- Title: Doha food festival promotes local farm produce
- Date: 4th January 2017
- Summary: DOHA, QATAR (JANUARY 3, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF WOMAN AT VEGETABLE STALL VENDOR ARRANGING TOMATOES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF PUBLIC RELATIONS AT THE CULTURAL VILLAGE FOUNDATION 'KATARA', MOLKA AL-SHURAIM, SAYING: "Qatari products should be. We want to increase the number of consumers who trust Qatari products. One of our goals is for people to come and see fresh products that are brought daily from farms to the yard. People should benefit from the competitive prices and the improved taste of locally grown food that is fresh and recently harvested." VENDOR WEIGHING VEGETABLES VEGETABLES AND SCALE VENDORS ARRANGING VEGETABLES DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS AT THE MINISTRY OF MUNICIPALITY AND ENVIRONMENT, YUSUF KHALID AL KHULAIFI, SHAKING HANDS WITH A MAN (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS AT THE MINISTRY OF MUNICIPALITY AND ENVIRONMENT, YUSUF KHALID AL KHULAIFI, SAYING: "Marketing products takes a long time. Promoting local products in the past was difficult due to competition from imported products. Yards like this one provide an outlet to sell local products directly to the customers. This is a chance for consumers to get quality products for an excellent price." VARIOUS OF VEGETABLES ON DISPLAY CUSTOMER IHAB MUSTAPHA WALKING WITH A SHOPPING BAG (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CUSTOMER, IHAB MUSTAPHA, SAYING: "There is a difference in price and quality as well. The prices are lower (than imported products) and the quality is higher. This encourages consumers to buy from places like this. This is the opening day and I didn't expect to see the amount and variety of products I saw here today." VEGETABLES ON DISPLAY VARIOUS OF VENDOR, AYMAN OMRAN, ARRANGING VEGETABLES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) VENDOR, AYMAN OMRAN, SAYING: "It's a good opportunity. It introduces people to the farm and local production. It's good for consumers to know there is a local production. People are used to imported products, but we have intensive local production." PEOPLE TALKING IN FRONT OF SMALL SHOPS PEOPLE STANDING IN FRONT OF DAIRY AND JUICE OUTLET INTERIOR OF DAIRY AND JUICE OUTLET MEN TASTING LOCAL HONEY PEOPLE STANDING IN FRONT OF A FLOWER STALL
- Embargoed: 19th January 2017 11:32
- Keywords: Doha produce fresh fruit vegetable festival
- Location: DOHA, QATAR
- City: DOHA, QATAR
- Country: Qatar
- Topics: Living/Lifestyle,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0015XO0NRP
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: An abundance of tomatoes, cucumbers and other fresh fruit and vegetables were on display at a festival promoting local farm produce at affordable prices in the Qatari capital.
The Mahaseel Festival kicked off at the Cultural Village Foundation, Katara, with the aim of promoting awareness of Qatari food products among consumers.
"We want to increase the number of consumers who trust Qatari products. One of our goals is for people to come and see fresh products that are brought daily from farms to the yard. People should benefit from the competitive prices and the improved taste of locally grown food that is fresh and recently harvested," said Molka al-Shuraim, head of public relations at the Cultural Village Foundation, Katara.
Qatar imports up to 90 per cent of its food requirements, as low rainfall and lack of arable land makes farming a challenge.
The Director of the Department of Agricultural Affairs at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, Yusuf Khalid al-Khulaifi, says that raising awareness of local produce is "difficult" but consumers can reap the benefits.
"Marketing products takes a long time. Promoting local products in the past was difficult due to competition from imported products. Yards like this one provide an outlet to sell local products directly to the customers. This is a chance for consumers to get quality products for an excellent price," he said.
One satisfied customer, Ihab Mustapha, said he didn't expect to see the variety of products on display, as well as the favourable prices - with some fruit and vegetables starting at QR3 (USD 0.82) a kilo.
"There is a difference in price and quality as well. The prices are lower (than imported products) and the quality is higher. This encourages consumers to buy from places like this. This is the opening day and I didn't expect to see the amount and variety of products I saw here today," he said.
Vendor Ayman Omran said that the prices for fruit and vegetables sold at the festival were able to compete with the cost of imported products.
"It's a good opportunity. It introduces people to the farm and local production. It's good for consumers to know there is a local production. People are used to imported products, but we have intensive local production," he said.
Several booths displaying dairy products, honey and other goods are also open.
The Mahaseel Festival will run until the end of April. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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