PLAYERS TOLD TO TAP HALAL INGREDIENTS MARKET

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 (Bernama) -- Halal industry players should tap the
halal ingredients sector as Muslim consumers worldwide demand checks on
animal-based ingredients, the Prime Minister's wife Rosmah Mansor said.

She said the complexity of ingredients integrated into pharmaceutical
products and food ingredients like gelatine, enzymes and emulsifiers used in
daily cooking and food preparation have come under close scrutiny and debate.

"As such, it is crucial for additional Syariah-compliant halal ingredients
be made available to fulfil the needs of these more conscious consumers," Rosmah
said in her closing remarks at the 3rd World Halal Research Summit (WHRS) 2010
here Friday.

She added the demand for typically non-halal ingredients from Muslim
manufacturers and global consumers represented an enormous opportunity for halal
industry players.

"The size of the global ingredients market was estimated to be over US$30
billion in 2005 and is forecast to have an annual growth rate of 2.4 per cent,"
she said, adding that the market was worth US$34.2 billion to date.

Rosmah said halal industry players should start leveraging upon emerging
technologies such as biotechnology and nanotechnology to develop new products
and improve the technology in halal food and non-food products processing.

She said the government had relevant policies and institutional
infrastructure in place to encourage research and development (R&D) efforts.

"The government has established the Halal Industry Development Corporation
and provided grants and incentives for companies to undertake R&D in halal
production and product development," she said.

The three-day WHRS 2010 was aimed at realising a holistic approach to
develop a "halal eco-system" through research and development.
-- BERNAMA


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