‘Australia Week’ festival, organised by LuLu Group in Qatar since 2018, will run until February 11 and will feature major product lines directly imported from Australia.

Leading retailer LuLu Group launched its ‘Australia Week’ festival to celebrate the diversity of Aussie products across all LuLu hypermarkets in the region.

The festival, which kicked off on Sunday, is organised in collaboration with Austrade, the Australian embassy’s commercial division, with the goal of promoting Australian products in the Qatari market.

Speaking at the inaugural event, Australian ambassador Jonathan Muir emphasised that Australian food and beverage products have earned “an impeccable reputation” around the world for superior quality, great value, and creative manufacturing methods.

“Our products are also tailored to meet the specific needs of international markets, with many Australian companies specialising in organic and halal products, as well as those with reduced sugar, salt and fat, preservative-free, gluten-free, nut-free and dairy-free,” Muir said in a speech at LuLu’s hypermarket at Giardino Mall, The Pearl Island.

The ambassador also praised LuLu’s “consistent efforts” to promote Australian products in the region through its extensive network of hypermarket chains.

“You can find these products in the world’s most prestigious restaurants, in the cabins of Qatar Airways, on the shelves of the finest retailers, including, of course, your local LuLu. These unique food offerings have also become a major draw for visitors to Australia and research shows that travellers rate it as one of the top two countries in the world for food experiences,” he said.

Muir also added that Qatar residents are among the largest purchasers of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be hosted jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand from July 20  to August 20, 2023.

“I encourage all of you to visit Australia this summer for an unforgettable experience, where you can not only enjoy exciting football but partake of some of the world’s best food,” he said.

On the sidelines of the event, Mohamed Althaf, director of LuLu Group International, told journalists that Australian products “have been increasing significantly” at all LuLu outlets over the last four years “due to growing local demand”.

“We had started importing different food and non-food items from Australia. Now, we have almost all ranges of Australian products, which have become an integral part of LuLu’s offerings,” he explained.

There has been a considerable increase in Australia’s exports of livestock, fresh food, processed food products and vegetables to Qatar, according to recent reports.

Althaf added that LuLu Group is working closely with Austrade to expand its footprint in Australia.

“We will be able to start shipping a wide range of products from Australia to Qatar soon. LuLu will buy products in Australia and export them to Qatar.

“This will go through all necessary processes like halal certification, traceability and quality testing to bring the best products from Australia. We believe this initiative will play a proactive role in ensuring food security in Qatar. Historically, GCC markets depended very heavily on Australia for perishable and protein-rich foods, as well as other products.”

‘Australia Week’ festival, organised by LuLu Group in Qatar since 2018, will run until February 11 and will feature major product lines directly imported from Australia.

Some of the products on display include fresh meat, organic foods, muesli bars, plant-based milk, sauces, cake mix, honey, and fresh fruits and vegetables, among others.

Shoppers will also benefit from variety of promotions including discounted prices on different products and chances to win gift cards,vouchers.