Bahrain

The Philippine government has identified 10,000 ha for the Bahrain banana project in Davao del Norte. It also awaits follow-up visits from Saudi Arabia to finalize a $238.6m deal the kingdom committed to invest in fruit, aquaculture and halal food production.

Western Gulf Advisory, a Bahrain-Zurich based company, plans to invest $1 billion into the Australian economy, including farm acquisitions, over the next few years.

Between 2007 and mid-2008, Gulf states and their government-backed businesses spent US$15 billion (Dh55bn) in sub-Saharan Africa alone, much of it in the drive for food security

The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the establishment of Thailand Food Security Stockpile and Distribution Center and Industry with the Board of Trade of Thailand.

The worldwide financial crisis has reportedly stalled several agricultural deals between Gulf countries and overseas partners, including two between Bahrain and Pakistan.

No less than 4,000 hectares in the Davao region have been identified by Middle Eastern-based companies to grow their products.

A delegation from the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce will be in Manila on Friday and Saturday for a briefing on potential food production investment sites in the Philippines.

Al Salam Bank has announced plans to launch a new $100 million agricultural investment company in Bahrain which will focus on east Asia and Turkey.

Critics say that by seeking to solve their food shortage problem through foreign farmland acquisitions, the rich emerging economies may succeed in producing enough quantity for their populations but may in the long-term be exporting their food insecurity to other nations.

Agricultural experts have called for a halt to moves by Gulf investors to snap up foreign land, amid claims that poor nations are losing much-needed farmland in a calculated land grab.

Bahrain and other Gulf countries' plan to buy agricultural land in Thailand to bolster their food supplies could be thwarted, it has emerged.

Pursuing its strategy of penetrating the Middle East market, the company has set up a special committee to study the possibility to increase exports to the region. So far, the company has signed a farming contract with Bahrain for supplying food products.