There have been reports of panic buying in Qatar, as consumers scramble to stock up on supplies in reaction to the announcement to Monday’s announcement by six Gulf nations of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Egypt and the Maldives that were severing diplomatic ties with their Arab neighbours.
The six nations said they were withdrawing their diplomatic staff from Qatar, over claims that the country supported Islamist groups.
Analysts have warned that the announcement that six countries have severed diplomatic ties could lead to food shortages in Qatar.
Photos on social media have shown Qatar residents queuing up at grocery stores and emptying shelves.
Qatar imports approximately 90 per cent of its food, with 40 percent of it coming solely from Saudi Arabia.
“There will be shortages of food, certain things will be hard to find,” Christian Henderson, a Middle Eastern food expert at SOAS University in London, told Gulf News.
Dairy, meat and vegetables are expected to be heavily impacted.
“Panic buying always makes things worse, and prices will go up,” Henderson said.
The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have also stopped exports of white sugar to Qatar, in the first sign that the diplomatic crisis is hitting food trade, trade sources said on Monday.
Qatar is dependent on the UAE and Saudi Arabia for its white sugar imports, which are estimated at less than 100,000 tonnes annually.
Consumption is higher during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is currently being observed.
The Qatari government has, however, slammed the decisions of the six nations to sever ties with it, saying they were “unjustified” and aimed to put Doha under political “guardianship”.
The diplomatic broadside threatens the international prestige of Qatar, which is set to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It has for years presented itself as a mediator and power broker for the region’s many disputes.
Emirates, Etihad Airways, Air Arabia, FlyDubai and Saudi Arabian Airlines have suspended all flights to Qatar, after the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain said they would cut all air, land and sea links with Qatar within 24 hours.
Egypt is expected to suspend air links with Qatar by Tuesday.
“The measures are unjustified and are based on false and baseless claims,” the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement, referring to the steps taken by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
“The aim is clear, and it is to impose guardianship on the state. This by itself is a violation of its (Qatar’s) sovereignty as a state,” Qatar added.
As organisers work to plan the upcoming 2022 World Cup in Qatar, a FIFA spokesperson refused to comment, when asked if the event would be moved.
“FIFA is in regular contact with the Qatar 2022 Local Organising Committee and the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy handling matters relating to the 2022 FIFA World Cup,” the spokesperson told MailOnline.
“We have no further comments for the time being,” he added.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the cutting of ties would affect Qatar Airways, one of the region’s major long-haul carriers, though the airline suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia on Monday.
Abu Dhabi’s state-owned Etihad Airways said it would suspend all flights to and from Doha from Tuesday morning until further notice.
Etihad, which operates four return flights to Doha daily, said the measure will be in place “until further notice”.
Other carriers from the three Gulf countries are likely to announce similar measures.
Additionally, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain have given all Qatari visitors and residents two weeks to leave their territory.
Doha airport, along with airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, have become major hubs after Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways seized a significant chunk of transcontinental travel on routes linking Western countries with Asia and Australasia.
Saudi Arabia also said Qatari troops would be pulled from the ongoing war in Yemen.
Qatar is also home to the sprawling al-Udeid Air Base, which is home to the US military’s Central Command and some 10,000 American troops.
It wasn’t clear if the decision would affect American military operations. Central Command officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bahrain blamed Qatar’s ‘media incitement, support for armed terrorist activities and funding linked to Iranian groups to carry out sabotage and spreading chaos in Bahrain’ for its decision. Other countries issued similar statements.
The decision comes after Qatar alleged in late May that hackers took over the site of its state-run news agency and published what it called fake comments from its ruling emir about Iran and Israel.
Its Gulf Arab neighbors responded with anger, blocking Qatari-based media, including the Doha-based satellite news network Al-Jazeera.
“(Qatar) embraces multiple terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at disturbing stability in the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS (Islamic State) and al-Qaeda, and promotes the message and schemes of these groups through their media constantly,” the Saudi state news agency SPA said.
Some Egyptian banks halted dealings with Qatari banks on Monday, four Cairo-based bankers said.
Egypt’s action, announced in the early hours of Monday, was coordinated with similar moves by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Egypt did not say if the measure includes a halting of trade with Qatar, and the Trade Ministry did not immediately respond to questions on this.
The four bankers said the halting of transactions with Qatari banks came on internal orders from management at their banks, and excludes the opening of letters of credit required for imports.
Some banks have stopped accepting Qatari currency while others are halting some treasury transactions, the bankers said.
There had been no official communication to banks from the Central Bank of Egypt on the split, the bankers said, and the central bank did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Shoppers at a supermarket in Doha, Qatar, on Monday 