to resume livestock exports to the middle-eastern country, a minister has said.
Minister of Livestock, Forestry and Range Mr Saeed Hussein Iid and Egypt’s minister of Agriculture Dr.Salah Hilal signed a bilateral agreement to bolster the two sides’ exchange of local industries products after holding talks in Cairo.
Mr Iid added that the Egyptian authorities accepted to help Somalia on rebuilding the Agriculture, livestock and fisheries industry.
Livestock is the mainstay of the Somali economy, contributing 40 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Every year, Millions of animals are exported through the ports of Berbera in Somaliland and Bossaso in Puntland.
Approximately $250 million is generated from the export of goats, sheep and camels to the Gulf countries annually. In a report released weeks ago by the Food and Agricultural organization (FAO), Somalia recorded one of its highest exports of livestock in a single year since the collapse of the central government in 1991 by transporting 5 million livestock to markets in the Gulf of Arabia.
But since the conflict erupted in Yemen this year March, the export of livestock from Somalia to the gulf countries has been halted due to security reasons.
Egypt and Somalia have had long historical bilateral relations.
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