ASEAN COMMUNITY OF ENTREPRENEURS
WOMEN POWER
the holy month of Ramadhan. Today,
the halal business has been extended
to cover lifestyle and personal care,
tourism, healthcare (including medical
and pharmaceutical products) and
even at social media level.
CERTIFICATION
I
have been contributing articles
to the ACE magazine for some
time now. Often, my contribution
relates to matters which are very
much a part of my life or revolving
around my entrepreneurship journey.
For this issue of the magazine,
however, I understood from the editor
that it will focus on the halal business.
I was also advised by the editor that
I was not compelled to write about
halal business and could write about
other subjects that I may wish to share
with readers of the ACE magazine.
Obviously, as a Muslim, I am
fully aware of the obligation of
consuming only food that is certified
halal or abiding by a dress code
that is Sharia-complaint, etc. As this
issue of the magazine coincides
with the Malaysia International Halal
Showcase 2016 (MIHAS 2016) event
that was recently staged at the Kuala
Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC),
I thought it makes perfect sense
for me to acquaint myself with the
intricacies of the halal business and
the seeming excitement that it has
been generating.
This is of course ... a novice view!
PERTINENT STATISTICS
What I found out about the halal
business
is
indeed
revealing?
Here goes:
• Muslims account for about 30%
of the world’s population and
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(estimated at 1.6 billion) and are
expected to grow to 2.2 billion by
2030. About 40% or 240 million
of Southast Asia’s population are
Muslim;
The global halal food market is
currently worth nearly US$700
billion with 65% of the demand
coming from Asia;
The entire global halal market is
estimated at US$2.3 trillion;
There is a built-in consumer base
of 1.8 billion with a growth rate of
2% per annum;
Only a number of countries such
as Malaysia, Thailand, Australia
and Brazil are producing and
exporting halal goods on a
massive scale, and
Demand for halal products and
services transcends the Muslim
community to include people
of all ethnical background and
creed.
Elaborating on the final point
above, non-Muslims are not adverse
to consuming halal food and
beverages (F&B) as certification and
the necessary adherence to what
is “permissible” (the meaning of
halal) in accordance with the Muslim
Law, promotes high sense of quality,
safety and wholesomeness food &
beverages,
In the past, the observance of
what is halal and/or sharia-compliant
were limited to F&B, dressing and
public behaviour, especially during
ASEAN COMMUNITY OF ENTREPRENEURS | ISSUE 2 : 2016
There is of course the issue of defining
authenticity, i.e. whether a product or
service abides by the required halal
standards. This is centred on the
process of certification. In Malaysia
and Brunei, the process is very tightly
regulated and closely supervised to
ensure strict adherence. However,
in some countries, the certification
process is left to the producers of
goods and services themselves.
Moreover,
the
prescribed
standards differ from country to
country as evident in the multitude of
logos used to denote that a product
is certified halal. In essence, the
lack of a single unified global halal
standard is a dampener to industry
growth. A global halal standard-cumcertification system would provide
assurance to consumers, reduce
the need for multiple certifications,
expedite product development and
reduce the supply chain cycle time.
A HALAL BUSINESS PIONEER
Malaysia has long realised the
potential of halal business and even
pioneered halal-compliant standards
and certification since the early 1970s.