DOHA: The Qatar Meat and Livestock Company (Mawashi) is looking for alternative sources to address any possible shortage in supply of meat in the local market following the massive flooding in Australia, a senior official of the company has said.
Prices of Australian livestock are expected to go up by 20 to 25 per cent this year. However, consumers in Qatar would not be affected, a local Arabic daily quoted Ahmed Nasser Sraiya Al Kaabi, managing director of Mawashi as saying.
He attributed the hike to a combination of factors, besides the floods, such as strengthening of the Australian currency, rise in shipping costs and a hike in the prices of fodder. "Consumers in Qatar will not be affected by the expected price hike since the government subsidies can cover the additional cost of imports," said Al Kaabi.
Prices of Australian meat is fixed by Mawashi, Only in 2007 and 2008, the government provided subsidies worth QR88m to cover a hike in import costs of Australian sheep.
Mawashi is also planning to import livestock and frozen meat from other countries. "We are planning to expand imports from abroad, particularly Georgia and Uruguay to face any future crisis," said Al Kaabi.
The company has also plans to re-export Georgian sheep to neighbouring countries and has already received orders from Saudia Arabia. Faced with frequent shortages in supply of Syrian sheep, Mawashi is now planning to breed Syrian sheep locally, subject to approval from the Syrian government.
© The Peninsula 2011
