+ A
A -
Catherine W GichukiDohaMultiple factors led to the global supply chain crisis that has affected the global economy, Minister of State and Chairman of Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA) HE Ahmad bin Mohammed Al Sayed has said, listing COVID-19 lockdowns, the Ukrainian crisis, inflation and demand explosion after pandemic normality as the major irritants. Addressing a Qatar Economic Forum session on the supply chain crisis in Doha on Tuesday, Sayed said among the causes of the crisis is the rapid growth and the return to normal following the pandemic, which put great pressure on these supply chains, as well as the disruptions to supply and changes to consumer behaviour. He said that it was not easy to solve these problems especially that the prices of some sea container shipments have increased by 60 percent, which affected food prices, transport and supply chains in general.The minister said that international bodies and governments should ease international policies to goods transportation and logistics and supporting the private sector in overcoming the disruption of supply chains, as well as the importance of providing more logistical services for warehousing and capabilities available in the long term, such as long-term food supply and storage in a strategic location. He explained customs and different authorities, airports, airlines and companies should take a collective action, in addition to the role of international organizations to facilitate the transportation of goods, trade and the logistics associated with the movement of goods. He highlighted that airports, customs, airlines, and companies must adopt different measures to ensure supply chains run smoothly. He added that policies boosting trade and increasing storage capacities have a role to play as well.For his part, CEO of the Omani ASYAD Group Abdulrahman Salim Al Hatmi said that the Gulf ports were able, thanks to the infrastructure and the high quality of their systems, to respond to the challenges of the pandemic and dealt with flexibility and did not close during the pandemic period, which helped ensure the smooth-running of supply chains, pointing out that port closures in some countries such as the US and China led to chaos, the effects of which are still ongoing.Al Hatmi also called for the importance of looking at the concept of multiple sources of supply chains, addressing supply chain infrastructure issues, creating alternative mechanisms and a different view of port closure policies due to the importance of business continuity.
