China is the largest importer by weight of illegal ivory in the world. In response the government of China took steps to reduce this illegal ivory trade in 2004 by introducing an official identification card for each ivory item sold in registered shops. China was then approved by CITES to buy tusks from the southern African ivory auctions in 2008; Chinese traders bought 62 tonnes.

In a survey of ivory items for retail sale conducted in June 1999 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, almost 10,000 ivory objects were found, the fourth largest in Africa after Abidjan, Harare and Cairo.

In 1990 the Marxist government of the south that had banned civilians from possessing weapons, including the jambiya dagger, was ousted. South Yemen united with North Yemen to form one country. Were more people in the south going to emulate the northerners and buy jambiyas once again? Having not been in the