World Cup 2022 and Agribusiness in Qatar

In 2022, for the first time, the FIFA World Cup will be held between November 21 and December 18. The decision to change the traditional dates of the world’s most popular tournament is due to the fact that the weather of the host country, Qatar, is unbearably hot during the months of June and July. Therefore, the first-ever World Cup in the Middle East will be played during the northern hemisphere’s winter months. However, extreme temperature is not the only challenge faced by Qatar’s economy on a regular basis. In order to properly host hundreds of thousands of athletes and spectators in 2022, Qatar will have to ensure an appropriate water and food supply, most of which will need to be imported.

World Cup 2022 and Agribusiness in Qatar

Qatar is a small yet resource-rich nation in the Middle East, with plentiful energy and fossil fuel reserves. With a total territory of 11,586 square kilometers, Qatar is somewhat smaller than Connecticut. Geographically, the country is mainly arid desert with a mostly warm climate. Bordering Saudi Arabia by land, Qatar has 563 kilometers of coastline along the Persian Gulf. The state has a total population of approximately 2.3 million citizens, about 99% of which live in an urban setting, notably the capital city of Doha with some 633.000 inhabitants. Currently, Qatar’s national annual gross domestic product (GDP) is US$341.7 billion and the country has experienced positive economic growth upwards of 2.2% in recent years. The Qatari economy is divided into less than 1% agriculture, 50% manufacturing, and 49% services. Similarly, the agriculture industry only utilizes about 6% of the national territory. Therefore, Qatar must technically import the totality of the food and agricultural products that it consumes.

In terms of natural resources, Qatar has petroleum and natural gas. Within manufacturing, the national industry is focused on liquefied natural gas processing, crude oil production & refining, ammonia, fertilizers, petrochemicals, steel reinforcing bars, cement, and commercial ship repair. Meanwhile, the country’s small agricultural industry has as main products fruits, vegetables, poultry, dairy products, beef, and fish. In terms of trade, during 2016, Qatar imported US$32.3 billion worth of goods and exported US$55.7 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of US$23.4 billion. Furthermore, that same year, the country’s main export, representing 53% or US$29.7 billion of the country’s total, was petroleum gas. On the other hand, the country’s main import, representing 7.4% or US$2.38 billion of all international purchases, were planes, helicopters, and spacecraft. Meanwhile, Qatar’s main trading partners are China, Japan, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United States, and the European Union, amongst others.

Simultaneously, land distribution in Qatar has evolved throughout the last several decades. Back in 1961, permanent pastures and meadows in the country covered 50.000 hectares, while arable land covered 1.000 hectares. More recently, by 2015, permanent pastures and meadows still covered 50.000 hectares, while arable land represented 13.100 hectares and permanent crops accounted for 2.500 hectares.

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