Qatar’s Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) is overseeing a campaign that only permits its citizens to buy two sheep during the month of fasting, the Gulf Times reported today.

In an effort to ensure there is sufficient livestock this Ramadan, each adult is entitled to two sheep during the Muslim month of fasting which begins this week, when demand will be high. Qatari citizens are required to show identification cards at slaughterhouses before purchasing.

But the state of the livestock market speaks volumes over how Qatar is coping with the Gulf rift. In June last year, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain severed ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorism and extremism, allegations Qatar categorically denies.

As a result of the blockade, Qatar has been banned from using the airspace and waterways of a number of boycotting countries and this has led to an increase in import costs. In March last year, Qatar announced plans to become more self-reliant over the next five years and reduce its dependence on foreign expertise and produce, the country’s second five-year National Development Strategy for 2018 to 2022. Qatar sought to satisfy 30 per cent of its demand for farm animals and 65 per cent of its demand for fish domestically, but this new development may show that it’s not quite there yet.

At the beginning of the rift, some 60 planes were planned to be used by Qatar to airlift 4,000 cows to satisfy milk supplies. The tensions with the sieging countries continues just shy of its anniversary in June this year, without any sight of a reconciliation to halt the impact on Qatar and the wider Gulf Cooperation Council region.

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