News From : DagangHalal.com (10 Feb 2010)
“Halal is not an industry that is confined to the Muslim community… it has no boundaries,” the Interim CEO of Ghanim International Food Cooperation Sdn Bhd said. “Halal food is for everyone.”
“We have assembled a professional management team focussed on quality, safety and credibility,” Mr Shield said, adding that the company has recently appointed a new CEO, who will be replacing him in the next few months.
He noted that the company was not “restricted” to manufacturing products solely from Brunei.
“We are looking at products from all around the world, especially Asian countries and Thailand, which is one of the leaders in the food world,” he said.
Touching on the benefits of teaming up with companies from Thailand, Mr Shield said: “In Brunei, we have the resources, while Thailand has the innovation. There is no reason why we should not merge such qualities together and come up with a great direction (for our products) for the global marketplace.”
The 26 Thai exporters, mainly dealing with food products, who attended yesterday’s business matching session, also expressed their interest in bridging business ties with local entrepreneurs from the Sultanate so that they can tap into the Brunei Halal market.
According to Awang Latip Sani, the Head of Agro Technology Park Unit, the Brunei Halal Science Centre at the Agro Technology Park, which provides a range of services for certification, analysis and research, as well as development, could be one area of collaboration with Thailand, as the country had established its own Halal science centre a few years ago.
On the potential of the Halal industry, Awang Latip Sani said the market for Halal goods was enormous, as the products can be consumed by non-Muslims, too.
“The world Muslim population is around 1.8 billion and the rate of growth is estimated at 2.9 per cent per annum,” he said, adding that the estimated growth for the Halal food spending was around two per cent per annum.
Mr Tanai Sirinupong, the Export Sales Department Manager of C P Consumer Products Co Ltd, which is one of the biggest exporters of Thai products, said that the company would like to export more of its products to the Sultana.
According to him, the company has established ties with some businesses in Brunei to market its popular sauces like chilli paste, fish sauce and so on.
“Brunei has vast potential… (this is why) we want to use the country as a ‘Halal’ hub for our products,” he said, adding that the company’s products could also be distributed to other parts of the region from the Sultanate.
Yesterday’s business matching session, according to Thailand’s Ambassador to the Sultanate, Mr Phithak Phrombubpha, was aimed at promoting trade and investment in the food industry between Thailand and other Asean member countries, particularly Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines.
He noted that Thailand, which is one of the Asean member countries blessed with rich primary resources and a sizeable pool of highly skilled and inexpensive labour, has realised its potential for being a major manufacturer for the production of high quality agricultural food products that meet international standards.
“Since the Asean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) with zero tariffs on many good and services (came into force), I believe that there is more room for Asean to enhance cooperation in agricultural and food industries to make (the regional bloc) a leading global food exporter in the years to come,” said the Thai ambassador.
Yesterday’s Thai-Brunei business matching session was organised by the National Food Institute, Ministry of Industry of Thailand, and the Office of SMEs Promotion.