PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s halal industry is a key feature of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) with the recovery of the industry being paramount to the resilience of the overall Muslim-majority national economy.
The NRP focuses on four phases that aim at reopening the economy by end of the year.
Minister of International Trade and Industry Malaysia and senior minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said the halal food and beverages industry alone is estimated to be worth US$2.1 trillion (RM8.71 trillion), while the halal cosmetics and the halal pharmaceuticals industries are collectively worth US$136 billion.
“There are immense opportunities in these halal industries not only in terms of business but more importantly, catering to the sufficiency of a nation,” said Azmin, who delivered the keynote address for the World Halal Business Conference 2021 (WHBC 2021) today on behalf of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He called for proactiveness in helping the halal micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), who account for 70% of total halal industry players, many of whom are micro-businesses operating in the food and beverage sector.
Earlier, the prime minister officiated the virtual WHBC 2021 organised by the Halal Development Corp (HDC). The WHBC 2021 is a rebrand of the World Halal Forum.
Azmin, in delivering the prime minister’s speech, said given the current global economic recovery process, halal can play an important role and be a catalyst through its various value propositions. He said the conference demonstrates the firm commitment and reliance of all stakeholders that the halal economy remains resilient and becoming a strong contributor to the global economic recovery.
The prime minister also launched the Halal Integrated Platform (HIP), a one-stop digital halal platform that connects industry players, especially among MSMEs to government agencies, businesses and consumers within the entire halal ecosystem. HIP gathers halal service providers and suppliers on one platform and facilitates worldwide connections and communication between the industry players, thus giving businesses a competitive edge to tap into this growing industry.
“The pandemic has also exposed vulnerabilities in the halal industry, particularly amongst the MSMEs. Players therefore must be quick to adopt digital solutions in the fast-changing technological landscape in order to stay ahead of the curve and compete globally.”
He cited Malaysia International Islamic Finance Centre which made reference on the importance of the halal industry and the Islamic finance sector to work hand-in-hand to create a fully halal economy to produce a holistic end-to-end syariah-compliance economy.
“With Malaysia being the only country with a complete and comprehensive ecosystem that has the capacity and know-how to support further developments within the halal industry, the strategies undertaken by HDC are expected to exponentially increase the number of local MSMEs as halal exporters through its Trusted Halal Business platforms that encourage public-private cooperation, including the WHBC and the HIP.”
Bank Negara Malaysia deputy governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour remarked that the prospect of the global halal economy is huge as the global consumption of halal goods and services is expected to grow at 3.5% annually to reach US$2.4 trillion by 2024, largely driven by the fast-growing Muslim population.
“These global trends on halal economy present an excellent narrative with enormous prospects for Malaysia, given our forefront position in the global halal economy. Our domestic halal market is currently valued at RM300 billion, contributing 7% of the country’s GDP. This figure is projected to grow further to RM400 billion, to account for 11% of GDP by 2030,“ he said.
The WHBC 2021 also announced its collaboration with Taiwan External Trade Development Council, African Institute of Islamic Finance, Haskell, and Malaysia Airlines Bhd towards a robust growth of a global halal economy in terms of business activities promotion, knowledge sharing, market intelligence and halal trade matters.
