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Sheep might yet land in Eritrea
24 Oct 2003
The Federal Government is believed to be close to a deal with Eritrea to take the 50,000-plus sheep on board the MV Cormo Express. A spokesman for the Agriculture Minister, Warren Truss, said on October 23 that negotiations are "pretty well progressed". An import permit has not yet been finalised but the spokesman said a resolution could be reached by the morning of October 24.
Eritrea has a population of 4.3 million and an economy largely based on subsistence agriculture. It has the advantage of two Red Sea ports; an earlier mooted deal with Iraq fell through due to problems with unloading the animals. If Eritrea accepts the sheep they will probably be a gift.
The Government is keen to avoid bringing the sheep back home, due to concerns about quarantine issues. Mr Truss has announced a review of the live export industry's operations, while a suspension of all live trade with Saudi Arabia, which initially rejected the sheep, is still in place.
The Age, 24/10/03.
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