Companies’ Presence Being Expanded in the Global Halal Market

In a recent panel held during the Excellence Export Awards (EEA) Johor Roadshow in Johor Baru, Entitled Halal Export Opportunities and other companies including the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) discussed the need to work in expanding the presence in the global halal market.

The attendants that spoke at the panel were Bilal Parvaiz the head of Islamic corporate, commercial, and institutional banking and executive director of Standard Chartered Saadiq Malaysia, the Halal Development Corp (HDC) halal event management division senior manager Faridah Ali and Guang Chong Bhd quality assurance manager Amy Woong. The session was moderated by Malaysia External Trade Development Corp customised section transformation and digital trade division deputy director Muhd Shahrulmiza Zakaria.

Bilal Parvaiz, one of the speakers said that instead of just focusing on Muslim countries, Malaysian companies should target a global market when it comes to exporting halal products. He further mentions that local companies should not miss the opportunity, as the growth prospects in the halal global market are huge, with an estimation of about US$2 trillion and that the country should continue to put in more efforts to elevate its competitiveness in the global halal market.

“Malaysia has the right ecosystem to emerge as the world’s leader in the halal market,’’ “Local companies including SMEs and micro-enterprises should embark on the halal journey to further strengthen our country’s position in the world’s halal market,’’ he said.

Another speaker, Faridah, advised local businesses and companies to expand their presence in the halal market and not solely depend on the domestic market. She said apart from looking at Muslim countries, demand for halal products and services from non-Muslim countries are also growing over the years. She said exporters should not limit themselves to only food, as there are other products where halal requirements could be applied.

Faridah said among halal-certified products include cosmetics and personal care, pharmaceuticals, health supplements, as well as logistic and warehousing services where there is no mixture of halal and non-halal products.

Woong, the other speaker at the panel, described the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) halal certification as a gold standard in the Islamic world. She said it was crucial for the company like Guan Chong to have halal certification from Jakim as most of its products were exported for clients in the cocoa industry and that it is a bonus to be certified as a halal company and be looked at ‘halal’ from a wider perspective. Woong also said the global Covid-19 pandemic which happened in early 2020 has created awareness among consumers that food safety and security should not be compromised.

The halal global market is now growing at a fast rate catering not only for Muslim but also non-Muslim customers

Photo credits: ThesStar.com