Finance Minister Pledges to Establish Sudanese Livestock and Meat Council

Finance Minister Dr. Jibril Ibrahim pledged to push forward the proposal to establish the Sudanese Livestock and Meat Council, similar to global councils, a proposal presented by the head of the North and East Africa Livestock and Meat Council and the head of the Meat Exporters Division, Dr. Khalid Al-Maqbool.

During his meeting with Al-Maqbool in his office, the minister promised to expedite efforts to address the near absence of export slaughterhouses after the closure of facilities in Khartoum and Al-Jazirah due to the war. He committed to supporting integrated slaughterhouses, such as the one in Gedaref, and facilitating the opening of more slaughterhouses to boost value-added exports.

The minister welcomed investments, especially domestic ones, that benefit the nation and its people, and supported requests from national companies to localize vaccine production in Sudan. He promised to ease all obstacles and advance the issue through technical and legal channels to achieve the desired economic goals.

Al-Maqbool told Al-Ahdath that the proposed council aims to regulate the sector, similar to the Australian and British Meat Councils, to maximize benefits, eliminate chaos in trading, remove middlemen, increase external promotion, and attract investments to ensure profitable returns. He emphasized that many producers and investors have exited the sector, leaving behind intermediaries known as “brokers.”

He affirmed that the council would address many of the sector’s flaws and protect rights, noting that it would be backed by law and enforce mandatory membership subscriptions.

Al-Maqbool highlighted one of the sector’s major threats: the health of the national livestock herd, which requires substantial work, including the provision of vaccines. He noted that Sudan has experience in veterinary research, particularly at the Soba Veterinary Research Institute, but the war caused significant damage, underscoring the need for investment in this field to support Sudan’s local market of 120 million livestock heads and the 600 million in the region surrounding Sudan.

He also mentioned that some companies have submitted requests to invest in vaccine production and expressed their readiness to begin work, given the large gap left by the war. The request was submitted to the minister.

Al-Maqbool further pointed out that five main export slaughterhouses in Khartoum have stopped operating, leaving only the Port Sudan slaughterhouse, which is small and currently non-functional. He mentioned a large, well-equipped slaughterhouse in Gedaref, which is also currently inactive due to bureaucratic issues. He emphasized the need to reactivate this slaughterhouse, as it is the only one equipped to handle cattle, camels, sheep, and goats, and the only one with freezing rooms and partial waste treatment systems.

He said that discussions with the minister focused on reactivating the slaughterhouse to help generate foreign currency revenue from exports.

Al-Maqbool also noted that the minister welcomed the idea of localizing vaccine production and promised to expedite the legal processes after confirming the financial and technical capacities of the companies involved. He also pledged to support the establishment of the Livestock Export Council.