Qatar expected to become self-sufficient in dairy products within 9 months

When the illegal blockade on Qatar started, one of the biggest fears had been about food security, since a majority of dairy and other foodstuff used to come from Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

However, that fear quickly dissipated, with local companies stepping in to shore up food production.

People in Qatar took to the ‘produce local’ initiative wholeheartedly. Now, experts say that the trend is here to stay, even after the end of blockade.

Sure enough, Saudi Arabian and UAE companies have been at the receiving end of these developments. While much of its products lie unwanted in Qatari shopping shelves, there have also been reports about losses mounting for companies from those countries.

Now, a Qatari businessman has predicted that Qatar will become self-reliant in dairy products within just nine months as a cattle facility is fast coming up in the desert north of Doha.

“We’re working seven days a week. The new dairy facility will be a solution to the problem facing the country in the wake of the Gulf blockade,” said Ramiz Al Khayat, who is the vice president of Baladna company.

The company, which already has more than 20,000 sheep and goats from which milk and dairy products are produced, is building stalls to shelter 4,000 cows.

While Turkish milk products have come to Qatar’s aid, Al Khayat sees it just as a temporary arrangement.

“In nine months, Qatar can be self-sufficient. What Saudi Arabia and the UAE lost in terms of business, they are not going to win back,” he said.