Malaysia's Halal Exports To Reach US$12.83 Billion In 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's halal exports are expected to grow 19 per cent to US$12.83 billion (RM50 billion) this year from US$10.77 billion (RM42 billion) in 2015, leveraging on intensive promotions from industry stakeholders. Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) chief executive officer Azman Mahmud said the halal industry was fast becoming an important source of revenue and growth as attracting foreign direct investment in the halal products and services would help increase exports. He said the global halal market was worth US$2.3 trillion (US$1 = RM3.897) a year with halal foods alone estimated at US$693 billion, while the country's annual demand for halal foods was valued at RM1.7 billion, making it is an immense area to explore. "Promoting halal industry as a new growth cluster create a new investment niche for Malaysia," Azman told reporters in conjunction with the World Halal Week here Thursday. Malaysia has strong value proposition in the halal industry with a sound and comprehensive halal ecosystem and supply chain and has great potential to become a halal gateway to global market, he said. Azman said the ecosystem was strongly supported by enablers such as strategic location for easy access of raw materials in ASEAN, well-developed infrastructure, sophisticated Islamic finance market and internationally recognised halal certification and standards. The food sector remains the main contributor of investment in the halal industry, he said, adding that hence MIDA was intensifying its promotion strategies, focusing on complex products, particularly halal ingredients. He said besides food, MIDA had also identified new growth clusters like pharmaceutical, cosmetic and personal care products, medical devices, and logistics to be further promoted and developed. MIDA also provides incentives for the manufacture of halal products and provision of services to help companies to kick start their operations in Malaysia. Azman said they included specific incentives for the production of halal foods which meet international standards since 2005 and investment tax allowance. He said in the food manufacturing industry, mostly halal food production, 1,437 projects worth RM29.3 billion had been implemented as at December last year, creating 99,000 jobs. --BERNAMA