Agriculture Livestock imports from Qatar and Egypt banned by China By Neil Halligan January 27, 2025, 5:15 PM Getty Images/Unsplash Alarm bell: peste des petits ruminants (PPR), a highly contagious viral disease that affects small animals such as goats and sheep, is occurring in Egypt Infectious disease outbreaks 11 other countries affected Sheep and goat pox China has banned imports of sheep and goats from Egypt and animals and meat products from Qatar and nine other countries after outbreaks of highly infectious disease in those countries. The ban, which includes processed and unprocessed products, comes after China’s General Administration of Customs issued a series of announcements outlining the outbreaks in several countries based on information from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). The Chinese customs agency said WOAH released information confirming that foot-and-mouth disease occurred in Qatar, Ghana, Somalia, Bangladesh, Congo (DRC), Nigeria and Tanzania. As a result sheep, goats and cattle, and their related products from those countries are banned. Egypt’s food exports grow by a third Middle East’s biggest ‘livestock city’ set for Saudi province Arab states must raise intra-trade to buffer against food shocks Trading Economics said Qatar’s exports of live animals to China reached $22,000 in 2023. China, the world’s largest meat importer, said reports from the WOAH of peste des petits ruminants (PPR), a highly contagious viral disease that affects small animals such as goats and sheep, occurring in Egypt, Palestine, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Ghana, Somalia, Bangladesh, Congo (DRC) and Nigeria meant that imports of those animals and their related products from those countries would be banned. Egypt’s exports of edible offal, bovine, swine, sheep, goat and horse meats to China reached $722,000 in 2023, data from Trading Economics shows. China has also stopped imports of sheep, goats and related products from Palestine, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh after outbreaks of sheep pox and goat pox.