Economics of Red Meat in Arab Countries During the Period (1990 - 2012)
ABSTRACT
The research aimed to identifying the main features of the inter-Arab trade of red meat in the Arab Countries, the expansion possibility of its production in the framework of achieving Arab economic integration, and to identify determinants, and all possible means of expansion, development of red meat sector in the Arab Countries.
To achieve the objectives, research have been analyzed various economic aspects, related to production, consumption, size of food gap of red meat, as well as foreign trade indicators of red meat in the Arab Countries, the impact of the international trade variables, as well as comparing prices, of exports and impacts of red meat in the Arab Countries that produce them, in order to take advantages from it in inter-Arab trade. After analyzing the economic variables associated with the subject matter, it became clear that there is an increase in the production of red meat in the Arab Countries during the period (1990-2012), with an annual growth rate of about 3.5, and Sudan came first in terms of quantity production of red meat compared to the rest of the other Arab Countries where production represents approximately 40.04% of the total red meat production in the Arab Countries in year 2012.
The results showed that the average per capita consumption of red meat in both Mauritania and Sudan in the same year is higher than average of other ArabCountries to reach about 67.43, 55.97 kg/year for each of them respectively, about it falls below average in some other countries such as Iraq and Palestine to reach about 1.99, 1.84 kg/year for each of them respectively. Research has shown that the size of the food gap of red meat in the Arab Countries during the period (1990-2012) amounted to 595.81 thousand tons which have been covered through the importation of about 653.894 thousand tons worth of cash amounted to about 1.49 billion dollars during the same period.
Results show that most Arab Countries imports red meat with the exception of Sudan, where showing an increasing in the quantity of imports of red meat in the Arab Countries in general, during the period (1990-2012), with an average increase approximately 4.8% and in comparison between the two periods (2001-2004), (2009 2012) it shows a decreasing in both the quantity and value of exports of red meat in four Arab Countries, Oman came first by 61.27% of the quantity of exports, and about 45.03% of the value on exports, in the meanwhile, a decreasing in the quantity of imports of red meat was in Libya, and Mauretania amounted no change in terms of quality and value on export in the same period.
Research show the need for a common Arab market rally within the continents, which facilitates the movement of trade between Arab Countries in two continents together and enable them to reach self-sufficiency of red meat and reduce the reliance on meat imports from countries in the world. Also research pointed out the it can take advantage of Arab Countries which imported about 178.194 million dollars, to benefit the Arab Countries in general by roughly 166.801million dollars, by relying on an assumption price, which mediates actual export prices and imports, this price compete the world price of red meat which is considered a prelude to the Arab Countries to revive the Arab common market and enable them to confront the giant economic blocs of the developed countries.
