It’s not just oil: thousands of cattle stranded in Suez

The closure of the Suez Canal due to a giant container ship stranded diagonally from Tuesday 23 March could result in losses of between US $ 6 billion and US $ 10 billion per week for international trade.

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This was revealed by a study carried out by the German Allianz, Europe’s largest insurer. In addition, each lockdown week implies a reduction of between 0.2 and 0.4 percentage point in annual trade growth..

But, ms all the economic impact that every day the closure of the canal has in the price of oil and other raw materials, as well as in the stock of household appliances, furniture and even clothing, there is something that so far few talk about.

Of the millions of tonnes of cargo that accumulates in the Suez Canal, animals are the most delicate … and the most critical. Despite the silence of authorities and shipping companies, data compiled by Bloomberg reveals that between 10 and 20 Boats anchored in and around the Suez Canal will have thousands of head of cattle on board.

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In fact, about 7 of them, bound for Jordan, have 92,000 sheep on board. The situation is critical because, over the hours, the food and water reserves are depleted..

“Ships usually have at least two or three days of extra food on board.”said Bob Bishop, president of the Cattle Exporters Association of the United States. Of course, refueling is always provided, not only in ports on the route but even from another ship, as part of what is known as halfway refueling.

Categrico, aggregate: “If you were the owner of these sheep, you would try to find a country near the Suez Canal that needs sheep.“.

In the midst of official secrecy, it is presumed that at least 10 standing animal transport boats they travel between Romania and Saudi Arabia. This Middle Eastern nation is the world’s largest importer of sheep, according to the UN, where they are used for religious purposes.

Logically, longer trips than expected increase the risk of disease and stress in animals. In addition, due to international health regulations, it is not possible to return the cattle to their place of origin.