reports
International Halal SME Directory : 2011 - 2012
overview
Tracking the Wind in Halal Marketplace A global Halal industry overview
“SME success is essential for the developing economies… “ In the past five years, Halal has become a global issue. With a Muslim consumer base of an estimated 1.6 billion people, and a significant and as yet unmeasured number of non-Muslim Halal consumers, the Halal market demographic is arguably the single largest market sector that is defined by a specific set of compliance parameters. Halal now plays an increasingly frequent role in government policies in both Muslim majority and minority countries. Halal is already an important factor in corporate strategies for food, personal care and pharmaceutical multinationals around the world. Entrepreneurial and SME (small and medium enterprise) development, research and development projects, online and digital business pioneers, advertising and marketing agencies, laboratory testing, logistics, training... it seems today that everywhere you look, Halal is part of the picture for the next stage of economic growth. Halal compliance is having a major impact in the food sector and beyond, affecting agriculture, manufacturing, retail, restaurant, and travel and hospitality sectors. Halal is increasingly a factor in health, safety, labelling and quality control issues all over the world, and due to global trade, the evolution of the regulatory framework governing Halal compliance has effectively become a global issue. The role of SMEs in the Halal sector is a matter of paramount importance for all economies, regardless of whether this has been recognised by the respective government agencies around the world. • “SMEs are the lifeblood of the private sector…” • “SMEs create competitive and efficient markets…” • “SME proliferation is an important factor for poverty reduction…” • “SME success is essential for the developing economies…” • “SMEs are the major employers in most countries…” • “SMEs are a major source of innovation…” • “SMEs are the engines of growth…” Nowhere are these statements truer than in the Halal sector. If we look at the evolution of the health and speciality foods market, we can get an idea of the kind of related growth patterns that
we can expect to see in the Halal sector. In many cases, today’s market leaders were the SMEs of twenty-five years ago, led by individuals who had the vision and the drive to see their ideas come to life and shape the markets of tomorrow. The Halal sector is complex. It cuts across geographic, cultural, racial and even religious boundaries, and at the same time has a common underlying foundation in compliance with the guidelines established in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. To break the Halal market down into manageable parts, this Report will look at the following sectors: Agriculture, Manufacturing, Services, Tourism and Finance – all key components of the Halal Market Economy. AGRICULTURE Agriculture is literally the root of the food industry. Without farmers, there is no food. All the rest of the massive food industry rests on the often overlooked and overworked shoulders of the farmers.
In many cases, today’s market leaders were the SMEs of twentyfive years ago, led by individuals who had the vision and the drive to see their ideas come to life and shape the markets of tomorrow.
From the perspective of the Halal food industry, agriculture also takes on another layer of importance. As the perception of Halal shifts, from being an issue related solely to slaughtering procedures and becomes a matter of farm-to-fork compliance throughout the full supply-chain, the importance of Halal at the farm becomes more critical. The way that animals destined for the Halal markets are handled and fed is coming increasingly into the spotlight, especially in the poultry sector. With the recognition that chickens are often raised on feed that is made up of animal by-product, consumers as well as scrupulous manufacturers want to ensure that chickens for the Halal market are raised on grain and vegetarian feeds. While it can be argued that chickens are natural scavengers and by nature are not strictly vege-
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