REPRESENTATIVES from 30 Northern Ireland companies spent St Patrick's Day in the Middle Eastern state of Oman as they completed the final section of a two week trade mission organised by the IDB - the biggest ever organised by the agency to the Gulf States.

The delegation is being assisted by the IDB's Northern Ireland Trade Development Centre (NITDC) in Dubai, which was established in October 1994 to promote trade in the Arabian Gulf and other regions of the Middle East.

The companies taking part" represent a broad cross section of Northern Ireland industry, including engineering, food processing, the linen industry, computer software, building supplies, clothing, and packaging.

The mission manager, Mr Barry Clarke, said that it was a potentially lucrative market, but one in which companies had to get used to a very different business culture.

"You're dealing with traders who want to negotiate," he said. "It's in their blood. They're hard bargainers who don't expect to pay the first price. Companies might have to accept a lower margin to make a bigger sale."

Leading the mission, which ends on Thursday, is Mr Bill McGinnis, the chairman of Northern Ireland Middle East Exports (NIMEX), an advisory body set up by the private and public sectors. Mr McGinnis is also chairman of Sperrin Metal Products, which has been exporting metal shelving and storage equipment to the Middle East for the past 20 years, and which has a permanent office in Dubai. He said that the market was much more sophisticated now than two decades ago.

"When I came here first," he said, "we were quite happy to get a one off sale and move on. Now customers are looking for complete marketing strategies. They want to see that companies are interested in building a lasting relationship."

One of the companies taking part in the mission is the shirt manufacturing company, Rael Brook, which employs around 300 people at its factory in Derry. Its deputy managing director, Mr Ben Deas, said he had secured £200,000 sterling worth of orders on the trip so far, even though he was having to compete against cheaper merchandise from the Far East.

"We sell mainly to overseas workers," he said. "Indians, Filipinos, Egyptians and Palestinians who are in middle management positions. They want to buy something made in the UK because UK goods have a reputation for quality. We're, competing against cheaper imported goods from the Far East, but our brand is well respected, the quality is good."

Mission manager Mr Barry Clarke said that although there was money to be made in the Gulf States, it was important that companies kept in close touch with the market through frequent visits.