Bahrain announces new measures to combat inflation
Bahrain’s government announced new measures to help the country tackle growing global inflation, including financial support and the temporary suspension of certain fees.
Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain, directed officials to develop “urgent plans and procedures to stabilise prices and ensure the availability of commodities”.
New measures set to be introduced include the suspension of industrial land fees for food storage facilities for three months and the temporary suspension of approvals and fees required by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce for supermarkets to run promotional campaigns during that period.
The Ministry of Social Development has also been directed to disburse an additional month of financial support in January for low-income families to account for global inflation.
Officials have also been instructed to increase monitoring and inspection of local market prices.
In October last year, the International Monetary Fund warned of a global cost-of-living crisis as the world economy continues to be affected by the war in Ukraine, broadening inflation pressures and a slowdown in China.
While inflation rates in Arab countries jumped to an aggregate 14 per cent last year, they are projected to drop to 8 per cent and 4.5 per cent, respectively this year and next, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (Escwa) said in a report.
Gulf countries will grow at their fastest pace since 2014, expanding 4.6 per cent and 3.3 per cent in 2023 and 2024, respectively, from 6.3 per cent last year, as they benefit from a recovery in oil markets that started in 2021, the UN survey said.
