September 26, 2003

No Solution Yet For Australian Sheep 

No deal has yet been reached for a cargo of 57,000 Australian stranded sheep, as talks with potential buyers still ongoing a spokesman for Agriculture Minister Warren Truss said Friday. There has been talk that the cargo has been sold for A$10 million for unloading in Iraq.

The sheep aboard the Cormo Express Aug. 5 left Fremantle port on August 5, but was refused entry into Saudi Arabia, with authorities claiming more than 5% of the animals were infected with scabby mouth disease, a claim Australia rejects. The ship is currently in the Persian Gulf, awaiting a solution to the crisis.

Australia exported 5.8 million sheep valued at A$407 million last fiscal year ended June 30, 2003, mostly to Middle Eastern nations. Saudi Arabia was a major buyer.

Earlier this week, Truss said the situation is complex, with the sheep owned by a Saudi importing company on a Dutch vessel flying a Philippines flag and thousands of kilometers from Australian territorial waters.