Open to Imports

Country Content Sections/Tabs

Country Content Sections/Tabs

Qualitative Analysis

Qualitative Analysis

General Economics And Demographic Landscape

Economy:

  • The economy of Qatar is expected to witness moderate growth in 2020, with real GDP recording 2.2% increase in 2020, post a rise of 0.9% in 2019 underpinned by healthy government consumption and the operation of the Barzan gas facility. Additionally, the investment into the expansion of the North Field gas project is projected to boost growth.
  • The real value of private consumption witnessed an increase of 3.0% in 2019, with similar growth forecast for 2020. Consumer spending is supported by rising wages and the government’s sizeable fiscal injection into the economy.
  • Real GDP growth in 2021 is expected to be at 2.5%, then dipping to about 1.6% per year by 2027. While the aim to increase Liquified Natural Gas production by 30.0% over the next four years will boost growth, lower hydrocarbon prices, delayed implementation of key fiscal measures, tighter global conditions, and an escalation of the diplomatic rift are factors for the slowdown.
     

Population demographics:

  • The population of Qatar stood at 2.8 million in 2019, representing an astonishing increase as the number was only at 301,000 in 1980. Furthermore, by 2030, that number is expected to reach 3.4 million.
  • Population growth is mainly driven by a high level of immigration, with over 80.0% of residents and 90.0% of the labour force from a foreign background.
  • The median age in 2019 stood higher than the regional average at 33.5 years. Additionally, the fertility rate has also declined by more than half since 1980 to 1.8 births per female in 2019. This indicator is expected to decrease further to 1.6 births per female by 2030.
     

Income & expenditure:

  • The savings ratio in Qatar is almost twice the regional average, representing 11.7% of disposable income, with an increase of 11.2% expected in 2020.
  • Consumer expenditure per capita in 2019 was recorded at US$17,483 and is expected to grow by 2.0% in real terms by 2020. For the period 2020-2030, total consumer expenditure is expected to grow at an annual rate of 2.2%, increasing by a cumulative value of 23.9%.
  • In 2019, disposable income per capita amounted to US$17,459, with a growth of 1.5% expected in 2020. During the period 2020-2030, total disposable income is expected to increase by a cumulative value of 23.7%, averaging 2.2% annually.
Data

Data

Organic Packaged Food And Beverage Data

Data type

Unit

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

CAGR
(16-19)

CAGR
(20-22)

Health & wellness products consumption

USD million

543.3

575.7

614.5

679.0

701.6

728.4

778.9

7.7%

5.4%

Organic packaged food and beverages consumption

USD million

5.1

8.7

12.1

13.9

15.4

17.2

20.0

39.7%

14.0%

Organic packaged food consumption

USD million

0.3

0.6

2.5

2.7

2.9

3.1

3.4

108.0%

8.3%

Organic beverages consumption

USD million

4.7

8.2

9.6

11.1

12.5

14.1

16.6

33.2%

15.2%

Organic packaged food and beverages consumption as a % of total health & wellness products consumption

%

0.9%

1.5%

2.0%

2.0%

2.2%

2.4%

2.6%

-

-
Economic And Demographic Data

Data type

Unit

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Total population

million

2.6

2.7

2.8

2.8

2.9

2.9

3.0

% Middle and upper class of total population

%

25.7

25.6

25.5

25.4

25.4

25.4

25.3

% Population aged 65+

%

1.4%

1.6%

1.8%

2.0%

2.2%

2.5%

2.7%

% Population aged 0-14

%

12.0%

12.2%

12.5%

12.7%

12.9%

13.1%

13.2%

% Population with higher education degrees

%

13.0

12.8

12.7

12.5

12.4

12.3

12.2

Average number of children per household

children

0.7

0.6

0.6

0.6

0.7

0.7

0.7

GDP per capita

USD per capita

57,965.4

61,267.2

69,392.4

66,352.4

66,402.4

66,778.2

67,084.7

Consumer expenditure per capita (US$)

USD per capita

14,284.9

14,449.1

14,731.5

14,782.6

15,081.7

15,382.6

15,557.2

Consumer expenditure per capita on food and non-alcoholic beverages (US$)

USD per capita

1,747.2

1,769.3

1,806.8

1,815.6

1,849.1

1,884.5

1,904.6
Retailer And City Data

Top 5 Cities By Population

Data category

Rank

City/retailer

Population
(millions)

Top cities by population (2019)

1

Doha

2.2

Top 5 Grocery Retailers By Sales

Data category

Rank

City/retailer

Top grocery retailers by sales (2019)

1

Al Meera Consumer Goods Co QSC

Top grocery retailers by sales (2019)

2

Carrefour SA

Top grocery retailers by sales (2019)

3

Lulu Group International LLC

Top grocery retailers by sales (2019)

4

Quality Retail Group WLL

Top grocery retailers by sales (2019)

