Saudi Arabia, UAE take 83pc of Bahrain Gulf trade

TDT | Manama

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Saudi Arabia and the UAE made up 83 per cent of Bahrain's trade with the rest of the Gulf last year, accounting for $7.26 billion out of a total $8.73bn.

Saudi Arabia was Bahrain's largest Gulf trading partner at $3.93bn, or 45 per cent of the GCC total, while the UAE followed at $3.33bn, or 38.2 per cent, Bahrain Chamber figures show.

Together, trade with Qatar, Oman and Kuwait stood at about $1.47bn.

Qatar ranked third with $555.1 million, followed by Oman at $468.1m and Kuwait at $441.3m.

The figures were issued as the Federation of GCC Chambers met in Bahrain.

Steel, aluminium, gold and jewellery were among the main goods traded, alongside food and medicines.

Saudi trade included iron structures, iron ore and aluminium alloys, as well as medicines, sugar and fresh chicken.

Gold and silver bars, jewellery and iron ore were among the main goods traded with the UAE.

Trade with Oman covered iron ore, iron products, raw aluminium, petroleum coke, fresh watermelons and cheese.

Goods traded with Kuwait included bridges and steel structures, iron products, aluminium electrical wire and copper wire, as well as uncalcined petroleum coke and processed cheese.

The Chamber also listed sectors with scope for more business between Bahrain and its Gulf neighbours.

For Saudi Arabia, these included energy, cybersecurity and petrochemicals.

With the UAE, the list included artificial intelligence, advanced technology, the digital economy and research and development.

Agricultural technology, cybersecurity, energy and property were listed for Qatar.

For Oman, the Chamber named agriculture, food security, manufacturing, property and information technology.

Healthcare, logistics, renewable energy and information technology were listed for Kuwait.

Saudi visitors also far outnumbered those from the rest of the Gulf.

There were 11.2 million arrivals by GCC citizens in Bahrain in 2025, with Saudis making up 10.4m, or 93.2 per cent.

Kuwaitis accounted for 425,000 arrivals, followed by Qataris at 152,000, Emiratis at 114,500 and Omanis at 70,200.