It pays to boost Halal trade

New Zealand companies should be encouraged to take into consideration the growing market for Halal products.

Halal is an Islamic Arabic term that literally translates to ‘permissible’.

Globally, Halal is used in the food industry to refer to food that is permissible under Islamic Law.

For a long time, Halal simply meant buying meat from a Halal butcher, who slaughtered in accordance with Islamic principles.

But the Halal food market has exploded in the past decade and is now worth an estimated $US 632 billion annually, according to the Halal Journal, a Kuala Lumpur-based magazine.

That is about 16% of the entire global food industry.

Throw in the fast-growing Islam-friendly finance sector and the myriad of other products and services such as cosmetics, real estate, hotels, fashion and insurance that comply with Islamic law and the teachings of the Holy Quran, the sector is worth more than $US 1 trillion a year, according to a recent report in Time.

The magazine attributed the rise of the Halal economy to the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims, most of whom are younger and, in some places at least, richer than ever.

Seeking to exploit that huge market, non-Muslim multinationals like Tesco, McDonald’s and Nestlé have expanded their Muslim-friendly offerings and control an estimated 90% of the global Halal market.

But in New Zealand, you cannot find any Halal products in major supermarkets. These would be available only at special retail shops.

According to the 2006 census, there were 37,000 Muslims resident in New Zealand from various ethnic backgrounds. The community makes up 0.9% of the total New Zealand population of about four million.

It will provide also good opportunities for New Zealand businesses to export and increase New Zealand’s overall trade, especially since that we have signed free trade agreements with Malaysia and the six oil-rich States of the Gulf Cooperation Council, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Mohammed Abati is employed in a property investment company in Wellington. He is a member of the International Muslim Association of New Zealand. Email: mahabati@gmail.com

Editor’s Note:

In our Special Feature on Halal (Indian Newslink, February 1, 2008), we had quoted World Halal Forum chairman Khairy Jamaluddin as saying that the Muslim population, currently estimated at 1.6 billion, was growing and would be  complimented by a significant surge in demand for Halal products.

“We feel that our efforts in bringing together Halal industry players with the objective  of expanding the Halal market and creating increased awareness about the growing  demand for Halal food and products is part of our religious obligation,” he said.

Mr Jamaluddin said Halal represented a ‘tangible sector’ with increasing cross-border activity.

“As Muslims, we must capture the tremendous opportunities presented by the Halal industry, instead of lamenting the relatively low level of trade and investments between Islamic countries.

“Halal along with Islamic banking and finance are fields in which Muslims have a competitive advantage,” he said.