Qatar seeks alternative food sources as Gulf dispute continues
The dispute pits two of Opec’s largest oil producers—Saudi Arabia and the UAE—against the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas and further disrupts stability in the region, Bloomberg reported.
Already, thirty-three refrigerated trucks of fruits and vegetables destined for Qatar on Wednesday returned to Jordan, as Saudi Arabia closed its land borders with the Gulf state, according to officials.
The trucks were carrying over 600 tonnes of fruits and vegetables worth hundreds of thousands of dinars, agriculture sector representatives said.
“The trucks were not allowed to proceed to Qatar and have returned home,” Ministry of Agriculture Spokesperson Nimer Haddadin told The Jordan Times.
Worryingly, food imports are being affected during Ramadan, as Saudi Arabia closed its land border with Qatar, stranding thousands of trucks carrying supplies. Qatar, which largely depends on food imports for its population of 2.5 million, has assured residents it has taken measures to assure that normal life continues, said the report.
One of their options is Iran. The government of Iran has announced that it is prepared to provide Qatar with whatever food products the Arab country needs, an Iranian official announced, after Saudi Arabia and a number of others broke off relations with Qatar, which relies heavily on imported food.
“Considering the outbreak of tension in Qatar’s relations with (other) Arab states, it is possible (for Iran) to satisfy all demands of Qatar for agricultural products,” Reza Nourani, head of the National Union of Iran’s Agricultural Products, said on Tuesday.
He said arrangements have been made with local freight companies for exporting food shipments to Qatar, adding that three southern ports of Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, and Bandar Lengeh are geared up to ship out food.
While the dispute is causing strife for many exporters in the region, Cambodia’s leading mango exporter to Europe, who uses Qatar Airways to transport his fruit to the continent via Dubai, said yesterday that he was not worried about the decision of several Middle Eastern countries to prevent the airlines from flying over their airspace.
“I’m not worried about the fallout from the crisis in Qatar. If it affects cargo exports to Europe from Cambodia, I will choose another airline to transport my mango freight,” Mong Reththy, owner and founder of the Mong Reththy Group Co. Ltd, told Khmer Times.
“If there are problems with Qatar Airways, I will try to find alternative routes via Hong Kong or Singapore,” Mr Reththy said.
source: khmertimeskh.com, jordantimes.com, tasnimnews.com, financialtrinbune.com
