UK-Qatar trade ‘back to pre-Covid-19 levels’ to $15bn in 2022, says British envoy

Trade between the UK and Qatar is back to pre-Covid-19 levels, which stood at around "$15bn” or about "£12bn” last year, British ambassador Jonathan Wilks told Gulf Times.Speaking on the sidelines of the recently concluded ‘British Food Week’, which was organised by LuLu Group, Wilks said the embassy is expecting trade figures to increase, adding that it is also "looking to the next stage of Qatar’s development.”According to Wilks, there has been a growing demand for British products in Qatar, wherein he lauded LuLu Group for promoting a wide range of food items from the UK in all its outlets across Qatar.This year’s edition of ‘British Food Week’ at LuLu witnessed the "biggest” participation of food suppliers from the UK, the ambassador noted.He said, "British Food Week is always a big boost to our exports and it gives the chance to everybody in Qatar to try some new products or to get to know some of the brands established in the market."This is all very positive. Trade figures have returned to pre-Covid-19 levels and that’s in part, a sign of the new normal, but it’s also a sign that Qatar itself looks set for a decade of growth and LuLu hypermarkets in the Gulf are also very well-established and therefore, it’s a great platform to sell more and more British products.”Wilks explained that the ongoing discussions for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the UK and GCC states is expected to boost trade. "This matters to the UK because the six GCC states form one of our biggest export markets and there is a will on both sides to increase trade and investment, so we’re working hard,” he said.