Qatar Economic Outlook Issue Number 13

Part 1: Economic Outlook 2021 - 2023 
29 
prompted them to import much more than 
they immediately required.
Those cases combined with quarantine 
measures as well as labors’ perception 
change regarding low-paying, no-benefits 
jobs led to labor shortages resulting in higher 
transportation and shipping fees, which in 
turn have greatly (but not exclusively) 
contributed to a rise in the prices of goods 
and services globally compared to the past 
three decades, as shown in Figure (1-5) for 
non-oil commodity groups. It is very 
important to note that employers in the USA 
and UK have raised the level of wages in 
order to attract workers but the response 
remains weak. 
When looking at the evolution of prices 
during the period (January 2019 - October 
2021), shown in Figure (1-5), it can be seen 
that the CPI fell during 2019 by negative 
4%, with a minimum of negative 9.5% and a 
maximum of negative 3.5%, before entering 
a steady decline during the period of 
intensified Covid-19 containment measures 
until the end of May of 2020, but then 
picking up until the end of 2020 to result in 
an annual average of 3%, with a maximum 
of 6.3%, and a minimum of negative 8%.
During the first ten months of 2021, prices 
have moved up sharply, amounting to an 
average increase of around 35.4%, with a 
maximum of 50.8% and a minimum of 
20.5%. This is ascribed to the repercussions 
of Covid-19 containment measures imposed 
in 2020 on the lifestyles of the population 
(including, for instance, increased demand 
for consumer goods because people were 
not permitted to spend their discretionary 
income on travel, entertainment, and eating 
out), structural and technical adjustments in 
business, economic, and social activities, 
and disruptions in food and non-food 
commodities’ supply chains. The indirect 
effects of expansionary economic policies - 
fiscal and monetary – also played a 
significant role.