QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS
Quick Facts
- Qatar’s real GDP will grow by 4.9% in 2016, driven by domestic demand and a growing non-oil sector, but the growth rate will drop to below 3% by the end of the decade.
- Due to massive immigration, Qatar’s population boomed over the last 30 years to reach 2.4 million in 2015; it is projected to reach 3.2 million in 2030.
General Economic & Demographic Landscape
Economy:
- Real GDP grew by 2.5% in 2017 and 3.1% growth is expected in 2018.
- Increased public spending in the face of the Saudi-led blockage of trade and transport by other Arab countries will help drive growth.
- Inflation was 0.6% in 2017, and 2.2% is expected in 2018 following Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund’s move in October 2017 to repatriate US$20 billion to help cushion the impact of the regional embargo.
- Qatar ‘s massive public infrastructure investment program sets the economy apart from those of other GCC countries. In addition to contracted projects for the 2022 World Cup, there is over US$100 billion worth of infrastructure pre-execution contracts to be awarded over the next three years.
- Qatar is believed to have the lowest unemployment rate of all GCC countries—just 0.1% in 2018.
Population demographics:
- Qatar’s population was 2.7 million in 2017, an astonishing increase since 1980, when the population was only 301,000.
- The pace of growth is decelerating, but the population should still reach 3.7 million by 2030.
- Immigration has been the main driver of population growth: More than four-fifths of all residents are foreign citizens, and non-Qataris make up more than 90% of the workforce.
- Qatar’s fertility rate has been more than halved since 1980, reaching 1.9 births per female in 2017.
- The fertility rate is projected to decline to 1.7 births per female by 2030.
Income & expenditure:
- Consumer expenditure per capita amounted to QR53,830 (US$14,788) in 2017 and will rise by 1.6% in real terms in 2018.
- Communications and health goods and medical services will be the fastest-growing consumer categories through 2030.
- Disposable income per capita totaled QR67,222 (US$18,468) in 2017 and is projected to increase by 1.0% in real terms in 2018.
- Through 2030, total disposable income will increase by a cumulative value of 30.0% in real terms, growing at an average annual rate of 2.2%.
QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
Organic packaged food & beverage data
|
Data type |
Unit |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
CAGR |
CAGR |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Health & wellness products consumption |
USD million |
485.6 |
545.6 |
618.8 |
671.1 |
712.3 |
756.3 |
800.0 |
11.4% |
6.0% |
|
Organic packaged food and beverages consumption |
USD million |
6.5 |
8.2 |
9.4 |
11.3 |
12.2 |
13.3 |
14.4 |
20.2% |
8.4% |
|
Organic packaged food consumption |
USD million |
3.8 |
4.9 |
5.6 |
6.1 |
6.5 |
7.0 |
7.5 |
17.1% |
7.1% |
|
Organic beverages consumption |
USD million |
2.7 |
3.3 |
3.8 |
5.2 |
5.7 |
6.3 |
6.9 |
24.4% |
9.9% |
|
Organic packaged food and beverages consumption as a % of total health & wellness products consumption |
% |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
- |
- |
Economic & demographic data
|
Data type |
Unit |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total population |
million |
2.2 |
2.4 |
2.6 |
2.7 |
2.8 |
2.9 |
3.0 |
|
% Middle and upper class of total population |
% |
0.3 |
0.3 |
0.3 |
0.3 |
0.3 |
0.3 |
0.3 |
|
% Population aged 65+ |
% |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
% Population aged 0-14 |
% |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
|
% Population with higher education degrees |
% |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
|
Average number of children per household |
children |
0.8 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
|
GDP per capita |
USD per capita |
94,808.3 |
67,537.1 |
58,327.3 |
60,782.0 |
60,328.5 |
60,108.7 |
60,109.5 |
|
Consumer expenditure per capita (US$) |
USD per capita |
14,079.8 |
14,227.2 |
14,398.3 |
14,223.9 |
14,062.6 |
14,054.9 |
14,101.8 |
|
Consumer expenditure per capita on food and non-alcoholic beverages (US$) |
USD per capita |
1,818.5 |
1,741.4 |
1,761.1 |
1,741.7 |
1,724.8 |
1,726.2 |
1,732.8 |
Retailer & City Data
|
Data category |
Rank |
City/retailer |
Population |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top cities by population (2017) |
1 |
Doha |
2.1 |
|
Top cities by population (2017) |
2 |
- |
- |
|
Top cities by population (2017) |
3 |
- |
- |
|
Top cities by population (2017) |
4 |
- |
- |
|
Top cities by population (2017) |
5 |
- |
- |
|
Top grocery retailers by sales (2017) |
1 |
- |
- |
|
Top grocery retailers by sales (2017) |
2 |
- |
- |
|
Top grocery retailers by sales (2017) |
3 |
- |
- |
|
Top grocery retailers by sales (2017) |
4 |
- |
- |
|
Top grocery retailers by sales (2017) |
5 |
- |
- |
USDA GATS data
|
Rank |
2017 |
2016 |
2015 |
2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Export Value (US$, thousands) | ||||
|
1 |
Tomato Sauce 54.0 |
Coffee Roast 29.0 |
Berries 144.0 |
Tomato Sauce 236.0 |
|
2 |
Blueberries |
- |
Tomato Sauce 128.0 |
Cherries 31.0 |
|
3 |
- |
- |
Strawberries 63.0 |
Coffee Roast 7.0 |
|
4 |
- |
- |
Blueberries 33.0 |
- |
|
Total |
2,255.0 |
1,382.0 |
368.0 |
275.0 |
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:
GCC Standardization Organization (GSO)
Riyadh - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
AlGadeer - Olaya Street
P.O.Box 85245 Riyadh 11691
Phone: (+96611) 2746655
Fax: (+96611) 2105391
Email: csc@gso.org.sa
Website
Ministry of Public Health
Port Health and Food Control
PO Box 42
Doha
Qatar
Phone: 44070226
Fax: 44070820
Email: port.health@sch.gov.qa
Website
Organic Regulations and/or Standards
Name(s) of Regulation and/or Standard:
Regulation and/or Standard Scope:
The standard applies to unprocessed plants and plant products, livestock and livestock products, and processed agricultural crop and livestock products intended for human consumption. A product will be regarded as bearing indications referring to organic production methods where, in the labelling or claims, including advertising material or commercial documents, the product, or its ingredients, is described by the terms “organic”, “biodynamic”, “biological”, “ecological”, or words of similar intent including diminutives which, in the country where the product is placed on the market, suggests to the purchaser that the product or its ingredients were obtained according to organic production methods.
Imported Products Requirements
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
Additional Information:
USDA GAIN Report Exporter Guide Annual Report for the United Arab Emirates (2015)
USDA GAIN Report United Arab Emirates Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards - Narrative (2014)
USDA GAIN Report Qatar Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards - Certification (2013)
USDA GAIN Report Qatar Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards - Narrative (2012)