5

Saudia Group of Cos
United States Department Of Agriculture Global Agricultural Trade System Data

Top 5 Export Commodities To Qatar

Year

Country

Rank of
Product/Commodity

Product/Commodity

Export Value (US$)

2019

Qatar

1

Organic Coffee Roast Not Decaf

187,650

2019

Qatar

2

Organic Lettuce Not Head Fr/Ch

40,764

2019

Qatar

3

Organic Berries Fresh

38,980

2019

Qatar

4

Organic Vinegar and Substitutes

35,780

2019

Qatar

5

Organic Strawberries Fresh

29,515

2019

Qatar

Total

Total Organics*

388,397

2018

Qatar

1

Organic Strawberries Fresh

763,379

2018

Qatar

2

Organic Berries Fresh

619,824

2018

Qatar

3

Organic Coffee Roast Not Decaf

71,514

2018

Qatar

4

Organic Fruit Prep

51,903

2018

Qatar

5

Organic Grapes Fresh

14,400

2018

Qatar

Total

Total Organics*

1,540,047

2017

Qatar

1

Organic Strawberries Fresh

1,256,095

2017

Qatar

2

Organic Berries Fresh

800,042

2017

Qatar

3

Organic Coffee Roast Not Decaf

255,953

2017

Qatar

4

Organic Lettuce Not Head Fr/Ch

64,235

2017

Qatar

5

Organic Tomato Sauce Ex Ketchp

53,844

2017

Qatar

Total

Total Organics*

2,447,900

2016

Qatar

1

Organic Strawberries Fresh

798,654

2016

Qatar

2

Organic Berries Fresh

453,256

2016

Qatar

3

Organic Apples Fresh

44,000

2016

Qatar

4

Organic Tomato Sauce Ex Ketchp

35,497

2016

Qatar

5

Organic Coffee Roast Not Decaf

29,425

2016

Qatar

Total

Total Organics*

1,383,224

Note : Total organics is the sum of all exports in a particular year   
Definitions

Definitions

Term

Definition

Health and Wellness

Health and wellness is the aggregation of organic packaged food and beverages, fortified/functional packaged food and beverages, naturally healthy packaged food and beverages, better for you packaged food and beverages and food intolerance products.

Organic packaged foods and beverages

This category includes packaged food & beverages that are certified organic by an approved certification body. Organic production is based on:

• A system of farming that maintains and replenishes soil fertility without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers.
• Organic food & beverages are minimally processed without artificial ingredients, preservatives or irradiation.
• The use of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organism) is prohibited. “Certified Organic” means the item has been grown according to strict uniform standards that are verified by independent state or private organizations.
• Depending on the country, such products are called ‘organic’, ‘biological’ or ‘ecological’: For organic products to be included under Euromonitor definitions, the organic aspect needs to form part of positioning/marketing of the product. This is an aggregation of organic baby food, bakery, confectionery, dairy, ice cream, oils and fats, ready meals, rice, sauces, dressings and condiments, snack bars, soups, spreads, sweet and savory snacks and other organic food.

Note that fresh food products or individual ingredients are not included in this definition.

Compound annual growth rate (CAGR)

The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is the average annual growth rate over a specified period of time. For instance, the CAGR consumption of from 2018 – 2021 will be the average growth rates across these three years.

USDA GATS data clarification

The data presented in table 2.4 represents the dollar values of the top 5 organic commodities as well as of the total organic exports of the trade partner for the period 2018-2021 as per the United States Department of Agriculture’s Global Agricultural Trade System, a database consisting of international agricultural, fish, forest and textile products trade statistics dating from the inception of the Harmonized coding system in 1989 to present.
Policy Information

Policy Information

Government Agency(s) / Competent Authority

Authorized Government Agency(s):

Qatar is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. Gulf Standards Organization (GSO) is responsible for developing food and non food standards in the GCC. Once a new standard is approved by the GSO food standards committee, each member country officially adopts the standard, thus making it a national standard as well as a GSO standard.

Ministry of Public Health monitors imported foods.

Agency(s) Contact Information:

Ministry of Public Health

Organic Regulations and/or Standards

Name(s) of Regulation and/or Standard:

GSO 2374:2014 Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labelling and Marketing of Organically Produced Foods

Regulation and/or Standard Scope:

Imported Products

GCC Guide for Control on Imported Foods is useful for all food imports.

Nutritional facts must appear in the Arabic language on product packaging. See Qatar Implementation of GSO Regulation on Nutritional Labeling (2017).

Additional Information

U.S. International Trade Administration

QA
Close

How to use this website

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) brings the US organic industry to developing markets around the world. This database is a comprehensive tool for OTA membership interested in participating in or expanding international trade in organic products by providing information to understand international markets for organic products. Select the country you wish to export to and find out whether it has an agreement with the United States, who its certifiers are, and much more.

Cover page

/sites/default/files/cover-page/cover-default-01-1.jpg