Reuters: The government allied with Haftar failed to alleviate the burden on citizens of the high prices of sacrifices

Reuters confirmed that Hurricane Daniel, which struck the city of Derna, caused the loss of a large portion of livestock in the eastern Libyan region, causing the prices of sacrificial animals to rise sharply.

The agency explained that the prices of sacrifices were generally affected by the death of a large number of sheep and cows, which were a major source of livelihood for Libyans.

What exacerbated the crisis, according to Reuters, is that the prices of sacrificial animals imported from Spain and Ukraine, which in the past were popular with people with limited incomes, have almost doubled. Previously, their price was about 500 Libyan dinars, reaching 950 Libyan dinars this year.

The agency highlighted the failure of the government of eastern Libya, allied with the American Khalifa Haftar, to ease the burden on citizens. Despite its attempt to import sacrifices from abroad, in addition to its effort to control prices through the Municipal Guard.

The agency quoted a Libyan employee as saying: “Life has become difficult. We Libyans are lost, yes, we are lost.”

A number of sheep traders in Libya attribute the current crisis to the high price of fodder and the failure to preserve local livestock. One of them said: “The state does not support us and the price of fodder is high, and this year’s prices are very high.”

He continued by saying, “Livestock in Libya has been smuggled to neighboring countries. We do not have a country that cares about this wealth, and they do not talk about sheep except when the Eid comes.”

The agency also quoted the head of the butchers’ union in Benghazi, Fawzi Al-Aqouri, as saying, “Among the reasons for the high prices is the sale of sacrificial animals outside the country and their smuggling.”

He concluded by saying, “Libya used to come in third place in Africa in terms of the size of livestock, but now it has fallen to eighth place.”