Qatar’s industrial investments in 5 years reach QR13bn
The volume of Qatar’s industrial investments in the past five years stands at QR13bn with the establishment of more than 380 new industrial facilities, according to a study by Qatar Chamber.
The study, ‘Production Capacities and Degree of Utilisation as an Input to Enhance the Growth of the Manufacturing Industry in Qatar’, showed that the manufacturing industries sector has seen a considerable growth within the past five years in terms of the number of facilities and production fields.
It said that in terms of the type of manufacturing industries, “they are distributed in an appropriate economic manner over the entire branches of manufacturing industries, even though a large percentage of it is distributed in the field of food industries.”
Based on data of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Qatar Industrial Gateway), the study indicated that the facilities of the food products industry have increased by 103%, which is the largest growth rate among all other manufacturing industries, including oil and gas-related industries.
“This quantitative and qualitative development contributed significantly to increasing the industrial diversity in a manner that corresponds to the plans adopted by the country to achieve the economic stability through diversifying sources of income, as well as increasing the attractiveness of the Qatari economy to domestic and foreign investments,” the study said.
It also noted that the rise in market shares of Qatari manufacturing industries in local markets “to satisfying levels near to achieving the relative self-sufficiency” would help provide the national economy a solid basic foundation for the next stage in planning for the future of the industry.
The study showed that machinery and equipment manufacturing has grown significantly as facilities have also increased by 82% during the last five years. This gives manufacturing more flexibility in planning for other components with lower comparative advantages such as raw materials and other productive inputs, it said.
It also stressed that meeting domestic demand for basic products, even if it is sufficient in the short term, “will not be so in the medium and long terms, especially when markets reach the saturation stage and the continued targeting of Qatari market by current and potential competitors that leads to a high level of competition.”
The study recommended that Qatari industries have to effectively control over the various cost elements to improve the level of competitiveness of their products at the local and foreign markets.
Qatar Chamber stressed that the interest in studying productive capacities in the non-oil manufacturing sector “is of special importance” as it helps in shaping the future policy for this sector within a long-term strategy.
The study concluded that with all these scenarios, “attention must be focused on the degree to which the available production elements are exploited in the production process with the least possible amount of these elements and at the lowest possible cost.
“The cost here is an important element essentially related to the use of optimal energy so that there is no excess production capacity that constitutes expenses for the enterprise without return.”