Azmin: Halal standards should be of value proposition, not barriers
10 Sep 2021
Industry stakeholders should work together and enhance international trade and investment ties through global platforms
Malaysia stresses that the adoption of halal standards should be viewed as a value proposition instead of barriers to trade when exploring and venturing into new sources of economic growth in the halal industry as it catalyses recovery in the post-pandemic global economy.
The message was delivered by International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali in the opening keynote address of the virtual World Halal Business Conference 2021 (WHBC 2021), organised by the Halal Development Corp Bhd (HDC).
Azmin spoke on behalf of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob who was unable to present his speech yesterday.
Azmin urged global halal industry stakeholders to work together and enhance international trade and investment ties through global platforms like WHB.
“They are also encouraged to enhance trade ties among Muslim trading nations through multilateral and bilateral meetings, trade missions, and Free Trade Agreements to meet the demand of global Muslim and non-Muslim consumers,” he said.
According to the State of the Global Economic Report 2020/21, Muslim spending worldwide has decreased by 8% in various sectors of the Islamic economy in 2020.
From an economic perspective, the global halal industry market size is projected to be worth US$5 trillion (RM20.7 trillion) in 2030 from its current market worth of US$3.1 trillion, taking into account the non-Muslim consumers moving to and consuming halal products.
Based on HDC Halal Datawarehouse, Malaysia’s top three halal export products are food and beverage, ingredients, and cosmetics and personal care, which have immense opportunities not only in terms of business but more importantly, in catering to the sufficiency of a nation.
Azmin said Malaysia is gradually recovering from this pandemic and is committed to implementing the National Recovery Plan (NRP) under the spirit of ‘Keluarga Malaysia’.
“The NRP focuses on four phases that aim at reopening the economy by the end of the year.
“That said, it must be understood that the NRP is a dynamic plan which will be updated and improved as needed based on the latest data and scientific evidence available of successful strategies and approaches,” he said.
The minister noted that Malaysia’s halal industry is a key feature of the NRP with the recovery of the industry being paramount to the resilience of the overall Muslim-majority national economy.
“Towards this end, HDC has developed a framework under the Halal Industry Master Plan 2030 for the development of the country’s halal industry for the next 10 years.
“It calls for, among others, the Halal Integrated Platform to help entrepreneurs venture into new potential business opportunities to gain domestic and international market access,” said Azmin.
The platform will act as a bridge between entrepreneurs and industry stakeholders, uniting them under a single halal ecosystem.
The focus will be on micro, small and medium enterprises who will be able to access programmes, services and facilities to help them become active participants in the halal ecosystem.
Source: The Malaysian Reserve
