Bahrain food inflation eases despite heavy reliance on imports

TDT | Manama

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Food prices in Bahrain have stayed relatively steady in 2025 even though the Kingdom imports about 90 per cent of its basic food needs and is closely tied to swings in world markets, according to recent economic data.

Trading Economics figures show that Bahrain’s food inflation rate fell by 0.60 per cent year-on-year in September 2025.

Prices of food and non-alcoholic drinks dropped by 1.7 per cent in March 2025, while the general level of food prices between January and May 2025 was down by around 1.6 per cent. Economic front On the wider economic front, overall inflation in November 2024 stood at about 0.4 per cent. This reading was linked to a 2 per cent fall in food and non-alcoholic drink prices, alongside price control and market supervision measures applied by the government. Data from Prices in Bahrain and Numbeo show that basic food items stayed within a narrow price band in 2025.

A litre of milk cost about BD0.62, 500 grammes of white bread around BD0.50, a kilogram of white rice roughly BD0.99, a dozen eggs about BD0.95 and a kilogram of chicken roughly BD2.66.

A report on the Zawya website notes that seasonal offers in local supermarkets also played a part in lowering shelf prices.

One example is a cut in the price of a carton of long-life milk from BD1.955 to BD1.390.

Bahraini traders say the domestic market has been partly shielded from swings in world food costs by the exemption of more than 94 basic goods from value added tax, a step they argue has helped keep prices in check and supported household purchasing power.

World prices

Bahrain’s food bill is closely linked to world prices because of its reliance on imports.

The global food price index rose by 8.2 per cent in February 2025 as sugar, vegetable oils and dairy products became more expensive, then eased by 1.6 per cent in October 2025 as grain and vegetable supplies increased. Movements in world markets pass through directly to Bahrain.