News From : DagangHalal.com (13 Apr 2010)
KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 (Xinhua) — Malaysia has great potential in becoming the global hub for halal cosmetics and toiletries, a Malaysian official said here on Tuesday.
Malaysian Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Mukhriz Mahathir made this remark after opening the International Conference on Halal Cosmetics and Toiletries 2010 here.
Mukhriz said that Malaysia was rich in unique herbs that could be used for cosmetics production, adding that the country had been successful in creating awareness about its halal standard.
According to Mukhriz, the global cosmetics market is worth 334 billion U.S. dollars, with the halal segment estimated at 13 billion U.S. dollars.
As Malaysia has been striving to develop its sectors of halal food and Islamic Finance, Mukhriz said that halal cosmetics could emerge as the next sector of the country’s halal industry.
On market demand, Mukhriz said that 57.6 percent of Muslims in Singapore and 37.7 percent in Indonesia were aware of the product but more than half of them claimed that they had difficulties finding the products in the market.
Citing the result of a market survey, Mukhriz said that those aware of the halal cosmetics would make their purchase if the products were available to them.