The milestones that Qatar has achieved in its food security initiatives could be viewed as a global benchmark by its international partners, according to an official of hypermarket giant LuLu.
“In a broader sense, food security also refers to self-sufficiency, self-reliance, and accessibility to supply chains, which includes international sources, as well,” explained Dr Mohamed Althaf, director of LuLu Group International.
“The country has succeeded in several areas in terms of food security. Today, Qatar has reached 70% to 100% self-sufficiency in some critical items, which is a global benchmark,” Althaf told Gulf Times on the sidelines of a recent launch event held in Doha.
Althaf also lauded the “successful collaboration” between government ministries and major players and stakeholders in the private sector to meet the objectives of the state’s food security and self-sufficiency measures.
Citing an initiative with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), Althaf said LuLu is sharing information with the ministry, allowing MoCI access to the company’s system and measure its stock levels in real-time. He said LuLu has expanded its storage facilities, citing two projects under construction in Manateq and Qatar Free Zone.
Althaf noted that this year LuLu also collaborated with key entities like the US-Qatar Business Council (USQBC) and Oxford Business Group (OBG) in creating separate food security reports on Qatar.
LuLu Hypermarket and Y International USA Inc sponsored the USQBC report titled ‘Business Opportunity Report: Qatar’s Food Security’. Similarly, OBG produced its new ‘Covid-19 Response Report’ in partnership with LuLu Hypermarket.
“This is also one of the most strategic things to do, and we were looking at overall gap analysis of our food chain management for two reasons: One was Covid-19, so we wanted to determine what measures to undertake in a situation such as this, especially for countries that are heavily dependent on their imports or any other process.
“We also wanted to audit our supply chain; but because we are from the industry, we were fairly confident about maintaining the food security in Qatar. We believe there is no reason for alarm,” Althaf stressed.
He added: “Qatar went through the worst crisis a few years ago and survived very well. And it has a very wise leadership when it comes to deciding on food security and all its strategies.
“An important objective that we also wanted to meet is to communicate to people, and provide them with access to empirical data, so that anybody could understand the stock levels that we're maintaining here today.”
“The country has succeeded in several areas in terms of food security. Today, Qatar has reached 70% to 100% self-sufficiency in some critical items, which is a global benchmark,” Althaf told Gulf Times on the sidelines of a recent launch event held in Doha.
Althaf also lauded the “successful collaboration” between government ministries and major players and stakeholders in the private sector to meet the objectives of the state’s food security and self-sufficiency measures.
Citing an initiative with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), Althaf said LuLu is sharing information with the ministry, allowing MoCI access to the company’s system and measure its stock levels in real-time. He said LuLu has expanded its storage facilities, citing two projects under construction in Manateq and Qatar Free Zone.
Althaf noted that this year LuLu also collaborated with key entities like the US-Qatar Business Council (USQBC) and Oxford Business Group (OBG) in creating separate food security reports on Qatar.
LuLu Hypermarket and Y International USA Inc sponsored the USQBC report titled ‘Business Opportunity Report: Qatar’s Food Security’. Similarly, OBG produced its new ‘Covid-19 Response Report’ in partnership with LuLu Hypermarket.
“This is also one of the most strategic things to do, and we were looking at overall gap analysis of our food chain management for two reasons: One was Covid-19, so we wanted to determine what measures to undertake in a situation such as this, especially for countries that are heavily dependent on their imports or any other process.
“We also wanted to audit our supply chain; but because we are from the industry, we were fairly confident about maintaining the food security in Qatar. We believe there is no reason for alarm,” Althaf stressed.
He added: “Qatar went through the worst crisis a few years ago and survived very well. And it has a very wise leadership when it comes to deciding on food security and all its strategies.
“An important objective that we also wanted to meet is to communicate to people, and provide them with access to empirical data, so that anybody could understand the stock levels that we're maintaining here today.”