This time, the second ship which is loaded with dry food, fruits and vegetables, is scheduled to depart on August 16 (today) and will reach Hamad Port on August 26, five days before Eid al Adha.
DOHA: To meet increased demand of fruits, vegetables and other edibles on the eve of forthcoming Eid al Adha, second Turkish ship loaded with food supplies will dock at Hamad Port on August 26 and this time food products will also be carrying “labels in Arabic and English”.
Second Turkish ship is set to deliver food supplies to Qatar by the end of August as the loading process has entered into final phase in western Turkey's Izmir province, Daily Sabah reported from Turkey.
The first ship - The Green Guatemala - carrying 4,000 tonnes of food for Qatar had left Turkey on June 22. The Green Guatemala refrigerated ship had arrived at Hamad Port in the first week of July.
This time, the second ship which is loaded with dry food, fruits and vegetables, is scheduled to depart on August 16 (today) and will reach Hamad Port on August 26, five days before Eid al Adha.
Atilla Kurucayirli, a Doha-based banker affiliated with Commercial Bank who is actively engaged in ongoing bilateral trade activities, told The Peninsula that Turkish exports to Qatar, particularly food products, had witnessed a 50 percent increase in the last two months when compared to previous months.
“This cooperation will be cemented with every passing day. The arrival of Turkish vessel packed with food products will meet increased demand of food items during Eid holidays and no resident of Qatar will face any kind of shortage,” he added.
He further said that in future more ships would come to Qatar. “Both governments are vigorously working on the plans to explore new trade routes to shorten the distance and reduce transportation time between the two countries,” he noted.
Kurucayirli said that many Qatari companies were engaged in business negotiations with Turkish companies and once “their deals are matured the availability of Turkish products on the shelves of Qatari markets will grow manifold”.
“Not only Turkey is exporting various kinds of goods to Doha but Turkish companies are also engaged in talks with Qatari businessmen to launch joint ventures in Qatar in near future,” he added.
Meanwhile, İpek Demirci, general manager of the logistics company behind the shipment has told Anadolu Agency that the second vessel had more loading capacity than the first ship, which carried about 4,000 tonnes of food products in June.
"Our goal is to do this every 15 days. We have started to plan and prepare for this endeavor. We are trying to gain experience to provide a regular service," she told Anadolu, adding that they had planned to send a third ship after the end of Eid al Adha in early September.
An issue arose with the first shipment, as many of the food products did not contain labels in the Arabic script, Demirci explained. “The problem has been resolved with the second ship, which will contain new products with Arabic labels.”
By mid last month, Turkey had also sent 197 cargo planes to Qatar to meet its daily needs since a dispute broke out last month between Qatar and three Gulf states.
To open new trade routes and develop new partnerships for countering effects of the siege, Hamad Port on August 13 also launched its weekly direct shipping service with Karachi Port, Pakistan by receiving the first container ship, Libra, carrying a total load of 1,200 TEUs.
