BMI's Executive Summary

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The Sector At A Glance

Key Insights On The Food & Drink Sector Of Bahrain

The issue of bird flu has once again come into the spotlight for Bahrain, with the government taking steps to prevent a fresh outbreak, as discussed in BMI’s newly published Bahrain Food and Drink Report Q406. Hundreds of workers at Bahrain's poultry farms were recently vaccinated against ordinary flu to improve their protection against avian influenza. The Health Minister explained that the aim is to prevent the two types of viruses mixing and mutating into a virus which could be passed from human to human. Head of communicable disease control, Dr Muna Al-Mousawi, explained that this was a purely precautionary measure, and that no cases of bird flu had been reported thus far. This renewed scare will no doubt create greater opportunities for packaged foods in the country, as consumers become more concerned with health and hygiene issues, thus driving sales of frozen poultry bought in modern outlets. In fact, we are predicting that MGR sales are set to increase by almost 60% over the forecast period to 2010.

Meanwhile, the government is also investing in building multi-story poultry farming structures, according to the Municipalities and Agriculture Ministry, as there is not enough space to accommodate poultry farms, as the country only has 717 sq km. Like many of its Gulf peers, Bahrain is heavily reliant on food and drink imports to meet its population's needs, due to the major constraints on its agriculture caused by its desert terrain, and also by the density of its population.

Yet despite these government efforts, BMI is predicting that exports from the kingdom will actually decline by 7.3% to 2010, from an already low starting point. Imports meanwhile are set to grow by a considerable 14.5%, thus resulting in an increasingly negative trade balance. Another interesting forecast in Bahrain’s food and drink sector is the changing nature of the country’s trade balance. The country has always been a net importer due to insufficiencies in the agricultural sector. However, as the quality of the food processing and agricultural sectors in neighbouring markets improves, demand for Bahraini produce is likely to decrease slightly – explaining the fall in value of export sales. The value of imports, however, will climb as consumption habits change and consumers develop preferences for processed foods that cannot be developed – or at least the ingredients for which cannot be developed – locally. The government’s interest in developing the processed food sector is likely to further this need for imports. However, unlike many other markets in the region, this negative trade balance is not likely to alarm the government and lead to programmes and measures aimed at improving the agricultural industry – it is simply the way it has been and the way it is set to remain.

Contents

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Chapter 1 – Business Environment

Table: Middle East Business Environment Rankings

SWOT Analysis

Bahrain Food & Drink SWOT

Bahrain Political SWOT

Bahrain Economic SWOT

Bahrain Business Environment SWOT

Macroeconomic Outlook

Table: Bahrain - Economic Activity

Chapter 2 – Retail

Regional Overview – Discount Retailing

Table: Discount Store Sales in US$bn

Table: Key Players in Discount Retail

Industry Forecast Scenario

Table: Bahrain MGR Sales Value by Format – Historical Data & Forecasts

Industry Developments

Company Developments

Market Overview – Bahrain

Table: Structure Of Bahrain’s MGR Market By Number Of Outlets

Table: Bahrain Mass Grocery Retail Sales - Value by Format - Historical Data & Forecasts

Chapter 3 – Food & Drink

Dairy In The Middle East

Table: Milk Production By Volume (tonnes)

Table: Key Players

Industry Forecast Scenario

Table: Food Consumption Indicators – Historical Data & Forecasts

Table: Bahrain Sectoral Trade Balance – Historical Data & Forecasts

Industry Developments

Company Developments

Market Overview – Bahrain

Table: Bahrain Agricultural Sub-Sector Production

Chapter 4 – Tobacco

Industry Developments

Market Overview

Chapter 5 – Competitive Landscape

Key Players

Table: Key Players in Bahrain’s MGR Sector

Table: Key Players in Bahrain’s Food & Drink Sector

Regional Company Case Studies

Lulu Company Profile

Table: Lulu Outlets

Ülker Company Profile

Table: Ulker

Table: Ulker’s Regional Presence

Regional Food & Drink Case Study – Aujan Industries

Tables: Aujan Industries – The Figures

Table: Aujan Industries Production Facilities In Saudi Arabia

Table: Aujan Shareholders

Mecca-Cola’s Performance in the Middle East

Table: Mecca-Cola Global Presence

Table: Mecca-Cola – The Figures

Company Analysis

Bahrain Flour Mills Company (BFMC)

BMI Forecast Modelling

How we generate our industry forecasts

Retail Industry

Sources

Competitive Landscape for Middle East & Africa Food & Drink Reports: Sample of  
Companies Ranked

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At-a-glance perspective on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing each market’s food & drink industry. BMI also provides similar economic and business environment studies. Company SWOTs (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) covering all leading food and drink companies operating in each market, including competitive intelligence on geographic presence and competitive positioning of multinationals against local companies; leading products, services and brands; sales and local market share; foreign direct investment, projects, partners and acquisition strategy. Illustration of the industry via rankings tables comparing revenues, number of outlets, number of employees and registration dates. BMI analyses each company’s performance, market position, strategy and investment potential.

Network of Middle Eastern & African Food Sources

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BMI's Middle Eastern & African Food Reports are based on an extensive network of multilateral organisations, government departments, food industry associations, chambers of commerce and company reports. Information sources include: