Kraft Foods Inc, a global leader in branded foods and beverages, will set up a $40 million cheese and powdered beverages plant at the Bahrain International Investment Park, the company announced.

Construction of the high-tech plant begins next month (September). Patrick Satamain, managing director, Kraft Foods GCC, said the company also had plans to set up a research and development centre in the kingdom.
“We are delighted to be significantly expanding our presence in the region, this investment emphasises Kraft’s desire to accelerate growth in the Middle East and to focus behind our core categories so we can better meet the needs of both our customers and consumers,” he said. 
“Bahrain is ideally suited to our needs, being located within the GCC and offering a stable political environment and attractive investment climate.”
Initial capacity will be 50,000 tonnes per year with the cheese section forming  the bulk of production. The beverage it will produce is powdered tang. Other beverages could be taken up later. An overwhelming portion of the Bahrain production will be exported to various markets in the Middle East.
Kraft Foods will employ 250 staff, of which 20 per cent will be Bahraini. The company plans to train promising workers both in Bahrain and in its facilities abroad.
The new factory is Kraft Foods’ first facility of its kind in the region. The company has a joint venture with a Saudi firm to make biscuits in Dammam.
Dr Hassan Fakhro, Bahrain’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, welcomed Kraft Foods production in Bahrain, saying its products, particularly cheeses, were very popular in the kingdom as elsewhere in the Middle East.
Fakhro said it was “a vote of confidence in our country, in our business and in our friendly economic and investment policies.”
Kraft Foods is the largest branded food and beverage company in North America and the second largest in the world. Its net revenues in 2005 were $34 billion and the company has 175 manufacturing and processing facilities worldwide.