Updated June 06, 2017 23:48:04

There are chaotic scenes in Qatari supermarkets as people race to stockpile groceries after some of the Arab world's biggest powers cut ties with the country for supporting extremism.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all announced they would withdraw their diplomatic staff from Qatar on Monday, with Yemen, the Maldives and one of Libya's three rival governments following suit.

The Qatar Government has indicated it is ready for mediation efforts.

Doha also decided not to retaliate against the measures.

It is being accused of providing funding to Islamists — an allegation which it vehemently denies.

In an unprecedented move, fellow Gulf states have closed all transport links with Qatar and ordered their citizens out of the country. They have given Qataris abroad 14 days to return home.

Now there are fears the shutting down of all land, sea and air links will trigger supply shortages to Qatar — a nation that is located on the Gulf peninsular and relies heavily on its only land border with Saudi Arabia to access food.

In fact, about 80 per cent of Qatar's food requirements are sourced via bigger Gulf Arab neighbours.

Sure enough, as the border closed, supply difficulties quickly developed.

Thousands of trucks carrying food were reported to have been stuck at the Saudi border, unable to make the sole overland frontier crossing into Qatar.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia stopped exports of white sugar into Qatar — a potential hit to consumers during the holy month of Ramadan when demand is high.

Supermarket shelves were left looking bare as people rushed to stockpile food amid the uncertainty.

"People have stormed into the supermarket hoarding food, especially imported ones," Eva Tobaji, an expatriate resident in Doha, said after returning from shopping.

"It's chaos — I've never seen anything like this before."

A supermarket customer told Al Jazeera: "I think it's better to stock up on things my family and I need rather than being left out".

Trade sources pointed to the likelihood of shortages growing in Qatar until the crisis eased.

An Iranian official said his country could export food to Qatar by sea, as Saudi Arabia and three other nations moved to isolate the gas-rich nation after severing diplomatic ties and accusing it of supporting terrorism.

The semi-official Fars news agency quoted Reza Nourani, chairman of the union of exporters of agricultural products, as saying that food shipments sent from Iran could reach Qatar in 12 hours.

The rift has caused Qatar's stock market index to sink 7.3 per cent, with some of the market's top blue chips hardest hit, and some Egyptian banks have said they will suspend dealing with Qatari banks.

Qatar to seek dialogue

Qatar's ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani had delayed a speech in order to give Kuwait a chance to ease regional tensions, said Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.

Qatar wants to give Kuwait's ruler Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah the ability to "proceed and communicate with the parties to the crisis and to try to contain the issue," Qatar's Foreign Minister said in comments to Qatar-based Al Jazeera television.

Kuwait's emir had an important role in a previous Gulf rift in 2014 and Qatar's Sheikh Tamim "regards him as a parent and respects his desire to postpone any speech or step until there is a clearer picture of the crisis," Al Jazeera quoted the foreign minister as saying.

Sheikh Mohammed told the channel that the measures taken against Qatar had an "unprecedented impact" on its citizens and on family relations in the Gulf Arab region, but said Doha will not take counter measures.

Qatar "believes such differences between sister countries must be resolved through dialogue."

Kuwait's ruler will travel to Saudi Arabia for talks with King Salman over a Gulf Arab dispute with Qatar, Gulf Arab officials said.

AP/Reuters

Topics: world-politics, government-and-politics, air-transport, food-and-beverage, terrorism, qatar

First posted June 06, 2017 16:31:42