Malaysia's Halal Food Hailed by Chinese

By NIAM SEET WEI XI'AN (China), June 18 (Bernama) -- Xi'an, the capital of Western China's Shaanxi province, is not only one of the oldest cities in China but also a starting point of the 'Silk Road' that brought traders from the West right from the early days. Today, the historical city has about 50,000 descendants of the early Muslim traders, with almost 20,000 of them living in the Muslim quarter, known as Huimin Jie or Muslim Street in the local Chinese dialect. The street, which is located at the northern side of the city's landmark Drum Tower, is 500 metres long and is lined up with stalls on both sides of the road selling local delicacies, souvenirs and many more items. "Being the hub of the Muslim community in Xi'an, we hope it is the right place to promote Malaysia's halal food here," said Loh Wee Keng, the organiser of the 2nd Malaysia-Xi'an Halal Food Festival, to Bernama recently. AWARD-WINNING COMPANY TAPS INTO CHINESE MARKET About 35 Malaysian entrepreneurs and 20 from the Lian Hu district participated in the exhibition. The first edition of the halal food festival in 2012 recorded some 50,000 visitors with only about 20 entrepreneurs showcasing their product. Among the participants of the exhibition from May 31 to June 11 is Fatihah Frozen Food Sdn Bhd that offered a number of halal items including ready made frozen items like curry puffs, samosa, roti canai, popiah, sardine rolls and others. The founder cum managing director of the company, Fatihah Anis Ibrahim, said the company expected to record sales worth RM20,000 (about US$6,340.67) during the exhibition. "We are confident of hitting the target, as we have secured sales worth more than 10,000 yuan (US$1,585.16) in the first three days of the exhibition," she said. Fatihah said the company has plans to distribute their products throughout the growing Chinese market. "Some hypermarkets here are already selling our products, of course our target is to have our products throughout China," she said. Fatihah pointed out the prata (unleavened bread) and prata durian were selling like hot cakes in the exhibition. She disclosed that the company would also participate in another halal food showcase which is to be held in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China in September. The Kampung Baru based Fatihah Frozen Food Sdn Bhd established in 1994 was honoured with the TEKUN Entrepreneur Award early this year. SEAFOOD PRODUCTS' OVERWHELMING RESPONSE The National Fishermen's Association's (Nekmat) operations manager Haji Shafee Ardi said he was surprised over the overwhelming response from the local visitors for Nekmat's products. Nekmat showcased its array of frozen seafood products at the exhibition. "Initially, the local Chinese showed little apprehension at the products here when they heard it is based on seafood, probably worried over the fetid smell often related to fish. "But once they tried them, they could not resist the taste," Shafee Ardi said, adding that the consumers came back to purchase more of the products the following days after tasting the ready-made snacks made available at the exhibition. He said sales reached 2000 yuan (US$317.11) on the first day of the exhibition, while on the second day, it increased to 3200 yuan (US$507.37) "We aim to hit RM20,000 (US$US$6,340) in sales during the exhibition and we are quite confident of achieving the target," he said. Shafee Ardi disclosed that fish fingers, fish nuggets and squid balls were among the best-sellers at the exhibition. Nekmat, which was established in 1985, aims to improve the socio-economic status of Malaysian fishermen by helping to increase their catch, skills and competitiveness. LOCAL VISITORS HAIL TASTE OF SOUTHEAST ASIA Meanwhile, MASBEST (M) Sdn Bhd also enjoyed good response from the local Chinese with its ready made condiments used in cooking like instant curry paste and Bak Kut Teh spices that were well received by consumers here. "Chinese love Malaysian food, especially with just a few simple steps, they could prepare Nanyang (Southeast Asian) flavours right at home," said the company's director Tee Thye Lok. Tee, who participated in the first exhibition here last year, recalled the response then was not as enthusiastic as this time around. He expressed his confidence that the company could fetch RM10,000 (US$ 3,170.58) in sales during the 12-day exhibition. Most of the Halal products of the above companies are available at hypermarkets and supermarkets in many parts of China. --BERNAMA (photoBERNAMA): Kebabs stall operated by descendants of Muslim traders since the 'Silk Road' trading route started hundreds of years ago.