Market Trends of Qatar Dairy Products Industry
Increasing Number of Strategic Initiatives by Leading Company
The Qatari dairy industry is witnessing an increasing prevalence of strategic partnerships and alliances between dairy companies to alleviate the shortage of dairy products in the country. Among all the leading dairy companies in the market, Baladna Food Industries, specializing in processing and marketing fresh dairy products, is widely expanding its reach to local consumers by partnering with international players to support them in augmenting the production of dairy products. In 2019, the company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Felcra Bhd, a Malaysian government-owned corporate organization under the Minister of Finance. Accordingly, Baladna Food Industries aimed to establish Malaysia's largest dairy farm in Qatar within the next two years, in line with the country's National Food Security Policy. Adding to this, under the collaboration, the two companies aim to produce 50 million liters of milk by 2021 while adding five locations in the northern and central region, and Sabah and Sarawak have been identified for the purpose.
Cheese Segment Held a Significant Share in the Market
The demand for higher-quality, better-tasting and healthier, wholesome cheese has become a concern among consumers. However, high-calorie content in them is one of the major restraints, thus, creating a huge space for manufacturers to innovate. Moreover, vegan cheese made using various nuts is vying the retail aisle of dairy cheese in the forecast period. However, the influence of foreign food, such as pizza, burgers, and sandwiches, is growing in the country. Thus, millennials are highly inclined toward consuming cheese in various forms, such as slices, spreads, and cubes. Apart from the new generation of consumers, children are also major consumers of processed cheese in Qatar which in turn acceelerating the demand for a different cheese. However, imports continue to increase as local production is insufficient to meet the domestic demand for cheese. For instance, in 2020, the United States exported around USD 4.4 million (803 metric tons) worth of cheese to Qatar, as stated by the USA Cheese Guild.
