An investigation by Al-Jazeera Net .. How did the Arab countries deal with their food security under Corona?

Al-Jazeera Net reporters

The task of securing strategic stocks of basic food commodities and achieving food security in Arab countries appears to be an easy task, at a time when other countries provide all basic commodities, but the consumer lacks the financial liquidity to obtain them.

In Egypt and Sudan, the obstacle to achieving food security is a real dilemma for decision makers, while Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Jordan, Qatar and Kuwait provide sufficient stocks for months to come from basic commodities, medicines and medical supplies in their battle with the Corona virus.

Morocco .. Stability with catering
Al-Jazeera Net correspondent Maryam Al-Taidi monitored a situation of stability in the supply of the market, the continuation of the supply chain, and the adequacy of the offer to meet the consumption needs of families, including the requirements of the month of Ramadan.

The state of supplying markets with basic materials in the Kingdom is known as stability, and the Economic Vigilance Committee (government) continues to follow the developments of the situation, according to the correspondence.

The assigned services are conducting investigations to ensure the availability of the most consumed manufactured materials (sugar, tea, milk, edible oils, butter, ...).

And the correspondence reports that government departments have emphasized the abundance of grain stocks and the mills' owners raising their production capabilities for flour in a way that covers the consuming needs of all families, while the professionals of the mills sector are committed to producing flour and ensuring that all regions of the Kingdom are adequately and regularly provided.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Industry and Trade for Al-Jazeera Net, the stock of basic materials, including energy, is sufficient and covers needs, the supply chain is renewable, and factories continue to produce.

Morocco maintains the manufacture and production of basic consumables to ensure food security.

The Ministry of Agriculture confirmed no interruption in the supply or in the production of agricultural and fish products, and allowed the distribution of winter crops for the most consumed vegetables (tomatoes, onions and potatoes) to cover consumer needs during the current and next two months.

The expected production of spring and summer plantations will adequately cover the consumer needs of these products for the period between June and December 2020. Imports have strengthened the position of stocks of wheat, corn, barley and legumes, which will enable them to cover about four months.

Algeria ... the missing semolina
Al-Jazeera correspondent Fatima Hamdi has monitored a case of consumers flocking to storing ground wheat, known as "semolina", which is the first foodstuff in the country. Therefore, the spread of news of the outbreak of the Corona virus was a case of anxiety, after it suddenly disappeared from the markets.

Rather than adhere to the quarantine, "those who fear the hunger of their children" forgot the danger of corona and ran "scrambling for fear of the empty stomach battle" and they did not listen to the letters of reassurance sent by the authorities with their ability to control the health management of the Corona pandemic, the correspondent says.

In the meantime, President Abdel Majeed Taboun confirmed that his country - which has sixty billion dollars in foreign exchange reserves - does not have any shortage of food supplies, and he stressed that the stock is sufficient for the next five months.

Economist Jamal Sharafi said - in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - that the panic that afflicted the citizens is not caused by a shortage of crushed wheat, but because of poor distribution, which made areas where the material is available without the other.

Sharafi called for strengthening the oversight role around the distribution of quantities that come out of mills towards retailers because it is part of the solution, and the involvement of civil society at the municipal level to count the number of families and their needs.

With regard to the field of vegetables and fruits, Algeria has self-sufficiency without the need to import, but this needs to solve the chronic problem in terms of storage possibilities and manufacturers who do not follow the policy of manufacturing industries, according to analysts.

As for wheat, the problem is always in storage. Algeria has no storage space for two years, despite the surplus production, as 62 million quintals of hard wheat were produced last year locally, which covers the national need.

Tunisia .. an open financial line
Al-Jazeera Net correspondent Mohamed Ali Lotfy quoted official sources as having three strategic stocks sufficient for four months, distributed between energy and food stocks and drug stocks, and monitored for this stock fifty million dinars (the dollar equals 2.9 Tunisian dinars) as an open financial line to respond to the demands and to buy everything Tunisia needs to meet Sk.

Trade Minister Mohamed Mussellini said - in a statement to Al Jazeera Net - that his country has enough food stocks for several months, and there is no reason to panic "and are able to confront this virus in the worst case" that could reach it.

The government has allocated 2,500 million dinars for a strategic stockpile of medicines and the mobilization of financial resources to finance the measures.

