M'sia To Seize Opportunities In Halal Industry After Assuming AEC Chairmanship Next Year

By Nurul Hanis Izmir KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will seize the opportunity to further develop the halal industry when Kuala Lumpur assumes the chairmanship of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) next year, Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Hamim Samuri said Friday. AEC aims to transform Asean, a 10-member regional grouping, into a single market and a competitive regional economic manufacturing hub. Hamim said Malaysia has taken the preliminary measures to develop the halal industry, among them through the staging of the recent Malaysian International Halal Exhibition (MIHAS}. "Unlike previous years, side activities and programmes were included in MIHAS 2014 with the aim of wooing more countries that are keen to be engaged in the halal industry. "The halal industry is not only relevant to Islamic nations, but also to non-Islamic countries. The industry is seen as a source of revenue that can stimulate a country's economy," he told Bernama. "By becoming the AEC chairman, Malaysia hopes to upgrade the halal industry not only as a major producer of halal products but also as a global halal certification centre. "This is in tandem with Malaysia's comprehensive halal ecosystem which cannot be found in any other country in the world. "Our ecosystem is complete in terms of raw materials, production, packaging, manufacturing, logistics, certification and Islamic banking. "All these features must be available in a country that aspires to be a producer of halal products or emerge as the biggest halal hub in the world by 2020, just like what Malaysia is doing," he stressed. Hamim said MIHAS 2014 raked in US$295.01 million (RM966.4 million) in sales, a 21 per cent increase, from US$243.86 million (RM798.72 million) last year. Fifty-three countries participated in the annual event organised by the Halal Industry Development Corporation. The higher sales was the result of high demand for halal products particularly from the food, pharmaceutical, food ingredients and cosmetics segments. Hamim said more local companies should come to the fore to be halal products manufacturers to complement government's efforts to be the world leader in the halal industry. Currently, there are about 4,000 halal products manufacturers and 700 of them are exporting their products, he said. Hamim said the government aims to increase by at least 10 per cent every year the total export volume. "Our aim is to increase halal products exports to US$30.53 billion (RM100 billion) by 2020 from US$10.01 billion (RM32.8 billion) last year. "With more companies exporting halal products, it will help Malaysia realise its objective," he added. -- BERNAMA