Saudi Arabia starts to import South African meat

Saudi Arabia will start importing South African beef and lamb products as part of an investment push into the continent’s most developed economy. The kingdom’s Food and Drug Administration lifted a 20-year prohibition on South African meat imports in August, and final approvals to start shipments of halaal cuts to the Middle Eastern nation are now in place, said Matthew Karan, part-owner of Karan Beef, one of South Africa’s biggest meat producers. "The plan is to start exports in coming weeks," he told reporters in Johannesburg on Wednesday at a South Africa–Saudi Arabia Business Council briefing. Saudi Arabia has a $2 billion meat market, and lifting the ban — which Riyadh imposed after an outbreak of foot and mouth disease two decades ago — is part of its efforts to forge stronger trade and investment ties as it seeks to diversify its $1.1 trillion economy away from oil. Saudi Arabia is among five countries that joined China, Russia, India, Brazil and South Africa in the BRICS ...