BAHRAIN is ramping up efforts to boost food security amidst a war in Ukraine that has stoked fears of an impending global food shortage.
A draft law has already been drawn up to regulate strategic stocks of consumer commodities.
The adjourned Parliament’s Financial and Economic Affairs Committee and Public Amenities and Environment Committee had endorsed the bill based on a draft law submitted by the Shura Council.
It aims to protect the national economy, ensure provision of basic commodities in sufficient quantities and promote public-private co-operation and social solidarity.
The yet-to-be endorsed legislation would make it compulsory for the government to have clearly-labelled food and commodity reserves and safety stocks.
Safety stock is a term used by logisticians to describe a level of extra stock that is maintained to mitigate risk of a shortfall caused by uncertainties in supply and demand. Adequate safety stock levels permit business operations to proceed according to their plans, and, in this case, an ability to feed a nation in troubled times.
The draft law makes it mandatory to study the needed strategic commodities, follow-up on the volume of consumption, take precautionary measures in case of any shortage in co-ordination with suppliers and submit periodic reports to the Cabinet.
The minister responsible will take urgent measures to confront any crisis or exceptional market conditions.
It will also be prohibited to do anything that may harm the strategic stockpile, or publish news, data, or confidential or incorrect information about it.
Any drastic action that impacts the prices of commodities or limits their production, import or exchange, or any complicity in refusing to buy, sell or supply, would be punishable by law.
Violators will be jailed for no less than one year and/or fined between BD1,000 and BD10,000. The penalty will be doubled if the offence is repeated.
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