Despite its remarkably high price, Kuwaiti local sheep “Al-Nuaimi” is highly demanded by many people to offer as sacrifices on the occasion of the Muslim Eid Al-Adha, which falls on Wednesday (June 28th).

Kuwait’s local livestock market is now swarming with various types of animals, mainly including Al-Shafali, Jordanian Al-Nuaimi and hybrid sheep. Still, the local Al-Nuaimi is now deemed number one at the market.

Speaking to KUNA, Abdullah Al-Shemeri, a sheep merchant, said that there are different types of livestock in Kuwait, but there is currently high demand for Kuwaiti and Saudi sheep in spite of their high prices.

He estimated that local sheep prices range between KD 150 and KD 200, depending on size, age and weight, while Syrian and Jordanian livestock prices are worth KD 110-150 per sheep.

However, hybrid and Australian sheep is also available at the livestock market, with prices being estimated from KD 70 to KD 110, but Kuwaiti citizens do not like them since they are not familiar with their taste and they do not even know how they were raised.

Al-Shemeri added that local cattle cannot cover the needs of the market owing to high breeding costs, especially feed prices.

For his part, Ahmad Al-Rasheedi, also a livestock merchant, said people should have the ability to recognize local sheep just to avoid cheating since some traders tend to sell imported sheep as local ones.

He expounded that local sheep always have a big head and soft wool.

Saud Saad, a Kuwaiti citizen, said he prefers locally raised sheep regardless of the price, hailing their delicious taste, especially for sacrifices on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha.

Bader Al-Otaibi, also a Kuwaiti citizen, he and his family always buy Kuwaiti or Saudi sheep, rather than imported ones, thanks to their quality-quality meat.

Source: Kuwait News Agency