The 2022 FIFA World Cup, to begin in Qatar from November 20, has a Bengal connect. Chances are that mutton served in the hotels of the FIFA host could be from Bengal.

The West Bengal Livestock Development Corporation Limited (WBLDCL), under the state animal resources development department, has begun to supply 3.6 tonnes of lamb and goat meat to Qatar on daily basis to meet the enhanced requirements as football lovers converge to the Arab nation for the greatest soccer event on earth.

Meat processed at the Haringhata plant, which is authenticated by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), has started to be exported in frozen packs for hotels in Qatar.

The first shipment of the bulk order was rolled out on Thursday. The value of meat export to Qatar in November will be in the tune of Rs 7.8 crore, said an official of the livestock corporation.

“The global market is opening up for us because of the FIFA World Cup. We are making our footprints abroad with the supply of goat and lamb meat to Qatar. There is a huge demand for red meat in Qatar. Our Haringhata meat tastes great and we are hopeful that it will win the hearts of meat lovers in Qatar,” said state animal resources development minister Swapan Debnath, who flagged off the consignment in Haringhata on Thursday.

“It is a matter of pride for us that for the first time, meat from eastern India is being exported abroad. This time we have engaged exporters, but soon we will supply directly to our foreign clients,” the minister added.

“According to the APEDA directive, we will export 3.6MT of meat every day for at least 26 days each month to Doha through Qatar Airways. Three shipments of 1.2 tonnes each of meat will fly out to Doha every day from Calcutta. We have been told that meat supplied by us will be served to footballers and tourists who will be putting up at various hotels during the World Cup,” said Mohammad Shariq Khan, executive director of the exporting company.

Khan said that even after the FIFA event is over, the company will continue to supply mutton to Qatar hotels, but the quantum of export would be decided later.

Debnath said the APEDA certification of the Haringhata processing plant, which was set up in 1974, helped it bag orders to export mutton to the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Singapore, and Hong Kong. To meet the export requirement, the livestock corporation has tied up with 26,000 small goat farmers in 22 districts of Bengal.