Bahrain Exports Hit BD1.38bn

Bahrain exported goods of national origin worth BD1.384 billion in the first five months of 2026, but
the total masks a steep drop once the disruption took hold.

Monthly exports averaged BD331.1 million in January and February, then fell by 27.3 pc to
BD240.7 million between March and May as Gulf shipping routes were hit and Bahrain’s airspace
closed.

Exports dropped to BD250.3 million in March, rose to BD265 million in April after the airspace
reopened, then sank to BD206.8 million in May, 38.4 pc below January.

The number of export markets fell from 98 to 51 in March, while product lines dropped from 676 to
477 and export deals from 1,629 to 1,007.

Sales to India fell by 65.8 pc, exports to the United States were cut by about half, and shipments to
several European and Asian markets plunged by over 80 pc.

Gulf states took up much of the slack. GCC exports rose from BD157 million in February to
BD173.4 million in March, lifting their share of Bahrain’s total exports from 48.1 pc to 69.3 pc.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE bought BD156.1 million of Bahraini goods between them in March. Alba
also rerouted between 40 pc and 60 pc of its exports through Jeddah Islamic Port.

Aluminium remained Bahrain’s main export, making up between 47.8 pc and 61.8 pc of the total.
Yet unwrought aluminium alloy exports fell from BD98 million in February to BD42 million in March.

May’s fall was driven largely by iron ore exports, which stopped after reaching BD38.1 million in
April. Without iron ore, the drop in all other exports was BD20.1 million, or 8.9 pc.