CAIRO, May 22 (Xinhua) — Egypt will import 170,000 cattle and sheep for the upcoming Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha, the Egyptian Agriculture Ministry announced on Monday. The imports include 150,000 calves and 20,000 sheep, the ministry said, adding that in which 45,000 will be slaughtered immediately, and the remaining 105,000 will be fattened. 

The measure aims to provide sufficient meat at reasonable prices for Eid al-Adha, one of the most important holidays for Muslims, Egypt’s Agriculture Minister Al-Said Al-Qusair said in the statement. Al-Qusair added that the Egyptian government is working to release fodder for cattle and poultry in ports to lower their prices in the market. 

As Eid al-Adha is six weeks away, Egypt is witnessing record-high meat prices, with the price for beef reaching 400 Egyptian pounds per kilogram (about 13 U.S. dollars) in some stores. This year’s Eid al-Adha is expected to be celebrated on June 28.