Hassad Food Company chairman Nasser bin Mohamed al-Fahid Al Hajri, right, with CEO Fahad Abdullah Turki al-Subaie at the media conference yesterday. (Shaival Dalal)
DOHA: Hassad Food said yesterday it can meet at least 60 percent of the food demand in Qatar. The country’s premier investor in agriculture and livestock would launch two rice brands in the local market next month.
Talking to reporters here yesterday, Hassad Food chairman Nasser Al Hajri also revealed plans to invest $500m in India in the coming months in the production of rice, cardamom, coffee and “ready-made food”.
Giving an overview of the company’s operations in the last five years, he said Hassad has been investing in three continents — Australia, Asia and Africa. The company is seeking to secure supplies for Qatar by buying agricultural land and investing in food-production companies abroad. Hassad’s focus hence will be on North America, South America and Europe, he said.
Hassad is capable of producing 10,000 sheep per year at its farms in Australia. Moreover, it can produce 15,000 tonnes of grain and 26,000 tonnes of rice, he added. Al Hajri said Qatar received the first shipment of 28,620 tonnes of barley from its Australian farm last week. This would meet at least 25 percent of the annual requirement of the country.
The country also received the first shipment of its frozen meat from Australia some days ago. “We are waiting for the arrival of another shipment of 5,000 sheep, which would hopefully arrive here ahead of Ramadan. It will be followed by another shipment of 13,000 sheep”, he said .
In Qatar, Hassad has built a central feed stock with the capacity to feed 80,000 sheep and the facility to store 1,25,000 tonnes
of grain. Hassad is currently building a Silo complex at the New Doha Port with a storage capacity of 270,000 tonnes. To enhance its local vegetable and fruit production, Hassad has launched a pilot project with support of a Spanish company in Shahaniya.
The Peninsula