The national production of hard wheat covers the consumption of eight months, while the national production of soft wheat covers less than a month for local consumption, and barley covers the consumption of about five months.

Meanwhile, the military and security forces attacked smuggled money dens and agricultural and food stores, and operations to provide citizens with basic food needs became permanently at the disposal of the state.

For his part, President Qais Saeed called for a review of the penal law, and for anyone who monopolizes foodstuffs at such a stage in the country to be considered a "war criminal".

The National Grain Board issued an international tender for the purchase of about 125,000 tons of soft flour wheat.

Egypt .. an easy task
In a country where the population exceeds one hundred million people, and more than 64 million benefit from the supply system, the task of securing strategic stocks seems not easy - according to what Al Jazeera correspondent Net Mohamed Abdullah monitored - especially if some countries decide to reduce their exports to secure their domestic supplies, which is behavior Which Egypt adopted itself a few days ago.

And the Ministry of Trade decided at the end of last month to stop exporting legumes for a period of three months, to provide the basic needs of citizens, in light of the implications of the spread of the new Corona virus.

According to the Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, all food and basic goods are available and there are safe reserves of goods for several months, including oil, sugar, rice, pasta, legumes, and tea.

Al-Jazeera Net reporter monitored consumer complaints about the rise of some types of commodities such as red and white meat, eggs, and legumes such as beans, in addition to vegetables and fruits in general.

Egypt imports several strategic food commodities, most notably wheat and oils, as it imports 60% and 95% of its needs, respectively, but the positive thing is that within days the wheat harvest season will begin.

"There is a limited capacity to import wheat as the current silos accommodate about 4.5 million tons, but most of them have not been seriously tested in storage," local expert Ismail Turki told Al Jazeera Net. "As for the local wheat, it will be placed either in earthen barns or in the private sector silos, and it may be damaged."

According to a Turkish estimate, the crisis of oil shortages will show its problem faster, especially since the government places contracts that have not yet been implemented within the strategic reserve, indicating that the rest of the commodities such as sugar and some types of legumes will rise in price, but scarcity will not appear unless the crisis spans more than six months.

Sudan .. decreased production of wheat
Al-Jazeera Net reporter Ahmed Fadl talked about the existence of decisions of the Ministry of Industry and Trade to secure food and strategic goods stocks, and to fight monopoly cases of basic food commodities.

An official source at the Ministry of Finance expected that the ban would cause production shortages, which would require the state to provide food rations and medicines. In the event of a long period of quarantine, the state would resort to seeking support from the central bank.

According to the official, wheat production is expected to decline for the current season, to reach eight hundred thousand tons, while Sudan's consumption will reach about 1.5 million tons annually.

The Supreme Committee for Emergencies is studying options related to basic food stocks, in case the Ministry of Health recommends that the partial curfew be violated and that the country enter into a complete closure.

The Minister of Trade and Industry Madani Abbas Madani told Al-Jazeera Net that the emergency committee would meet to see the data requested by it to know the stocks of food and strategic goods, and its meetings were preceded by setting indicative prices for ten commodities, including sugar, edible oils, flour, Egyptian beans and lentils, and there are other commodities other than flour that the ministry will put its hand on, Stop exporting corn.

For its part, Khartoum state has established markets for reduced sales, in which basic commodities such as sugar, onions, edible oils, meat and poultry are sold at cost.

The Ministry of Commerce canceled the system for distributing and agencies of flour, especially since Sudan's daily consumption of subsidized bread flour of one hundred thousand mobile phones (the weight of fifty kilograms) will be distributed across the states after the abolition of the flour agents system, and the support amount reaches 650 thousand dollars per day.

Exceptions to the transport of foodstuffs, under a curfew, facilitate the accurate arrival of states, and the Ministry is working to facilitate initiatives by resistance committees in neighborhoods that aim to block bread lines as a suitable environment for outbreaks of infection.

Jordan .. local production of goods
Al-Jazeera Net reporter Ayman Fadilat quoted Tareq Al-Hamouri, Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply, as saying that the ministry is conducting a periodic assessment of the kingdom's stock of basic food commodities, and takes into account all assumptions, including the worst possibility in the event of a halt to import, God forbid.

The Minister assured Al Jazeera Net that there is sufficient stock for basic commodities from six months to a year and more, especially wheat, rice and sugar, in addition to the abundant production of vegetables, poultry, table eggs and red meat, covering eight months and more.

