The ongoing diplomatic crisis in Qatar has forced the residents to purchase unfamiliar food items that are being supplied by countries such as Turkey. The people of this country are used to food items supplied by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
However, the current crisis forcing Qatar in isolation from the Arab states has left the residents in a precarious situation as they have to buy unfamiliar food products.
The nation witnessed an unprecedented chaos inside supermarkets and stores as a lot of Qatari nationals and expatriates rushed to stock up on food items over fears of shortage. Consumers were seen loading their shopping carts with bottles of water, rice bags, eggs and other goods at many retail stores and even groceries.
The oil-rich country imports around 80 per cent of its food items from neighbouring GCC countries as its land stretches are not suitable for agriculture.
A trade source has warned that the food supply situation could worsen further in Qatar if the current crisis is not resolved soon.
Meanwhile, social media was abuzz with posts about food supplies in Qatar stores with photos of supermarkets where some of the shelves are filled with food products of Turkey.
Al Meera hypermarket posted on its Twitter account the pictures of shelves filled with Turkish products.
Photos uploaded on social media sites also showed stores with empty shelves indicating that Qatari residents are either hoarding foodstuff or supermarkets have run out of stock.
One of the American newspapers has warned that the food crisis in Qatar may aggravate. According to an estimate, Qatar has food supplies that could last only for three days in case of an emergency.