Dr Mohamed Althaf, LuLu Group director of Global Operations, stated that Qatar’s government is working to maintain healthy stock levels of essential products. Dr Althaf emphasised that in recent years, Qatar has significantly increased its food production capacity, thus, becoming more self-reliant and better prepared to handle potential supply challenges.
Similarly, Dr Althaf said that while political tensions exist, LuLu Group is also ensuring that geopolitics elsewhere will not affect food supply in countries where the retail giant is operating.
“Even if there are any unfortunate geopolitical tensions or even extreme weather conditions, LuLu Group makes sure that we have a very robust supply chain. We are very confident about this after developing a time-tested system to ensure product availability; have survived the pandemic and other challenges without experiencing shortages,” Dr Althaf told Gulf Times on the sidelines of a recent event of the Spanish embassy and LuLu Hypermarket.
According to Dr Althaf, LuLu has been expanding its consolidation efforts in Spain, citing two sourcing facilities there. Additionally, Dr Althaf pointed out that LuLu is increasing the group’s presence in Spain and sourcing products directly from Spanish fruit and vegetable suppliers.
He explained that LuLu Hypermarkets in Qatar are offering high-quality products from Spain, including organic items, at competitive prices, a strategy that helped LuLu to keep inflation under control regardless of external factors. He also emphasised that Spanish products, particularly bulk items like olive oil, meat, and vegetables, are well-received in Qatar, adding that Spain is a well-known exporter of premium food products.
“The popularity of Spanish products in LuLu stores across Qatar, coupled with the company’s commitment to maintaining food supply despite regional conflicts complements Qatar’s increasing self-reliance in food production, thus contributing to supply stability in the country,” Dr Althaf added.
Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Spanish ambassador Javier Carbajosa Sanchez highlighted the growing economic relationship between Spain and Qatar, citing food security and agriculture.
He noted that Qatar-Spain trade volume currently stands at $1.6bn, “with room for improvement.” According to the ambassador, Spain and Qatar have ongoing efforts to increase investments and improve trade relations through meetings and dialogues between the business sectors of both countries.
“I think that we have a lot of room for improving bilateral trade volume. In terms of investment, we are working to make things even easier for both sides. There is an ongoing conversation between the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and our sovereign fund in Madrid, called Compañía Española de Financiación del Desarrollo (COFIDES). We are working to accelerate, expedite, and improve the level and the quality of investments of Qatar in Spain,” Sanchez pointed out.
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