Qatar seeks alternatives for dairy needs in Germany

CAIRO – 28 July 2017: Qatar is expecting a new batch of German cows, out of the 4,000 contracted to be purchased by Doha’s government, to expand its dairy production in response to the Gulf boycott of the nation.

According to cattle merchant Joseph Farahat, in a statement to German news agency DPA, the cows are collected from barns all over Germany, collected in Frankfurt and then later shipped to Qatar.

“Four weeks ago I got an order to deliver amount of cows to Qatar; the first batch was delivered during the middle of this month, as we are getting ready now to deliver the second one,” Farahat said.

Qatar used to depend on Saudi Arabia for importing about 80 percent of its dairy needs, but after June 5, when Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain decided to cut all diplomatic ties with Qatar, cutting off Ports and airspace to Qatari vessels, Doha’s government had to find alternatives.

Despite the Kuwaiti mediation to solve the Gulf crises known as the ‘most complicated diplomatic crises in the middle east region in a long time’ no positive improvements have been noticed lately.

A list of 13-demands was given to Doha’s government by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain for reconciliation which includes the closing of Al-Jazeera broadcasting; however, Qatar’s response was described as “negative” by the four countries’ foreign ministers in a joint statement released after holding a summit in Cairo on July 5.

Friday July 7, the Arab quartet said, in another joint statement, that the ultimatum given to Qatar is now void, leading to further legal, political and economic measures against the government of Qatar.

“The Qatari government has purposely thwarted all diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis and has rejected any settlements, reflecting its intention to continue with its destabilizing policies against the interests of the Qatari people,” the Arab quartet said in the statement.

They also condemned Qatar’s “lack of tact and respect” towards the Kuwaiti mediation, as it leaked the list of demands in an attempt to condemn the initiative to failure.