We have answered all the above topics within this paper. We analyze the effect of the embargo on Qatar import in the following section.
3.1. Embargo Effect on Qatar Import Structure
The impact of the trade embargo on Qatar’s food supply is depicted in
Figure 3. In 2013, as presented in
Figure 3a, Qatar’s food imports were dominated by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), accounting for 24% and 17%, respectively. In 2014, Saudi Arabia remained at the top position (
Figure 3b), while India and the UAE followed with 17% and 16%, respectively. Other countries, such as Germany, France, Jordan, Egypt, and Belgium, made smaller contributions to Qatar’s total food imports in 2014. Furthermore, the data indicate that in 2014, Saudi Arabia exported food to Qatar worth 2.02 billion Qatari Riyals (QR), and with India and the UAE ranking second and third, respectively, with 1.32 and 1.26 billion QR. The distribution of food imports in 2015 is shown in
Figure 3c, with no significant changes from previous years. Qatar spent the largest amounts on Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and India, accounting for 1.9, 1.37, and 1.1 billion QR, respectively. The overall amount of food imported by Qatar from other countries, including Germany, France, Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey, was lower in 2015 than in 2014.
In 2016, the largest imports came from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which were 1.64 and 1.50 billion QR, respectively. Compared to the previous year, Saudi Arabia experienced a minor decline of about 0.26 billion QR, the UAE slightly increased by approximately 0.13 billion QR, and India remained constant. Other countries such as Germany, France, Jordan, the United Kingdom, and Belgium contributed less to Qatar’s net food imports in 2016. The data also revealed that in the same year, Saudi Arabia’s food export accounted for 21% of Qatar’s food imports. In 2017, due to the embargo, UAE’s and Saudi Arabia’s food export to Qatar dropped to 11% and 10%, respectively (
Figure 3e). India and Australia became the largest contributors with 18% and 13%, respectively. Turkey and United States of America followed with 9% and 8%, respectively. In 2017, Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Brazil had the lowest contributions to Qatar’s total food imports. India exported food products worth 1.42 billion QR, while UAE and Australia ranked second and third with 0.98 billion QR and 0.83 billion QR, respectively.
In 2018, the highest percentages were recorded in India and Australia of the overall value of imported food, accounting for 20% and 15%, respectively (see
Figure 3f). Furthermore, Turkey shows substantial growth with a share of 9% when compared to the previous years, whilst the food import share of the countries who have imposed an embargo on Qatar falls significantly from the previous year by a very modest proportion. However, it was discovered that other nations with lower contributions to Qatar’s overall food imports in 2018 are the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Sudan, and Oman. According to the findings, India’s food exports to Qatar were 1.53 billion QR in 2018. Turkey and Australia are on second and third rank, with 1.17 billion and 0.69 billion QR, respectively.
Figure 4 displays the top five food import categories from 2013 to 2018, as determined by the amount of money Qatar spent on imports from the top five exporting nations. The legend uses the word “other” to represent the remaining nations. All values are in QR.
Figure 4a represents the imported food items in 2013, with camel/camelids being the most commonly imported category, accounting for 68.40% of all imports from Saudi Arabia. Semi-milled or fully milled rice is the second category, with India leading at 49.19%, followed by Pakistan at 35.82%. In the poultry category, Brazil is the top contributor, with 79.33%, while Australia leads in the live sheep category with 78.85%. Concentrated milk is primarily imported from Saudi Arabia and Australia, with corresponding contributions of 53.59% and 30.77%, respectively. In 2014, the top five imported products remained the same as in
Figure 3a, with the exception of condensed milk, which was replaced by frozen poultry parts and offal. Brazil was the largest contributor to this category at 53%, while the United States of America and the United Arab Emirates followed with 33.17% and 8.82%, respectively. There was a noticeable change in the contributions made by countries compared to the previous year. For example, in the semi-milled and wholly-milled rice category, India took the lead in 2014 with 75.65%, Pakistan came in second with 17.6%, and Thailand made the smallest contribution at 3.15% (see
Figure 4b).
