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Meet Best Practice Requirements, PM Tells Halal Industry Players |
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 12 May 2007 |
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Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today called on halal producers and manufacturers in Malaysia to meet best practice requirements in terms of safety, health and quality in order to move up to a premium halal brand.
He said this was in line with global consumer trends that were increasingly inclined towards high quality and healthy products and services.
In addition, it will also boost acceptance and saleability to non-Muslim markets, Abdullah said.
KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 (Bernama) --- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today called on halal producers and manufacturers in Malaysia to meet best practice requirements in terms of safety, health and quality in order to move up to a premium halal brand.
He said this was in line with global consumer trends that were increasingly inclined towards high quality and healthy products and services.
In addition, it will also boost acceptance and saleability to non-Muslim markets, Abdullah said.
"In this way, I hope that halal certification can ultimately become a global benchmark and brand that transcends across various religions and cultures. This will undoubtedly enhance market access of halal products and services to many more countries," he said when opening the 4th Malaysian International Halal Showcase (MIHAS 2007) at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here.
Abdullah said the government envisaged the halal industry playing an increasingly important role in the Malaysian economy and as such, would continue to develop further the Malaysian halal brand.
He said the brand and the Malaysian halal standard, MS1500:2004, were already firmly established and internationally recognised.
"Malaysia hopes to leverage on the competitive edge in its promotions throughout the world. We must elevate the halal brand to become a premium brand," he added.
Abdullah said the halal food industry should put in place dedicated supply chain facilities in order to ensure that halal consignments remained unadulterated throughout the distribution channel.
"This presents yet another opportunity for logistics providers to tap into this lucrative sector. And apart from transportation, there are other opportunities in the areas of warehousing, packaging and ICT (information and communications technology) development in the logistics value chain," he said.
With the global halal food market estimated to be worth almost US$600 billion annually and five percent of that value related to logistics alone, Abdullah said the logistics sub-sector was one of the most rapidly developing links in the halal value chain.
He said Malaysia was undertaking ambitious halal logistics initiatives which included the construction of several dedicated halal industrial parks nationwide, adding that with these facilities in place, Malaysia could offer itself as a competitive halal logistics hub for the region and beyond.
According to Abdullah, the halal concept should not be confined to food and beverages but should also cover the expansion of other halal related sectors focusing on food additives and ingredients, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, toiletries and logistics.
He said there are also abundant export opportunities in halal related services where Malaysia could capitalise on its expertise, particularly its experience in the areas of halal accreditation, laboratory testing and halal consultancy services.
On MIHAS, the Prime Minister said he would like to see the event continuing to assume an important role in harnessing the halal market by facilitating the trading of halal products and services.
"I hope that MIHAS, together with the World Halal Forum, can be a major catalyst towards successful development of the halal industry, at the domestic as well as at the global level," he said.
MIHAS 2007, the world's largest halal trade show and exhibition, has attracted 424 companies from 26 countries, including Argentina, Croatia and Kuwait which are taking part for the first time.
The five-day event, which began yesterday, is organised by Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) together with the Islamic Dakwah Foundation Malaysia (Yadim).
Source : BERNAMA |
