Qatar asking Turkey, Iran about providing food, water - government official
(Adds background, detail)
By Tom Finn
DOHA, June 7 (Reuters) - Qatar is talking to Iran and Turkey about securing food and water supplies to stave off possible shortages two days after its biggest suppliers, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, cut trade and diplomatic ties, a government official said on Wednesday.
"We are in talks with Turkey and Iran and other countries," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject, adding that the supplies would be brought in through Qatar Airways cargo flights.
The official said there were enough grain supplies in the market in Qatar to last four weeks and that the government also had large strategic food reserves in Doha.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain severed relations with Qatar and closed their airspace to commercial flights on Monday, charging it with financing militant groups. Qatar vehemently denies the accustations.
It is the worst split between powerful Arab states in decades.
The moves isolating Qatar are disrupting trade in commodities from crude oil to metals and food, and deepening fears of a possible jolt to the global gas market, where the tiny Gulf state is a major player.
Food imports are affected as Saudi Arabia closed its land border with Qatar, stranding thousands of trucks carrying supplies.
Qatar, a desert country heavily dependent on food imports to feed its mostly foreign population of 2.6 million, has assured residents it has taken measures to assure that normal life continues.
The Ministry of Economy and Commerce released a video on Tuesday that showed supermarket shelves stocked with food and other goods after Qataris crowded into stores on Monday to stock up fearing shortages.
An Indian worker in one Doha supermarket who declined to give his name told Reuters TV on Tuesday: "I've come today and I am feeling that shortage of fresh chicken, which we eat quite often. Fresh milk is another thing that I feel in shortage".
Although it is located in a volatile region of the world, its huge foreign currency reserves and comparatively small population mean arranging adequate new sources of food imports in an emergency is a possibility.
Turkey is a key ally of Qatar and is setting up a military base in the country which also hosts the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East.
Iran shares access with Qatar to the world's biggest natural gas field.
Sources said the UAE and Saudi Arabia have already cut exports of white sugar to Qatar. Consumption is traditionally higher during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is currently being observed.
But Qatar's ports and airports remained open to trade on Wednesday with countries not taking part in the Saudi-led boycott, a government official said.
"We have no problem with food supplies," Qatar's foreign minister told CNN on Tuesday. "We have strategic reserves in place since 2014, we don’t see that life will be affected." (Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
