Fruits and vegetables in Qatar coming from other Arab nations might not be as readily available or as fresh in the coming weeks.
Cargo ship loading a in Port Said in Dubai, UAE.
Following a band on produce imports from Arab countries enforced by the United Arab Emirates and stricter safety measures imposed by the Ministry of Public Health, the availability and freshness of fruits and vegetables in Qatar might get harder to get.
The Ministry of Public Health issued a notice to all major ports in Qatar earlier last week, notifying them that the country will be taking stricter measures to ensure that imported food products are safe for human consumption.
Before entering the country, agricultural products, mainly fruits and vegetables, coming in from Lebanon, Oman, Egypt and Jordan will undergo thorough pesticide analysis.
The products that are particularly targeted include peppers from Egypt, pepper, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, squash, beans and eggplant from Jordan, sweet melon, carrots and watercress from Oman, and apples from Lebanon.
Authorities have already taken around 510 samples for pesticide residue analysis since the start of 2017. Among them, 67 products coming from different countries were rejected, the Peninsula reported.
The report added that most fruits and vegetables arrive to Qatar throughout the United Arab Emirate, where they recently banned similar products from same Arab countries altogether.
Therefore, the UAE ban might affect some fruit and vegetable prices in the country, with banned products that usually come through the UAE witnessing a slight spike. They added, that “some retail chains [in Qatar] stressed that delay in certification and inspections would affect the quality of the vegetables and fruits.”
But after all, these measures were taken to ensure the safety of the public, who use these potentially harming products on daily basis. A small increase in prices is a small price to pay in return for your ensured health.
