Sunday, 17 September 2006

DUBAI: Food companies in the UAE should prepare for a wave of halal market competition from outside halal food producers, industry experts said.

Most food companies in the region have not understood the direction the global halal market is taking, and they may lose out on a chance to eke out a bigger share of the market if they do not adopt contemporary industry trends, said Nordin Abdullah, executive director of Malaysia-based Kaseh Dia research and consultancy group.

"Food companies in most Mideastern countries take their consumers for granted. Compared to buyers of halal food in other countries, consumers in overwhelmingly Muslim countries accept what is offered to them without much questioning," Abdullah said.

"The halal wave has already happened in Southeast Asia, Europe and Africa. It is just starting in the Arab world and consumers are becoming more conscious of halal branding of food products," he added. According to Pamela Pike, vice-president of marketing at vLinx UAE, a sponsor of the recent Dubai International Halal Show, the market is set to see impressive growth.

"There are an increasing number of food producers in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries that are adopting halal standards. They realize the health and business benefits of halal food," she said.

According to Abdullah, some companies have gauged the market mood early and are well-placed to gain from the growing halal market.

"Companies like Co-op Islami in the UAE have taken an early lead in adopting halal standards, Nestle also follows the rules. In Britain, supermarket chain Tesco has decided to procure one billion ringgit (about Dh1 billion) worth of halal food products from Malaysia for its Muslim customers in London alone," he said.

Turkey is adopting halal labeling for its food products in order to tap the European market.

Consumers will buy halal products from non-Arab companies if they do not find properly certified products originating from the region, Abdullah asserted.

A study carried out by Kaseh Dia puts the global retail market in halal food at $580 billion a year. The research is based on per capita expenditure on food by Muslims.

"It is an estimate, but this is the best assessment we have through our studies," Abdullah said.

vLinx launched a new portal for the halal food trade at the Dubai exhibition, which attracted 60 companies, most of them from Malaysia.

It also had representation from British, Brazilian and South African halal supervision and certification organisations.

Abdul Wahab Wookay, chief executive officer of Johannesburg-based National Independent Halal Trust, said the halal industry is not just confined to food or slaughter of cattle and poultry in the Islamic way.

"Non-food items like cosmetics can also be certified halal. Ingredients used in food preparation should also be halal. That is why regulation and supervision is important," he said.

© The Saudi Gazette 2006