Malaysians will soon be able to buy Sudanese meat and meat products upon the approval of local authorities, Sudan's ambassador to Kuala Lumpur said on Monday. The move comes as Australia's live export and frozen meat export industry comes under threat from local activists and after an expose last year showed massive abuses within the meat industry. Although Canberra has said it would not end the export of cattle and frozen beef to Southeast Asia, worries are growing that it could be curtailed as popular outrage increases. Thus, Malaysia is looking elsewhere to meet their meat demands locally. Sudanese Ambassador to Malaysia Nadir Yousif Eltayeb Babiker said Sudan is set to become one of the major meat exporters to Malaysia once the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and Veterinary Services Department give the green light. He said the imports were to begin last year, but delayed due to technical and logistic difficulties. “We had planned to export livestock to Malaysia but it is difficult because of the long travelling hours so we decided on frozen meat instead,” he said after attending the country's 56th independence day celebration at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) on Monday. The ambassador said Sudan reared more than 110 million cattle and sheep. At present, most of Sudan's meat was exported to Saudi Arabia and Egypt. “We believe our frozen meat can give the Australians a run for their money and create more competition in the local market,” he said. Yousif praised UTM for taking the initiative to celebrate Sudan's independence day with the local community. “This reflects the multi-cultural and tolerant spirit of Malaysians,” he said. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/VL1te Tags: Live Export, Malaysia, Meat Section: East Asia, Food, Sudan
