World trade in halal food is booming

World trade in halal food is booming

SINGAPORE (AFP): World trade in Moslem halal food is worth an annual US$81 billion and growing rapidly as new markets emerge and the Moslem population increases, a conference here was told yesterday.

Moslem-dominated countries are not the only ones that offer business opportunities for halal food, said Tay Tham Peng, a Singapore Trade Development Board director.

"There are also emerging markets for halal food in other countries like China, the United States, the European Union and Singapore," Tay told the third International Halal Food Conference.

"Many non-Moslems consume halal food, or at least food cooked by Moslems according to traditional recipes, finding it to be not only tasty, but also a healthy alternative to our usual lard-rich diet," he said.

Although the United States accounts for $6 billion of the world halal food market, the largest importer is Saudi Arabia with Egypt, Malaysia, Iran and Algeria following behind. A food is halal if it has not been in contact with carrion, pigs, dogs or other animals considered impure by Moslems. Animals should be slaughtered or hunted according to a set of rules, and substances like alcohol, which affect mind or body, are banned.

At 1.4 billion a quarter of the world is Moslem, and their number is expected to increase to 1.6 billion by 2000.

Tay said the expanding fast food industry in the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia was a lucrative market and fast food chains such as Taco Bell and Popeye's have already opened there.

In Singapore, fast food chains such as MacDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken have obtained halal certificates to capture the Moslem market.

Tay told Singaporean halal-food manufacturers to tie up with overseas partners to invest in big markets such as China, whose estimated Moslem population numbers 107 million.

Islamic experts, food manufacturers and distributors are attending the two-day conference, to discuss business opportunities, manufacturing practices and the standardization of halal food certification.