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@Halal | september-october. 2019
Business
More
companies
to tap into halal market
The nationwide halal-centric outreach program aims to benefit local
entrepreneurs seeking opportunities in halal industry
T
Dato Mahmud Abbas
during his opening
speech, empowering
business owners in Sabah
to take the opportunity in
the halal industry.
he nationwide halal-centric
outreach programme, Halal
Malaysia 2019 – Sabah was
held in August this year in
Kota Kinabalu. It aimed to
benefit local entrepreneurs
who are seeking business opportunities in
the growing halal market. Organised by the
Halal Industry Development Corporation
(HDC), an agency under the Ministry of Eco-
nomic Affairs (MEA) in collaboration with the
Department of Standards Malaysia (Standards
Malaysia) and Credit Guarantee Corporation
Malaysia Berhad (CGC), Halal Malaysia 2019
- Sabah is hoped to elevate Sabah’s industry
players to be halal champions.
The Assistant Minister of Trade and Indus-
try, Azhar Matussin, officiated the Launching
Ceremony of Halal Malaysia 2019 – Sabah ear-
lier on Aug 19 in attendance of Dato Mahmud
Abbas, Chairman of Halal Development
Corporation and Datuk Mohd Zamree Mohd
Ishak, President/Chief Executive Officer of
CGC and as well as Sabah heads of agencies.
The programme was also supported by the
Sabah Economic Development and Invest-
ment Authority (SEDIA), University Malaysia
Sabah and Sabah State Education Department.
More than 1,200 participants comprising of
existing and potential halal entrepreneurs,
undergraduates and students participate in
Finding great
demand in India
Malaysia’s halal products, particularly
cosmetics and personal care items,
are in great demand in India despite a
slower sales growth recorded in 2018,
says Halal Industry Development
Corporation Sdn Bhd (HDC).
Its International Footprint Manager
Mohammad Shukur Sugumaran said
Indian importers had expressed their
strong interest in sourcing for such
products from Malaysia due to the
increasing awareness of seeking for
clean, organic, healthy and safe products,
particularly from the young generation.
“The demand is huge in India now,
and it is not only from Muslims, but also
non-Muslims,” he told Bernama on the
sidelines of the Global Halal India Expo
the programme series held throughout the
months of August to September focusing on
identified target audiences.
Halal Malaysia programmes’s two main
goals are to increase level of halal aware-
ness and to encourage halal business
participations. Through this platform, local
entrepreneurs will be updated on the latest
halal business market intelligence, Islamic
banking products and financing, compli-
ances related to Halal Certification and
insights on Halal Standards development and
conformities.
Great opportunity driver
“Local entrepreneurs should not miss this
opportunity as the government is commit-
ted to provide the channel and platforms for
them to be Halal Malaysia champions,” said
Azhar Matussin. “However, they must remain
abreast of current changes and the challenges
within the global halal market environment.
Companies in Sabah seemed to lack awareness and drive to be halal-certified,
therefore the outreach programme plans to strengthen them and join the ever
expansive halal industry in Malaysia and beyond.
on Sept 20.
Statistics from the HDC Halal
Datawarehouse System showed halal
exports to India jumped 12 per cent to
RM1.59 billion in 2018 from RM1.43 billion
in the previous year. However, exports
of halal cosmetics and personal care
products slid to RM166.0 million in 2018
from RM172.93 million.
Demand for fashion
Other than halal cosmetics and
personal care products, Mohammad
Shukur, who met with several Indian
importers in conjunction with the three-
day expo, divulged that Muslim modest
fashion is also an emerging product that
stayed on the importers’ radars.
“I was informed that more younger
generation Muslims have become
more interested to dress up like what is
required by the religion, which is modest,
but stay modern at the same time,” he
said. Apart from that, he added that halal
Sabah has the advantage as the state is known
as one of the top tourist destinations and
agro-based sector such as palm oil based prod-
ucts. It is also in our interest to facilitate the
needs of halal entrepreneurs through these
knowledge sharing and networking sessions
as it could create an inclusive halal business
environment.”
Strong presence in Sabah
Said Dato Mahmud Abbas, Chairman of Halal
Development Corporation: “As of December
2018, 204 companies from Sabah have received
halal certification as compared to 215 com-
panies in 2017. Currently, a total of 8,120 halal
certified companies nationwide. HDC is work-
ing closely with the relevant agencies both in
government and private sectors to look into
the decrease and propose mitigation plans
on how to encourage more halal businesses
in Sabah as we do not want Sabah to miss this
uprising market opportunities.”
The Sabah government also owns several
Halal Designated Industrial Parks (HALMAS)
namely Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP),
and POIC Lahad Datu. HALMAS is an accredi-
tation given to Halal Park operators who have
successfully complied with the requirements
and guidelines stipulated under the HDC
designated Halal Park Development. It is
also a mark of excellence for parks that have
noteworthy qualities; namely production
of Halal products with the highest quality,
integrity and safety.
With the HALMAS status, operators,
industry players and logistics service provid-
ers will be able to enjoy incentives to help
existing and would be players in the Halal
industry.
food and beverage (F&B) remained the
top-picked products in Indian market,
despite the strict labelling regulations
imposed by the country’s food
regulatory body, the Food Safety and
Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
“Many Malaysian F&B products such
as Hup Seng’s crackers, Limgham’s chili
sauce and Miaow Miaow’s snacks are
doing very well in India,” he said. Other
halal items like chocolate, toiletries, baby
products, women’s personal hygiene
products, Muslimah sportswear and
non-pigskin furniture are also in huge
demand in the republic, he added.
The population boom
Meanwhile, in a separate statement,
HDC acting chief executive officer Hairol
Ariffien Sahari said there were about
180 million Muslim population in India,
which is the second largest after
Indonesia.
“Coupled with the booming
e-commerce industry in the country,
Malaysian firms should really seize the
opportunity to tap into this one of the
world’s most populous country,” he said.
Citing statistics from leading source of
information on halal industries, Salaam
Gateway, Hairol Ariffien said of the
US$43 billion worth of cosmetics sold
in India in 2015, about US$4.2 billion of
this involved sales to the country’s 180
million Muslims.
“Halal-certified cosmetics were
initially made to cater specifically to the
Muslim community, but demand from
non-Muslim consumers also on the
rise,” he said.
The second edition of the three-
day Global Halal India Expo 2019,
which started Friday, attracts industry
professionals such as India’s trade
commissions and Islamic chambers
of commerce, importers, distributors,
buyers, visitors, as well as halal-related
agencies and organisations.