Qatari citizens are forced to buy unfamiliar food items

Qatar imports around 80 per cent of its food items from neighbouring GCC countries.

Qatari citizens all of a sudden are forced to buy foodstuff that they were not familiar with before. They are used to consuming food items supplied by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. However, after Doha was isolated by fellow Arab states, Qataris found themselves in a precarious situation and are forced to buy unfamiliar products supplied by countries such as Turkey
The import dependent Qatar witnessed an unprecedented chaos inside supermarkets and stores as a lot of Qatari nationals and expatriates rushed to stock up on food items over fears of shortage. Consumers were seen loading their shopping carts with bottles of waters, rice bags, eggs and other goods at many retail stores and even groceries.
Qatar imports around 80 per cent of its food items from neighbouring GCC countries.
A trade source said the food supply situation could worsen further in Qatar if the current crisis is not resolved soon.
Social media was abuzz with posts about food supplies in Qatar stores with photos of supermarkets where some of the shelves are filled with food products of Turkey.
Al Meera hypermarket posted on its Twitter account the pictures of shelves filled with Turkish products.
Photos uploaded on social media sites also showed stores with empty shelves indicating that Qatari residents are either hoarding foodstuff or supermarkets have run out of stock.
The Washington Post warned that the food crisis in Qatar may aggravate. According to an estimate, Qatar has food supplies that could last only for three days in case of an emergency.
Citing Qatari media, the Washington Post said that trucks loaded with foodstuff were stuck at the Saudi-Qatari borders. Yet, a statement made by the Qatari government brushed off the fears of shortage.
The oil rich Qatar, the paper said, is a small country with most of its land being a desert unsuitable for any type of plantation.
Meanwhile, Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris on his Twitter page called on Arab countries to deny access to Turkish products after Ankara openly sided with Doha.
Earlier, Sawiris called on Arab businessmen to disinvest in Qatar, reaffirming the necessity to stop supporting a country that funds terror groups to destabilise the region.
- reporters@khaleejtimes.com

• Qatar Crisis
• MENA