Al-Amin: The food trade sector needs innovative financing solutions to confront shipping pressures and high insurance costs

Al-Amin: The food trade sector needs innovative financing solutions to confront shipping pressures and high insurance costs.

Al-Amin: Reducing financing pressures on merchants will enable them to maintain safe stock levels of basic commodities.

Al-Amin: The banking sector is called upon to develop financing that supports fertilizer exports and enhances Bahrain’s role in global food chains.

Al-Amin: The current stage calls for developing financing measures to absorb the cost differences resulting from cases of using alternative transport paths for freight movement.

Al-Amin calls for providing easy and flexible financing to food traders to maintain market flexibility and support exports.

Al-Amin: Food security was and still is a priority for the banking sector because it is directly linked to economic stability.

Chairman of the Food Committee at the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Khalid Al-Amin, called for the importance of activating the role of the banking sector as a major partner in supporting the food trade sector, in a way that enhances the local market’s ability to face current challenges and ensure the continuity and stability of food supply chains, especially in light of escalating shipping pressures and rising insurance costs globally. He stressed that entering the banking sector as a strategic partner in supporting the food trade sector by providing flexible and innovative financing solutions would ease financing pressures on merchants and enable them to maintain safe stock levels of basic commodities.

On the sidelines of the committee’s meeting with representatives of the food trade sector, which was held this morning at the “House of Traders,” he added that Bahrain possesses an important competitive advantage as one of the countries exporting agricultural fertilizers, which opens the way for the banking sector to develop financing tools directed at supporting fertilizer exports, which contributes to increasing Bahrain’s share in global food chains, and strengthening its position as a regional center in industries related to food security. He stressed that the current stage requires achieving integration between the banking sector and entities working in the food security sectors, in order to support the food security file and raise the efficiency of supply chains in confronting the problem. Rapid global changes.

Al-Amin explained that the current stage requires the banking sector to provide innovative financing solutions to absorb cost differences resulting from exceptional cases that may lead to disruption or disruption of sea, land, or air supply routes, especially since the use of alternative routes or means of transportation has become a necessity to maintain the continuity of the flow of basic goods. He pointed out that these financing mechanisms contribute to protecting merchants from sudden cost pressures, support the stability of the local market, and maintain the desired balance in a way that enhances the ability of the banking sector to play a strategic role as a partner in the food stability industry.

He stressed that adopting flexible financing models gives the private sector the ability to confront external shocks and ensures the sustainability of the flow of supplies, thus enhancing Bahrain’s regional role in food chains, indicating that this requires setting clear measures that enable sectors working in the areas of food security to obtain the necessary financing through soft loan programs, in addition to developing clear mechanisms for repaying these loans, which would enhance market flexibility and support the productive and export capacity of the Bahraini market.

The Secretary pointed out that these trends come as an extension of the national role played by the banking sector in supporting the national economy in line with the directions of the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain, headed by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to increase the contribution of small and medium enterprises to the national economy, pointing out that the food security sector receives a special priority for the banking sector due to its direct connection to economic and social stability, indicating that strengthening the partnership with this vital sector contributes to supporting comprehensive development and ensuring the sustainability of the flow of basic goods. Efficient and flexible, and enhances Bahrain’s ability to face regional and global challenges.