Figure 4c depicts the imported goods in 2015. According to that, the earliest imported varieties are fully and partially milled rice. The contributions of countries remain the same as the previous year, with slight adjustments. Live forces for sport become the second imported area, with significant transformations since 2014. The Netherlands and Belgium contribute 43.25% and 42.25%, respectively. The third category is frozen poultry, which comes from Brazil at a rate of 78.76%, Saudi Arabia at 6.71%, and other countries, such as Argentina and France, at the remaining rate. Offal poultry replaces leeks and other alliaceous vegetables and is mostly imported from India, with 37.9%, and 29.21% imported from other countries. The UAE increases its contribution to the camels and Camelidae category by about 10% compared to the previous year, while Saudi Arabia contributes 67.12%.
Figure 4d shows the imported products in 2016. According to this figure, yogurt and carcasses are the two new categories. Yogurt, whether concentrated, with added sugar or other flavorings, or with additional fruit, was imported from Saudi Arabia at a rate of 91.98%, followed by the United Arab Emirates at a rate of 6.9%. The second new category was cold lamb carcasses and half carcasses and was dominated by Australia at a rate of 97.74%. Sport horses were imported from Belgium at a rate of 50.46%, followed by the United Kingdom at a rate of 33.48%, surpassing the Netherlands, which was the second-largest importer the previous year. The majority of frozen poultry continued to be imported from Brazil at 79.89%. Additionally, semi- or fully-milled rice was still mostly imported from India and Pakistan, with 73.85% and 14.1%, respectively.
In 2017, a new category of cigarettes containing tobacco emerges, as shown in
Figure 4e. In comparison to recent years, Saudi Arabia and the UAE make significantly lower contributions. Cigarettes are imported from Germany, Turkey, Switzerland, and other countries, comprising 42.93%, 23.77%, 15.19%, and 8.10%, respectively. The majority of frozen poultry is imported from Brazil (72.58%), followed by France (9.93%). Similarly, in 2018, Australia imports corpses, with the majority (95.37%) being lamb or cold carcasses, reflecting a slight reduction from the previous year. Semi- or fully-milled rice is imported from India (80.05%), showing an increase from the previous year, while 9.73% of the same category is imported from Pakistan.
As demonstrated in
Figure 4f, due to the embargo, there is a significant difference between 2018 and 2017 in terms of the nations importing food to Qatar. The first imported category is fresh or chilled lamb carcasses and halves, dominated by Australia, accounting for 97.96% of the total. The second group consists of semi-milled or fully-milled rice, with the majority coming from India (80.97%). It is noteworthy that 65.44% and 21.28% of imported live sheep come from Iran and Australia, respectively. In that year, a new category emerges in comparison to prior years, consisting of bran, sharps, and other wheat leftovers. Sudan contributes 64.95% to this category, followed by Tanzania (22.73%) and Uganda (4.85%).
The top ten countries’ contribution to the economic value of food trade from 2013 to 2018 is depicted in
Figure 5. There are no significant changes in country contributions between 2013 and 2016. However, in 2017, Oman and Turkey show considerable growth. In contrast, Saudi Arabia’s contribution drops by almost 10%, and the UAE’s contribution decreased from 22.88% to 14.18%. Iran and Brazil are replaced by other countries in 2018. Australia and India, in contrast, display more consistent total trade contributions. The United States and the Netherlands, as shown in
Figure 5, make considerably lower contributions. The amount allocated to GCC nations showed a continuous decline until 2018.
3.2. MRIO Results for Milk and Dairy Production
The import of long-lasting milk by Qatar through land, air, and sea transportation modes is presented in
Figure 6. The total quantity of long-lasting milk imported increased slightly from 121 million kg in 2015 to 126 million kg in 2016, but decreased sharply to about 54 million kg in 2017 due to the blockade. Notably, there were no long-lasting milk imports via land transport in 2018. Between 2015 and 2016, sea-based imports remained stable, then gradually increased to 14 million kg in 2017, before dropping to 1.6 million kg in 2018. As shown in
Figure 6, maritime transport of long-lasting milk increased significantly, from approximately 30.9 million kg in 2015 to over 77 million kg in 2018. The embargo led to an increase in imports from foreign countries, thereby increasing the demand for air and sea transport in 2017 and 2018.
