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.