Kenya to export meat products to Qatar

Kenyan goat, sheep meat and beef will be on sale in Qatar supermarkets within the next two weeks following an agreement signed by both countries, according to a local media report.

Speaking to the Qatar Tribune this week, Kenyan Ambassador Galma Mukhe Boru said that fruit, vegetables and other products will also soon be shipped from Kenya to Qatar.

He added that the meat products will be frozen and flown into the country by Qatar Airways, and that live animals will be imported later on.

Currently, Australian and New Zealand livestock dominate the market in terms of meat offerings.

Food security

But Qatar, which imports 90 percent of its food, has been attempting diversify where its meat and poultry products come from in recent years.

And according to a recent government report, Qatar has also improved its food security by growing more produce and raising more livestock at home.

Qatar grew nearly 24 percent of the fruits and vegetables consumed in Qatar in 2013, up from 15 percent in 2009, states the latest agricultural report from the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS), which was released last year.

Similarly, the country was 8.5 percent “self-sufficient” in meats in 2013, up from 6 percent in 2009.