Figure 7 illustrates the carbon footprint per ton by nation between 2015 and 2018. In 2015, Saudi Arabia has the highest carbon footprint per ton of dairy and raw milk, with 142 mt CO
2 eq/ton and 219 mt CO
2 eq/ton, respectively (
Figure 7a). One possible reason for this is the high amount of imports from Saudi Arabia to Qatar. UAE ranked second with 27 mt CO
2 eq/ton of dairy and 41 mt CO
2 eq/ton of raw milk, despite having lower CO
2 emissions from land compared to other sources. The Netherlands ranked third with 18 mt CO
2 eq/ton of dairy and 20 mt CO
2 eq/ton of raw milk, in addition to around 4048 kg CO
2 emissions from the sea. Egypt followed as the fourth, followed by Turkey, with a significantly lower carbon footprint than Saudi Arabia. In 2016, Saudi Arabia retained its top position with 150 mt CO
2 eq/ton of dairy, 232 mt CO
2 eq/ton of raw milk, and 6096 kg CO
2 eq/ton of land emissions, showing a slight increase from the previous year (
Figure 7a,b). The United Arab Emirates ranked second with 24k kg CO
2 equivalents per ton of dairy and 36k kg CO
2 equivalents per ton of raw milk, with lower CO
2 emissions from land compared to other sources. The Netherlands ranked third with 18k kg CO
2 eq/ton of dairy and 19k kg CO
2 eq/ton of raw milk, followed by Egypt and France.
Compared to the previous year, there is a significant increase in carbon footprint in 2017, which results in a change in the rankings of nations. Saudi Arabia’s carbon footprint decreases substantially, but it still remains among the top-producing nations with 103 mt CO2 eq/ton of dairy and 66 mt CO2 eq/ton of raw milk. Land transport-related emissions are only 2645 kg CO2 eq/ton, while ocean emissions are found to be negligible. Turkey ranked second in terms of carbon emissions, with 36 mt CO2 eq/ton of raw milk and 35 mt CO2 eq/ton of dairy. The United Arab Emirates ranked third with 24 mt CO2 eq/ton of raw milk and 15 mt CO2 eq/ton of dairy, followed by the Netherlands with 14 mt CO2 eq/ton of raw milk and 15 mt CO2 eq/ton of dairy. France, Belgium, and the United States follow in ranking.
Notably, both country rankings and carbon footprint emissions change significantly in 2018 (
Figure 7d), with new states emerging compared to previous years. The Netherlands had the largest carbon footprint with 24 mt CO
2 eq/ton of raw milk and 26 mt CO
2 eq/ton of dairy product. Oman ranked second with 17 mt CO
2 eq/ton of raw milk and 11 mt CO
2 eq/ton of dairy products, while Morocco ranked third with 15 mt CO
2 eq/ton of raw milk and 10 mt CO
2 eq/ton of dairy products. Turkey contributed 12 mt CO
2 eq/ton of raw milk and 11 mt CO
2 eq/ton of dairy products.
Figure 8 displays the cumulative carbon footprint impact from 2015 to 2018 using MRIO models for two products. In 2015, the carbon footprint per ton (million metric ton CO
2-eq) for MRIO-Raw Milk consumption is 0.30. The value is 0.12 for MRIO-Dairy product consumption. Carbon footprint per ton by sea, land, and air are 0.07, 0.06, and 0.02, respectively. In 2016, MRIO-Raw Milk consumption is 0.31; MRIO-Dairy consumption is 0.22, with 0.07 million metric tons transported by sea, 0.07 by land, and 0.03 via air. The carbon footprint decreases substantially from more than 0.5 million metric tons in 2015 to less than 0.4 million metric tons in 2018. However, there is a significant rise in 2017 due to a crisis period, which led to a temporary scarcity of dairy products. To address the shortage, the government started importing dairy products from various countries such as Turkey and Iran, resulting in a significant amount of CO
2 emissions. The reduction in carbon footprint in 2018 is not only due to changes in the food supply chain, but also the crisis, which prompted Qatar to become self-sufficient. The Baladna company quickly became one of the largest and most technologically advanced farms in the Middle East and fulfilled all of the demand for dairy products in Qatar markets, resulting in a smaller carbon footprint.