The Ministry of Commerce has issued a total ban on the import of chilled, frozen and canned meat, as well as all other products of cattle, sheep and goats from all African and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, in addition to Syria, Jordan, Yemen, Pakistan and China. The Ministry has issued its instructions to the Chambers of Commerce and Industry to inform the concerned companies and merchants to adhere to this ban, and to provide the local market with meat products from those countries not affected by either mad cow disease or foot-and-mouth.

This decision comes in line with information issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, the royal decree banning the import of meat from countries facing BSE or mad-cow disease, and the cabinet decision prohibiting import of meat from countries afflicted with animal disease. The Ministry earlier banned similar imports from the European Union and a number of Arab, Asian and Latin American countries.

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