Qatari businesses find new suppliers to ensure steady supply of materials

The ongoing GCC blockade of Qatar has brought the nation together in a way it has never done before.

One of the aims of Qatar’s neighbouring countries, when they initiaited the blockade, was to financially hit Qatar into submission. But that plan seems to have misfired spectacularly.

Recently, Qatari Finance Minister Ali Shareef Al Emadi minced no words while talking to CNBC about the blockade, saying “A lot of people think we're the only ones to lose in this... if we're going to lose a dollar, they will lose a dollar also.”

And now, the country’s businesses seem to have taken his words to heart and they are determined to take their businesses elsewhere.

Qatar’s small consumer businesses say they are finding new suppliers, which could alter established trading patterns in the Gulf, reported Gulf Times.

“Plastic and cardboard we use to make packaging are stuck in containers in Dubai. We were stunned at first as our supply of raw materials was completely cut off. But we took action,” he said.

“We’ll terminate contracts for raw materials, worth QR30m a year, from Dubai-based conglomerate JRD International. Instead, we’ll forge deals with Turkish, Indian and Chinese companies to secure future supplies that’ll be shipped to Qatar via ports in Oman and Kuwait,” he added.

Other businesses in Qatar also said they are pulling the plug on UAE and Saudi contracts, and don't expect to resume them even if the diplomatic storm blows over.

“We aren’t working with them again. They didn’t honor their agreements. Our products are being held up there,” said Ahmed Al Khalaf, chairman of International Projects Development Co. and owner of a Qatari meat processing plant that imports materials from the UAE.

“We may not have many factories in Qatar but we’ve the money to buy from other sources,” he told VOA News.

There is also a movement gathering steam in Qatar that is pushing people to shop for local produce. Have you bought something Qatar today?