Bill would jail suppliers who breach strategic stockpile rules

TDT | Manama

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A draft law requiring suppliers to keep strategic reserves of essential goods, and allowing temporary export bans during emergencies, comes before MPs on Tuesday. The measure would set minimum stock levels, require suppliers to provide stock data when requested, and introduce prison terms and fines for breaches.

The Public Utilities and Environment Committee has recommended approval in principle. The government has called for the bill to be reconsidered, saying the main aims are already being met through Bahrain’s food-security work and through existing laws.

Based on a Shura Council proposal, the bill would define a ‘strategic stockpile of goods’ as reserves kept in warehouses or similar premises for a period set by the competent authority, to prevent shortages during emergencies, crises or disasters. It would also set a ‘safety stock’ threshold below which reserves must not fall.

Under the draft, the ministry responsible for trade affairs would co-ordinate with other bodies to determine the size of the stockpile and the safety-stock ratio, identify which goods must be held and for how long, track consumption, maintain databases on supply and output, and submit periodic reports to the Cabinet. Suppliers would have to store strategic goods in warehouses meeting standards set in the implementing regulations, provide the ministry with stock details within a week of a request, and comply with decisions issued under the law. The ministry would also be able to establish electronic links with suppliers to monitor quantities, categories and stock condition.

If an acute shortage emerges during exceptional market conditions, the trade minister could take temporary measures to address it, including ordering a temporary export ban or imposing export restrictions on a commodity, without prejudice to the Civil Defence law. The implementing regulations would set out how an acute shortage is assessed and what measures may be used.

The bill lists acts that would be criminal offences. They include knowingly publishing secret or false information about the strategic stockpile, providing false or fabricated data tied to strategic goods, and entering into arrangements to influence prices or restrict the production, import or trade of strategic goods. It would also prohibit collusion to refuse purchase, sale or supply in a way that harms the stockpile, and bar closing or suspending shops, factories or warehouses dealing in strategic goods, or stopping production or distribution, without the approval of the ministry or the competent authority.

Penalties include imprisonment for up to one year and a fine of up to BD5,000, or either, for breaching supplier obligations. Violations of the prohibitions would carry a minimum one-year jail term and a fine ranging from BD1,000 to BD10,000, or either penalty. Courts could also order confiscation or destruction of goods and allow publication of a summary of the judgment in two local daily newspapers at the offender’s expense. They could suspend the activity tied to the offence for up to a year, and in repeat cases for up to five years or permanently revoke a licence.

Separately, the bill would give the minister administrative powers to enforce compliance. The minister could issue a warning giving a period to rectify breaches, then order closure of an establishment for between seven days and three months or strike off a commercial registration. A grievance could be filed with the minister within 15 days. An appeal could then be brought before the competent court within 60 days of notification that the grievance was rejected, or from the date it is deemed rejected.

The committee linked the bill to priorities raised by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in a Royal Address, with a focus on food security and steps towards self-sufficiency. It said the measure would help keep strategic goods available on a sustainable basis, support market stability and deter monopolistic practices.

Other committees took different views. The Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee said the bill was sound in constitutional terms. The Financial and Economic Affairs Committee described it as important, but said its goals are already being delivered through the ‘National Strategy to Achieve Food Security’ under the government programme.

In its memorandum, the government said Bahrain already maintains a safe strategic stockpile of basic goods, pointing to work tied to the ‘National Strategy to Achieve Food Security’ for 2020 to 2030, including monthly collection of stock data and reporting through a food-security indicators dashboard. It also said the bill repeats existing rules, citing provisions in the Commercial Law on regulating public warehouses and technical regulations on transporting and storing chilled and frozen foods.

The government also raised concerns about penal drafting, saying offences need clear, defined boundaries. It pointed to terms such as ‘safe warehouses’, and to offences tied to reporting duties and collusion, arguing that vague wording can leave uncertainty over what conduct is criminalised.

The Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture said it is pursuing programmes aimed at strengthening relative food security, including allocating six sites across the four governorates for soilless farming and designating 990,000 square metres for a project to increase broiler chicken production with the private sector. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce said it supports the government’s legal view and said the ‘National Strategy to Achieve Food Security’ is not within its remit.

The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry has also called for reconsideration, arguing that the existing framework is enough and that extra rules could hinder private-sector participation and investment. In meetings with the committee, chamber representatives called for food-related responsibilities to be brought under one specialised body, saying exporters can face obstacles in some markets because of missing permits linked to a clearly identified food authority. They suggested merging existing units rather than creating a new one.

The bill was referred to the committee by Speaker Ahmed Al Musallam under a letter dated 3 April 2024. The Council had earlier referred back a previous version of the committee’s report for further study during a sitting on 18 March 2025, before the committee returned with an amended report recommending approval in principle.