By Sanaullah Ataullah
DOHA: The Ministry of Economy and Commerce has completed phase one of its project to provide strategic stocks for food items and fodders.
The ministry has built strategic warehouses for several foodstuff and fodder to meet the requirements of the country.
With the completion of the phase one plan, the facilities are able to store rice that will be enough for consumption for 10 months.
They can also store sugar required for nine months, milk and edible oils for four- and- a-half months.
Storage facilities for fodder have a capacity to store “shair” enough for six months and “shawar” enough for three months.
Phase One plan was made based on the demand for the said items and expiry date of the products so that the consumer will get quality products meeting international standards, said a statement.
The ministry has built ten storage facilities in different places in the country for foodstuffs and fodders spreading over a total area of 107,446sqm with the capacity of 125,000 tonnes.
More facilities will be built to increase the capacity. Distributors will be also encouraged to open new facilities in second phase.
So far, there are 94 distribution centers throughout the country including 82 for foodstuffs and seven for fodders. The remaining centers distribute both.
Citizens can take permission for disbursal of their quota from the ministry and they can collect it from stores set up in outer areas.
By the beginning of May, the (monthly) quota for fodders will be disbursed in two phases on a trial basis.
Once the experimental period is over, the quota will be distributed all together. Now the ministry is working to make a mechanism to monitor the supply of fodders in collaboration with the authority concerned to ensure that it reaches to the targeted beneficiaries.The Peninsula
