GOIC hosts workshop on export markets for SMIs and handicrafts in Bahrain

Under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Hassan Abdullah Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC) in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in the kingdom.

The workshop will be conducted in Bahrain Exhibition and Convention Authority Centre with the participation of 35 owners of SMIs and Handicrafts. The outline for the workshop will be centered around four key modules, which are: Export Management & the Basic, International Market Research, Data Mining Techniques and Writing the Export Plan.

Organizing this workshop comes within the framework of the attention paid to small and medium scale projects' developments which largely contribute in the gross domestic products of countries. For example, in Japan SMIs contribute to some 30% of total industrial exports, 60% in China, 49% in Germany, 47% in Thailand, 43% in America, and 35% in South Korea.

The total number of SMIs in the Kingdom of Bahrain reached some 650 enterprises in 2006, compared to 544 in 2005; with an investment size of $405m, compared to $328m in 2005. Workforce in this sector approaches to over 33700 workers, compared to 28200 in 2005.

Most investments in SMIs in the Kingdom of Bahrain are focused on metal products representing 27% of total industrial investments, chemical and plastic products representing 18%, then come food products with 15%. Finally, in spite of the fact that the investment size in SMIs in Bahrain does not exceed 6% of the total investments in the industrial sector, yet, this sector employs some 66% of the total workforce in the whole industrial field in the kingdom.