BY FATIHAH MANAF

Since its inception , MIHAS has become an event for local foreign businesses to thrive in the halal trade and contribute significantly to the global halal economy .

Remee Yaakub , Director of Halal , Food & Beverages ( F & B ) and Agrobased Section , Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation ( MATRADE ), shared with @ Halal on current issues and market trends for halal businesses and some insights on MIHAS 2022 .

Sharing on the halal market trend , Remee said : “ I believe that in tandem with the recovery of the global market from the pandemic , we have seen that it has had a tremendous positive impact on Malaysia ’ s total exports . Our trade performance registered a stellar performance last year , improving so much .

“ Likewise , similarly for the first half of this year , the performance has been significantly on the upside based from what had been recently announced . We believe that with the continued recovery of the global economy , Malaysia ’ s halal exports for 2022 will

Halal ecosystem in Malaysia .

also be on an upward trajectory .

“ Last year , Malaysia ’ s halal export roughly valued around RM36 billion . Given the current development , this year , we believe it will move above RM40 billion .”

IMPACT OF GLOBAL DEMAND ON HALAL EXPORTS

Remee noted that the halal industry was not isolated ; the worldwide shortages and demand issues still impacted it . The halal industry includes sectors like F & B , cosmetics , pharmaceuticals and many more .

“ It applies to every industry . From the global perspective , we talk about the impact of the Russia-Ukraine

conflict , the rising costs of production , raw materials , and commodities . From Malaysia ’ s perspective , we will talk about labour shortages in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic .

“ We have witnessed that the Government has taken effort and initiatives to assist , facilitate and support Malaysian companies so that it will help them to minimise the impact so they can continue with their business and export activities .”

MIHAS 2022 AS A STRATEGIC PLATFORM

Remee shared that the main objective for last year ’ s MIHAS 2021 was to revive the event as a platform

for Malaysian companies to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic quickly . MIHAS 2021 was successfully held virtually after almost two years of absence from the global stage .

“ MIHAS 2022 is basically to continue the momentum of recovery . This year , the normalisation of how we can physically interact allows us to hold the event in a physical format . On top of that , to continue the momentum of digitalisation of the halal industry , we are organising MIHAS 2022 this year on a hybrid format .”

He highlighted that the reason behind the decision was to continue normalising how businesses interact and , simultaneously , moving forward with the halal industry ’ s digitalisation agenda . With MIHAS ’ key components - the exhibition , International Sourcing Programme ( INSP ) and knowledge hub , MATRADE hopes the event will bring back the glory of MIHAS as the ideal platform for Malaysian companies to explore the vast potential in the global halal market .

“ At the same time , we hope MIHAS 2022 will offer the opportunity for the global halal players to come to Malaysia and engage with the partners to explore potential collaboration and cooperation in the halal industry .”

STRENGTHENING MALAYSIA ’ S HALAL ECONOMY

Recognising the potential of the global halal economy , many countries have started to organise their own halal