Halal Malaysia Week To Rake Deals Of More Than RM3.8 Bln .


KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 (Bernama) -- The Halal Malaysia Week, which will firmly position the country as a beacon for the global halal industry is expected to rake in deals and transactions worth more than RM3.8 billion, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

He said the joint three-party effort was an excellent example of public-private partnership initiatives to advance the halal industry to the forefront of the global economy.

The tripartite effort is between Kasehdia Sdn Bhd, Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) and the Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC).

"Historically, Halal Malaysia Week has been a focal point for global industry players with deals and transactions in 2008 amounting to RM2.2 billion and increasing to RM3.23 billion in 2009," Najib said in his keynote address at the World Halal Forum 2010 on Monday.

He said the halal stakeholders need to take stock and realistically assess their progress in the industry to fully capitalise the enormous untapped potential in the industry.

"We've aimed high and achieved a lot, but it is time to take stock and realistically assess our progress in order to effectively re-evaluate our strategies, ensuring that we're on the right track to fully capitalise on enormous untapped potential that remains," he said.

The Prime Minister said realising the potential of the Halal industry required a thorough understanding of all issues and challenges.

Najib said in order to overcome the major hurdles and challenges ahead, the country and industry stakeholders must work to establish and maintain strong strategic alliance with mainstream players.

"I foresee powerful synergies as a result of smart partnerships between mainstream industry and Muslim organisations.

"Muslims must seize opportunities to propel themselves into higher value-added activities and knowledge-based skills such as quality assurance and compliance, training, management and branding," he said.

The Prime Minister also announced the publication of four modules, comprising global halal standards, by the International Halal Integrity Alliance (IHI), in a move to achieve a harmonised global halal industry.

He said IHI, an initiative born out from the World Halal Forum (WHF), could establish itself as the global halal authority and may begin the process of unifying a fragmented community.

In order to support this, halal must continue its journey towards becoming the premium brand recognised throughout the world as a symbol of quality and excellence, said the Prime Minister.

As such, it is imperative that best practices are incorporated by Islamic bodies in order to be better position them and to protect the integrity of the halal market, said Najib.

Although there are over 300 bodies globally offering halal certification, only one-third were legally registered entities, thus creating concerns whether these agencies are accredited in line with international benchmarks and were capable of issuing certification based on international standards.

To address this, Malaysia would continue to offer its expertise and years of experience in halal certification and standards development.

Najib said the global halal products market was estimated at US$2.3 trillion of which 67 per cent or US$1.4 trillion comprised food and beverages.

He said pharmaceuticals made up 22 per cent or US$506 billion with cosmetics and personal care totalling US$230 billion.

"If we include the services sector for halal and, we should give this serious consideration, the potential size of the total market is indeed astronomical," he said.

At the event, Najib also launched IHI's four global halal standards modules and witnessed the exchange of memorandum of understanding documents between Penang International Halal Hub and the Investmy International Ltd, a consultancy company based in Yemen.

About 900 participants, including local and international industry players, policy makers as well as academicians, have gathered at the WHF platform to exchange ideas as well as solutions to any predicament faced in the industry.

The Halal Malaysia Week encompassed the Fifth WHF, the Third World Halal Research Summit (June 23-25) and the Seventh Malaysia International Halal Showcase (Mihas), which will kick off on Wednesday.

-- BERNAMA


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No doubt of the potential.
But am still wondering the legitimacy of the whole halal produce though.
The source of it. The manufacturer. The whole concept actually.

With or without, the fake Halal certification will always be there................