Land, farming and livestock
Gulf bans on Somali livestock, 1998 to 2020
Saudi Arabia, the biggest buyer of Somali animals, has banned or limited imports from Somalia several times over animal disease, mainly Rift Valley fever. The first ban ran from February 1998 to May 1999. A second, from September 2000, lasted until November 2009. A partial ban from November 2016 cut Berbera's sheep and goat exports by more than half. Each ban cost herders and traders hundreds of millions of dollars, according to the studies cited here.
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). 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 and Djibouti over fears of RVF (Arab News, 2019).
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).
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). 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).
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). Cagnolati and others estimate the loss from September 2000 to December 2002 alone at $326 million (cited in Mtimet and others, 2021). 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; Hiiraan Online, November 2009). Reports differ on the length: 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 at the time. The ban was lifted each year for the Hajj season (Mtimet and others, 2021).
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.
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; Hiiraan Online, April 2020).
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). See Berbera livestock quarantine companies and Livestock exports.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Rift Valley fever · en.wikipedia.org
- Arab News, 2019 · arabnews.com
- Mtimet and others, Global Food Security, 2021 · pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Saudi Arabia Livestock Annual, 1 September 1999 · apps.fas.usda.gov
- VOA, 5 November 2009 · voanews.com
- Hiiraan Online, November 2009 · hiiraan.com
- MEWA, April 2020 · mewa.gov.sa
- Hiiraan Online, April 2020 · store.hiiraan.com
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Where this matters
- Hargeysa (Hargeisa) and Woqooyi GalbeedWoqooyi Galbeed is the north-western region that holds Hargeisa (Hargeysa) and the port of Berbera, with about 1 to 1.45 million people.
- Burco (Burao) and TogdheerTogdheer is the northern region around Burco (Burao), with about 894,874 people including Buuhoodle.
- Boosaaso (Bosaso) and BariBari is Puntland's north-east region, with the port city of Bosaso (Boosaaso) as its capital and about 1.28 million people.
Same era
- Australia18,401 people of Somali ancestry and 8,101 born in Somalia lived in Australia at the 2021 Census, more than half in Victoria. History, work, issues.
- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
Keep reading
- Pastoralism in Somalia: how herding worksSomali pastoralism in facts: how many people herd, what they earn, milk and meat, seasons and movement, herd splitting, risks from drought and disease, and the move to towns.
- How many livestock does Somalia have?Somalia's livestock in numbers: herd size by species, what the animals produce, how many die each year, exports, and why sources disagree.
- Camels in Somalia: the world's largest herdCamels in Somalia in facts: herd size, share of the world's camels, camel milk, exports to the Gulf, the 2016 to 2018 export fall at Berbera, and the first camel milk yoghurt factory.
- Blackheaded Somali sheep: the breed behind the livestock tradeThe Blackheaded Somali sheep: what it looks like, where it is kept, why it suits dry land, its role in exports through Berbera and Bosaso, and the breeds descended from it.
- Cattle in Somalia: Boran and the Somali breedsCattle in Somalia: numbers, where they are kept, the Boran breed and the Somali Boran, the large red cattle traded to Kenya, cattle exports and milk.
- The Somali goat: breed, milk and tradeThe Somali goat in facts: what it looks like, where it is kept, milk yield in drought, meat exports with sheep, and what DAD-IS records about the breed.