BAHRAIN, 8 December 2006 — Bahrain’s food sector is expanding as ever. Some major manufacturers have already set up their factories here, with the aim of meeting local and overseas needs. The latest to appear on the manufacturing sector is Kraft Foods MEA, which has commenced the construction of its state-of-the-art plant.

The international food and beverage company held a cornerstone ceremony to commemorate the laying of the initial foundation stone for its new, $40 million cheese and beverage plant here earlier this week.

The ceremony at the Bahrain International Investment Park was presided over by Industry and Commerce Minister Dr. Hassan Fakhro. Maurizio Calenti, group vice president of Kraft Foods and president of Kraft Foods Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, was among the Kraft’s top executives present.

The 60,000 square-meter factory, set to be completed in 2007, will produce cheese and powdered beverages to be exported throughout the entire Middle East.

The plant will employ 250 to 300 workers and incorporate the latest food manufacturing technologies, quality and safety systems.

Kraft’s decision to invest in a new regional factory here demonstrates the company’s commitment to its consumers in the GCC and the Middle East as a whole, according to Calenti.

“The building of this new facility will enable us to improve production efficiencies so that we can better cater to the needs of our customers,” he said.

In recent years, the Bahraini government has been successful in creating a favorable economic environment to attract foreign investment, said Patrick Satamian, managing director of Kraft Foods GCC, “Bahrain offers an ideal environment in which Kraft can expand, having a central location with good communication links within the GCC and a rapidly developing business sector,” he said.

Kraft Foods, one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, has been well established in the GCC for over 50 years. “Kraft offers consumers delicious and wholesome foods that fit the way they live,” Satamian said, adding that millions of times a day, in more than 150 countries, consumers reach for their favorite Kraft brands including Kraft cheeses, dinners and dressings, Jacobs, Gevalia and Maxwell House coffees, Oscar Mayer meats, Nabisco brand Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers and chips, Philadelphia cream cheese, Planters snack nuts, Post Honey Bunches of Oats cereals, and Crystal Light and Tang refreshment beverages.

Consumers continue to expand their list of Kraft favorites by adding the Tassimo hot beverage system, South Beach Diet foods, and a growing range of better-for-you Sensible Solution products to their shopping baskets.

Kraft Foods claims to be the world’s second-largest food and beverage company with 2005 net revenues of more than $34 billion. “For more than 100 years, we’ve been dedicated to helping people around the world eat and live better.

Hundreds of millions of times a day, in more than 150 countries, consumers reach for their favorite Kraft brands,” he added.