Can't get enough of your Haas avocados, Australian beef, and crumbly Walkers shortbread? You've got your local food importer to thank for bringing your favourites to the grocery shelf.
As an arid peninsula with an ever-increasing population, Qatar has been hard-pressed to meet local demands for food, resulting in it importing over 90% of its food. Its limited access to fertile land, water, and inhospitable have led to growing concerns about food security, which the government has tried to remedy over the past decade.
One of the fastest growing economies in the world, Qatar aims to rectify the situation by utilising ‘cutting edge technology’ to establish a sustainable approach to food security for dry land countries. Its flagship program is the Qatar National Food Security Program (QNFSP) whose goal is to team up with international organizations and other NGOs to develop practices to utilize resources efficiently within the agricultural sector. Established in 2008, it aims to reduce Qatar’s reliance on food imports through self sufficiency. The QNFSP also hopes to shore up domestic agricultural production and food processing. Focusing on the later helps to increase the shelf-life of food, reduce raw food losses and enable the continuity of product availability, to better the nation's food security.
The recent embargo on Qatar has also seen it ramp up its investment in local production. Decades-old food importer
Agrico opened a farming arm in 2012, which has grown into one of the largest sustainable long-term agricultural businesses in Qatar, producing an average of five tonnes of pesticide-free organic fruits and vegetables every day. It employs hydroponic farming to combat the country's dry soil, and an advanced humidity, temperature and sunlight sensor system that maximises yields by ensuring that plants grow in optimal conditions that are immune to the high temperatures outside of the glass structures. Other farms followed suit, with the Qatar Chamber of Commerce reporting an increase of 300 percent in the production of Qatari farms between 2017 and 2018.
To boost its local dairy industry,
some 4500 cows were flown in from Germany to serve to the country's needs. Elsewhere, local businesses like Bo Saif apiaries have seen an uptick in local sales as a result of the blockade's embargo on food imports.
Still, the steady influx of expatriates means that the country has to cater to a wide palette, keep local food importers in fast business. If you're looking to source your favourite foods or brands from your country of origin, give one of our registered food importing services (listed below) a call today!