News From : DagangHalal.com (28 May 2010)
ALOR SETAR, May 28 (Bernama) — The International Trade and Industry Ministry will focus its attention on creating a halal ecosystem in Malaysia and not just a hub for local halal food, deputy minister Datuk Mukhriz Tun Mahathir said.
He said the government wanted the halal industry to cover a wider spectrum of products such as cosmetics and pharmaceutical and not just food products.
“We will also ensure that the production process, including packaging and logistics are syariah-compliant,” he told reporters after attending the opening of a two-day halal industry carnival here organised by the Halal Industry Development Corporation.
The carnival was opened by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak.
Mukhriz said Malaysia targeted 5.8 per cent contribution from the halal sector to the country’s Gross Domestic Product compared to less than two per cent at the moment.
“We feel that Malaysia needs to compete in other halal sectors and not just in the food sector,” he said, adding that there was a huge demand for halal products even among the non-Muslim countries.
Meanwhile, Halal Industry Development Corporation Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Jamil Bidin urged small-and-medium enterprises, which produced halal products, to explore the markets in non-Muslim countries due to the high demand.
He said that most halal product manufacturers concentrated on markets in the Middle East without realising the huge potentials in non-Muslim countries, which he described as emerging markets for the products.
Although the Muslim populations in these countries were small, he said, they had high purchasing power.
“In the United States, there are about six million Muslims but they have a huge purchasing power. There are also demands for halal products in the former Soviet countries which have about 20 million Muslims.
“In Europe, there are 30 million Muslims while China has 40 million … these are emerging markets with shortage of halal products,” he told reporters.
— BERNAMA