The periodic evaluation of the stock of goods comes in light of royal invitations from King Abdullah II of the government to study the production of food commodities locally, in coordination and partnership with the private sector, in order to secure a safe stock in all circumstances.

Medically, it is available and for several months the Kingdom's stock of locally produced and imported medicines, in addition to the medical devices and equipment necessary to sustain the work of government, military, university and private sector hospitals.

The government is working in partnership with the commercial and industrial private sector to secure the market needs, and to face any shortages of basic commodities, and there is an official trend to re-operate food production factories within health conditions and controls, after stopping due to the curfew.

To this end, the government has kept the door for importing goods from abroad open, by sea through the port of Aqaba, or by land across the common borders with neighboring countries, despite the imposed curfew locally.

The government relies on the stocks of "governmental" and "military" civilian catering establishments belonging to the army to secure any shortages in commercial markets, through its branches scattered in the cities and villages of the Kingdom and remote areas, and its stock spanning more than eight months.

The commercial private sector is preparing to receive the blessed month of Ramadan by offering quantities of various basic materials, at an affordable price.

And the commercial markets are witnessing a state of stability after the high demand for it last month in conjunction with the announcement of the curfew.

Qatar .. a solid plan
Al-Jazeera Net correspondent, Muhammad Al-Shayazemi, stated that the state raised its strategic stockpile in anticipation of any possible disruptions in the supply chains, and it currently has a strategic stockpile of food, consumer and medical supplies that meet all the needs of citizens and residents.

This stock is monitored to ensure the quality of these materials and the suitability of their prices, according to a tight plan to ensure the continued flow of goods, services, food and supply products into the markets without interruption, with high quality and appropriate prices.

And direct coordination between the public and private sectors enabled the support of the strategic reserve in the local markets and stores, while promoting the movement of importing, storing and supplying food and consumer goods, and monitoring them within an electronic early warning system, allowing for follow-up of the stock status and the speed of taking decisions and actions that ensure that it is kept within the prescribed safety margin .

Abdullah Al-Kuwari, Director of Supply and Strategic Inventory at the Ministry of Trade and Industry said that the strategic stock of goods exceeds the capacity of the stores, and was not affected by the result of the increasing demand and crowding in the complexes to purchase and store the goods, and there are extensive meetings with all suppliers and officials of consumer groups daily, to monitor the adequacy of the supplies the basic.

For his part, Mohamed Ahmed Al-Obaidly, head of the Food Security Committee in the Qatar Chamber of the Island, said that the source of concern lies in the event of disturbances in external supply chains, given that the entire world is almost besieged, but that there are parallel plans to face any such challenges, no matter how long the war against Corona Virus.

In order to face any supply disruptions, the Ministry of Trade and Industry signed contracts with 14 companies a few days ago to raise the strategic stock of food and consumer goods.

Kuwait .. 37 warehouses full of food
The Minister of Trade and Industry Khaled Al-Roudhan described the strategic food stocks as "safe and sufficient for the next six months," according to Al-Jazeera Net reporter.

Al-Rawdhan called on citizens and residents not to accumulate goods due to the availability of large quantities of them, speaking about the existence of 37 warehouses full of various products and foodstuffs.

The Kuwaiti stock of muzzles reached about 7.5 million masks, in addition to the stock held by the Ministry of Health.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry called the factories that produce foodstuffs to work at full capacity without stopping to increase production, with the National Flour Mills Company raising its production capacity to seven million loaves of bread a day.

To ensure the smooth flow of goods and the crisis not being exploited by suppliers, the Ministry fixed prices for vegetables, meat, and fish in outlets, and restricted sales in major central vegetable markets to associations and parallel supermarkets without individuals, in addition to extending work with expired import licenses, and issuing licenses for about 13 charities for importing goods from abroad in a first step of its kind in the country.

The Ministry banned the export of food commodities and medical supplies abroad, and the opening of catering branches on a daily basis, as well as the closure and editing of violations against companies, commercial stores and pharmacies in violation.

Arab fears of the Corona pandemic exist and are increasing, driven by the large and continuous spread of the virus in the major countries, and the closure of most countries to their different borders and ports, which impedes the movement of import and export, especially for basic food commodities.

In addition to the application of a curfew to citizens, the closure of food production plants, and the stopping of the agricultural harvest, especially those countries that are dependent on securing their food to their local production.