Mondelez plans to invest $90M in Bahrain plant

Deerfield-based Mondelez International Inc. is planning to spend $90 million on a biscuit plant in Bahrain in order to meet growing demand in the Middle East and Africa for brands like Oreo, Ritz and TUC.

In the first two to three years, the new facility will run four biscuit manufacturing production lines with a total capacity of almost 90,000 tons a year.

Full commercial production is set to start in early 2016.

This is Mondelez's second major investment in Bahrain, having already invested more than $75 million to develop a Kraft cheese and Tang powdered beverage plant there. That plant has been in operation since 2008.

Mondelez split from Kraft Foods Group in 2012. The split was intended to give each of the companies a more focused stable of products, with Kraft taking North American supermarket staples like Jell-O and Miracle Whip. Mondelez took global snack brands like Oreo.

Shares of Mondelez fell 51 cents to $33.75 in Wednesday afternoon trading.