Camel Currency Markets
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In years gone by,
camels would be traded in the desert as a form of currency. "I will reward
you with 1000 camels" or phrases of such nature. Whether at this point in
time, actual camels were used or the promise of camels is not known, but
either way, the camel has a sort of value of currency, bartering or
otherwise.
These days, camels are traded in the the camel markets, either as a sort of
livestock for their meat, their milk and increasingly, for their supposedly
health camel milk ice scream. (Go to Al Ain to see them traded) They are
also used in racing, not jockeyed by kids any more, but by the robojockeys.
With the increase in the price of oil, something else is happening:
As the cost of running gas-guzzling tractors soars, even-toed ungulates
are making a comeback, raising hopes that a fall in the population of the
desert state’s signature animal can be reversed.
“It’s excellent for the camel population if the price of oil continues to go
up because demand for camels will also go up,” says Ilse Köhler-Rollefson of
the League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development. “Two
years ago, a camel cost little more than a goat, which is nothing. The price
has since trebled.”
Interesting times for those with camels, who have endured years of camel
snorts.
Camel demand soars.
Wednesday, May
07, 2008
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Finance