A Qatari businessman is planning to airlift 4,000 Holstein dairy cows into the country as part of efforts to maintain milk supplies during the blockade by Qatar’s Gulf Arab neighbours. The proposal – described as the biggest airlift of cattle ever attempted – comes as Qatar moves rapidly to open an air and sea bridge via Iran, Turkey and port facilities in Oman.

The plan to fly in the cows was disclosed by Moutaz Al Khayyat, chairman of Power International Holding, to the Bloomberg news agency. Khayyat said it would take as many as 60 flights to deliver the cattle, which were bought in Australia and the US. He had originally planned to import the cows by ship for a newly completed dairy facility near Doha. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates cut diplomatic, economic and transport ties with Qatar on 5 June, accusing Doha of supporting extremist groups.

Until then, Qatar had imported most of its dairy products from neighbouring countries – including Saudi Arabia. Riyadh closed the Qatari peninsula’s only land border, threatening the import of both fresh food and raw materials needed to complete a $200bn infrastructure project for the 2022 football World Cup. Turkey has replaced products that disappeared from supermarket shelves, including yoghurt and laban, while Morocco and Iran have pledged to supply the emirate with foodstuffs.(guardian)…[+]