Assessing the competitive advantage of the Qatari date palm sector: Challenges and opportunities for growth

Dhehibi, Boubaker; Niane, Abdoul Aziz; Saket Al-Shamari, Hamad; Al Maliki, Sowaid; Al Asmakh, Hsaasn; Ben Abdallah, Abdallah; Nejatian, Arash; Hilali, Muhi El-Dine

doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.14976/jals.34.S_97

Assessing the competitive advantage of the Qatari date palm sector: Challenges and opportunities for growth

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Date

2024-07-30

Date Issued

2024-07-30

Contributes to SDGs

SDG 12 - Responsible consumption and production

Authors

Dhehibi, Boubaker

Niane, Abdoul Aziz

Saket Al-Shamari, Hamad

Al Maliki, Sowaid

Al Asmakh, Hsaasn

Ben Abdallah, Abdallah

Nejatian, Arash

Hilali, Muhi El-Dine

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Citation

Boubaker Dhehibi, Abdoul Aziz Niane, Hamad Saket Al-Shamari, Sowaid Al Maliki, Hsaasn Al Asmakh, Abdallah Ben Abdallah, Arash Nejatian, Muhi El-Dine Hilali. (30/7/2024). Assessing the competitive advantage of the Qatari date palm sector: Challenges and opportunities for growth. Journal of Arid Land Studies, 34 (s), pp. 97-102.

Abstract

This study assesses the value chain and competitive advantage of the Qatari date palm sector within the international market. The first part of the study focuses on development strategies to improve the value chain in the State of Qatar. A “strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats” (SWOT) analysis was used to explore challenges and opportunities leading to improvements in the marketing, commercialization, and competitiveness of dates and date palm products in Qatar. The SWOT analysis revealed that the diversification of date varieties and orientation toward modern plantations are the greatest strengths of the date value chain. However, increasing competition in regional and global date markets is a major threat to the date sector in the country. The second section of the study assesses the competitiveness of the Qatari date palm sector in the international market using a set of widely used indicators, including the market share, revealed comparative advantage, and trade balance index. The empirical findings reveal that Qatar is not competitive in the international date palm market given its very low comparative advantage. The study suggests that a strategy must be driven by stakeholders to clearly identify a vision for better marketing, prioritize actions, focus investments to increase competitiveness and growth, and expand profitability in the date value chain.