Zimbabwe, Sudan to co-operate on livestock

sheep, an official said on Sunday.
Sudanese ambassador to Zimbabwe Elsiddieg Abdala said that the two countries were in the process of drafting an agreement to formalise the co-operation.
“I have met Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made and we discussed areas of co-operation,” he said.

“Zimbabwe has the best type of cattle and Sudan has the best type of sheep in the world,” he added.
Ambassador Abdala said scientists from the two countries would soon be meeting to share expertise on the two types of animals.

He said Sudan also wanted to learn the processing of hides and skins from Zimbabwe, which used to have a vibrant tannery industry.
The leather sector in Zimbabwe has suffered great losses due to the hyperinflationary environment that the companies were operating under over the past decade.

This was after Western countries imposed an economic embargo on the country as retribution for embarking on agrarian reforms.
Employment figures in the sector have tumbled to about 3 000 from a peak of 12 000 before the economic meltdown took hold.

The farmers, suppliers of the cowhide and skin were failing to maintain their herd due to the low prices that the beasts were fetching on the market
This led to the shortage of the raw material as well as its low quality, with quantities of hides and skins produced monthly standing at 35 000, a figure that can be increased to 45 000 under full production.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Abdala said there was room for increasing economic co-operation between the two countries, both of which are under economic sanctions from Western countries.
He said the difficult economic situation that Zimbabwe experienced during the past decade had greatly affected relations with Sudan as it was difficult to conduct business transactions using the local currency.

“Now there is no reason for not encouraging business between the two countries,” he said.
He noted that Sudan used to import 5 percent of its construction steel and 100 percent of its tobacco from Zimbabwe, but this had since stopped due to the economic difficulties that the later experienced. – New Ziana.