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HALAL FOOD:
Promoting Halal Food in the Middle East
Asian countries aim to capture a sizable share of the global halal food market estimated to be worth $80 billion...
By Jordy Sarkies
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| Halal food: Rising demand |
Thailand has been at the forefront of promoting halal food to cater to the growing number of visitors from the Middle East countries. In fact, halal food from Thailand is being exported to many countries in the Middle East in recent years. As trade between Thailand and the Middle East gains maturity, new avenues of mutual co-operation are emerging. Halal food exports to the Middle East from Thailand is one such avenue that hass gained prominence in recent times.
In an effort to further promote the production and export of Halal food, the Thai government is planning to establish a new industrial estate for production of Muslim food in Pattani province. “Thailand can emerge as a major exporter of halal food as the food industry in Thailand has been recognised by other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as one of the most reliable sources of other food items,” explained Songchai Saisavetvaree. “Middle countries have been importing a wide variety of food items from Thailand (like rice, canned food, fruits, sea food, snack food etc.) and we are confident that Thailand’s halal food will also find a ready market in the Middle East because of the high quality of our products and the stringent production procedures that adhere to Islamic principles,” he said.
Thailand has developed dedicated facilities to cater to the production and export of a wide variety of halal food. The Department of Export Promotion has been spearheading the drive to promote halal food in overseas markets by devising unique promotional campaigns and events to highlight Thailand’s potential as a reliable and trustworthy source of certified halal food. “By promoting Thailand’s potential as a reliable source of halal food, we are aiming to capture a sizable share of the interrnational halal food market,” says Songchai Saisavetvaree.
Thailand currently has less than 10 per cent of market share of Halal food in the world – which is estimated to be worth $80 billion.
In fact, the Department of Export Promotion (DEP) is inviting members of the Middle East business community and interested parties to Thailand’s biggest annual food event of the year - Thailand International Food Exhibition and Thailand International Muslim Food Exhibition, known as THAIFEX & THAIMEX to be held at Bangkok International Trade. The fair will showcase a wide variety of Halal food products and provide visitors an opportunity to meet face-to-face with leading producers and exporters of Halal food.
In addition, the event will offer academic seminars that provide knowledge pertaining to the food production technologies, as well as sessions with foreign importers who will discuss their current import activities of Thai-made Muslim food products.
MALAYSIAN HALAL FOOD
Last year, Abdulrahman Ghanem Al Mutaiwee, Director-General of Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) inaugurated the Malaysian “Halal” Products Expo at the Malaysian Trade Center in Dubai. The Expo, planned to be a regular annual event, showcased products of 65 small and medium-size enterprises specialised in foodstuff.
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| The Malaysian Halal Food Expo in Dubai |
“Our imports of meat and prepared foodstuff value US$ 1.5 billion which represent 50 percent of Dubai total foodstuff imports. This should encourage Malaysian exporters to increase their efforts to take a bigger slice of Dubai expanding foodstuff markets”, said Abdulrahman Ghanem Al Mutaiwee.
Also present at the event were Dato’ Seri Abdulrahman Maidin, President of Penang Malay Chamber of Commerce, Syed Ali Alattas, Deputy President of Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia, Nazzri Shamsuddin, Consul-General of Malaysia in UAE, and prominent personalities from trade arenas in both countries.
The HALAL Food Expo was organised by Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia (under the portfolio of agriculture and agro-based industry), supported by Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE). The Malaysian government is keen on promoting the Halal foods in the global markets.
Mr. Shamsuddin, the Malaysian Consul-General said that UAE is Malaysia’s biggest trading partner in the Middle East. “The bilateral trade between Dubai and Malaysia has increased substantially over the past years. “Malaysia looks at the UAE as a major re-export centre for the region. To take advantage of the important trading role of Dubai, Malaysia has established the Malaysia Trade Centre (MTC), which was officially opened on 19 May 2001. The main objective for setting up the MTC is to showcase Malaysian products and services available for export to the UAE and the Gulf markets. MTC serves as the venue for regular trade events involving Malaysian products and also as a focal business people to obtain useful trade and investment information on Malaysia.
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| There is a big demand for halal food on the Middle East countries |
“MTC just recently went through a complete renovation to showcase latest range of quality products from various Small and Medium- sized enterprises in Malaysia. Halal Food Expo is the first exhibition since the renovation. We welcome the initiative from the Malay Chamber of commerce to bring in range of available products from Malaysia for showcase to UAE traders and businessmen”, he added.
He pointed out that the importance of UAE, particularly Dubai, can be seen by the continuous flow and exchange of trade missions. “We recently had UAE-Malaysia Business forum. The delegation from UAE, led by Sheikha Lubna Al Qassimi, Minister of Economic and Planning, conducted successful talks on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries
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