# Gulf bans on Somali livestock, 1998 to 2020

> The history of Saudi and Gulf bans on Somali livestock: the 1998, 2000 and 2016 bans, why they were imposed, when they were lifted, the Hajj exceptions, and the estimated losses.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/economy/gulf-bans-on-somali-livestock/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Why bans happen

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a viral disease spread by mosquitoes. It mainly infects domestic animals such as sheep, goats, cattle and camels, and can pass to people through blood, raw milk or mosquito bites ([Wikipedia, Rift Valley fever](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rift_Valley_fever)). Outbreaks usually follow unusually heavy rain and flooding, which breed more mosquitoes (same source). Saudi Arabia has also banned animals from neighbours such as [Sudan](/en/diaspora/sudan/) and Djibouti over fears of RVF ([Arab News, 2019](https://www.arabnews.com/node/1570441/amp)).

Saudi Arabia matters most because it buys the largest share. At Berbera, 79 to 91 percent of sheep and goats shipped in 2013 to 2018 went to Saudi Arabia ([Mtimet and others, Global Food Security, 2021](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8417120/)).

## The 1998 ban

Saudi Arabia's agriculture ministry banned livestock from Somalia and several other countries after the World Health Organization reported RVF in the region. It ended a 16-month ban in **May 1999** ([USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Saudi Arabia Livestock Annual, 1 September 1999](https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/Report/DownloadReportByFileName?fileName=Livestock+Annual_Riyadh_Saudi+Arabia_09-01-1999.pdf)). One study dates the ban from February 1998 to May 1999 and estimates the loss at **$109 million** (Cagnolati and others, 2006, cited in [Mtimet and others, 2021](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8417120/)).

## The 2000 to 2009 ban

Saudi Arabia banned Somali livestock again from **September 2000**, the year RVF broke out in Saudi Arabia and Yemen ([Wikipedia, Rift Valley fever](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rift_Valley_fever)). Cagnolati and others estimate the loss from September 2000 to December 2002 alone at **$326 million** (cited in [Mtimet and others, 2021](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8417120/)). Mtimet and others call it the longest RVF-related ban in recent decades.

Saudi Arabia lifted the ban in **November 2009**. Saudi officials were to inspect animals before shipment ([VOA, 5 November 2009](https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2009-11-05-voa53/414105.html); [Hiiraan Online, November 2009](https://www.hiiraan.com/news2/2009/nov/saudi_arabia_resumes_livestock_trade_with_somalia.aspx)). Reports differ on the length: [Hiiraan](/en/regions/hiiraan/) calls it a nine-year ban and VOA an eleven-year one.

## The 2016 partial ban

In **November 2016** Saudi Arabia imposed a partial ban after RVF and foot-and-mouth disease were found in a few consignments. No RVF outbreak had been reported in [Somaliland](/en/states/somaliland-1991-to-2026/) at the time. The ban was lifted each year for the Hajj season ([Mtimet and others, 2021](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8417120/)).

The effect at Berbera:

- Sheep and goat exports fell about **57 percent**, from about 2.5 million a year in 2013 to 2016 to about 1 million in 2017 and 2018.
- Camel exports to Saudi Arabia fell to **zero** in 2017 and 2018.
- Estimated lost revenue: $42.3 million (2016), $178.2 million (2017), $207.6 million (2018), $134.8 million (2019) and $207.5 million (2020), about **$770 million** over five years including COVID-19 effects.

All three points come from [Mtimet and others, 2021](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8417120/).

In April 2020 Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) announced it was temporarily lifting the ban on livestock imports from Somalia ([MEWA, April 2020](https://www.mewa.gov.sa/en/MediaCenter/News/Pages/News1842020.aspx); [Hiiraan Online, April 2020](https://store.hiiraan.com/news4/2020/Apr/177825/saudi_arabia_lifts_ban_on_somali_livestock.aspx)).

## Quarantine as the answer

To meet Saudi rules, Saudi importers built quarantine stations at Berbera. Animals are inspected, sampled and tested in on-site laboratories, and vaccinated. Sick animals are rejected; healthy ones get a health certificate, and a port vet makes a last check ([Mtimet and others, 2021](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8417120/)). See [Berbera livestock quarantine companies](/en/businesses/berbera-livestock-quarantine-companies/) and [Livestock exports](/en/economy/livestock-exports/).

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