Minister of International Trade and Industry, YB Dato' Sri Mustapa Mohamed today announced that Malaysia's export value for Halal products for the year 2011 is RM35.4 billion.

The contribution from Halal exports was 5.1% from the total export for the country as at December last year.

"This figure far surpasses our estimate and expectation and shows that Malaysia is a big player in the Halal industry," said Dato' Sri Mustapa Mohamed at a special briefing for the media.

"This is a significant milestone for the halal industry because we are reporting Halal statistics for the first time. HDC has developed a database for comprehensive Halal statistics, which makes it possible for us to report the performance of the Halal industry. "In terms of comparison with other countries it is quite difficult for them to achieve full statistics, as they do not have databases that are dedicated to Halal development as we do.

"I believe that with this year's achieved export value, we are a leading exporter of Halal products, and the biggest among OIC countries," added the Minister.

Malaysia's Halal ingredients sector is in the lead with an export value of RM12.3 billion (35%), followed closely by food & beverages 11.9 billion (34%), Palm oil derivatives (such as oleochemicals) RM7.0 billion (20%), industrial chemicals (such as manufacturing processing aids) RM 2.0 billion (6%), cosmetics and personal care RM1.8 million (5%), and pharmaceuticals RM0.29 billion.

In the food and beverage sector, the top five products are processed food, cocoa, margarine, beverages, meat and seafood.

The top five markets that the country exports it halal products to are China, the US, Singapore, the Netherlands and Japan.

Today, there is an estimated population of 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide. The global Halal market is currently estimated at USD2.3 trillion covering both food and non-food sectors. A big portion of this potential market is yet to be tapped.

"Our GDP per Muslim capita has grown faster annually than its global counterparts during the period from 1990 to 2010. For the same period, GDP per capita for Muslims worldwide has grown at CAGR of 6.8% (Global CAGR : 5.0%)," said Dato' Sri  Mustapa Mohamed

"Malaysian companies in this respect can be encouraged to focus on new emerging markets, such as China and India, two countries that have huge Muslim population.

"China has 39 million Muslims and a Halal food industry that is estimated at USD2.1 billion, which is expected to grow at 10% annually. China's import of Halal products from Malaysia in 2011 is worth RM4.1 billion out of a total Halal export of RM35.4 billion.
"Likewise, India has 154 million Muslims and in 2011 imports Halal goods from Malaysia to the value of RM1.4 billion out of a total Halal export of RM35.4 billion.

"With this large Muslim population figures Malaysia should export more to China and India as they have the markets and the potential to develop their respective Halal markets even more," added the Minister.

There are currently 4,785 Malaysian halal certified companies and 700 registered exporters of which 75% are SMEs that contributed to the world market demand. More halal companies are urged to tap this huge market.

In terms of investments HALMAS Halal Parks have brought in significant returns for 2011 with realized investments amounting to RM625.1 million. The breakdown: Penang International Halal Hub (RM381.1million), techpark@enstek (RM8.4 milion), PKFZ Halal Flagship (RM8.6 million),Melaka Halal Park, Serkam (RM34.0 million) and Selangor Halal Hub (RM193.0 million).

There are today 9 HALMAS Halal Parks, which are choice locations that provide comprehensive services for companies who wish to tap the lucrative global halal markets. To date, there are 100 companies located within HALMAS Halal Parks.

"For 2012, the target figure for Halal exports is an increase of 6% from 2011 and the target investments for the Halal Parks is RM1 billion," said the Minister.

Some of the major tenant-companies that have started operations in HALMAS Halal Parks include Cargill, F&N (PML Dairies), Coca-Cola and Kewpie.

HDC's investment-oriented programmes are aggressively tailored to companies that require professional assistance for participating in the global Halal arena.

In its Halal Business Transformation Programmes (HBT) a total of 97 companies were nurtured and have generated RM300 million in combined sales.

"This performance has enhanced the company's competitiveness and business growth," said Dato' Seri Jamil.

The training and consultancy arm of HDC has been equally aggressive, clocking major training programmes for 12,000 consumers, 1,520 companies, of which 380 obtained Halal Certification, 254 executives, of which 100% have secured jobs and 490 internal auditors.

HDC's Global Halal Support Centre set up three years ago, has recorded 12.5 million visitors from 122 countries visiting its portal sites for Halal information. Its i-kiosk is just as popular – having attracted 152,000 visitorwhile its Halal Apps recorded 55,000 downloads worldwide.

According to Dato' Seri Jamil, Halal ingredients are hugely needed in food sectors and non-food sector. Conventional perception assumes that ingredients are only required in the food processing sector, which is a narrow view of Halal growth and development.

Other HDC initiatives include a Halal Data Warehousing System that will create the necessary database to identify gaps, opportunities and challenges to take the halal development to the next level.

"I believe the entrepreneurial sector will soon realize that specializing in providing Halal ingredients is a growth sector, which can transform the business into an export ready one because of the high demand for specific ingredients. This may lead to the opening up of untapped sources like palm oil, a commodity with an estimated export value of RM80 billion.

"The Malaysian Halal industry under HDC's care extends beyond the food and beverage sector. We are promoting a Halal eco-system which covers food, non-food and services sector, which collectively provide a much bigger return to our economy.

"For a long time the Halal industry is publicly perceived with naivety where the Halal industry is only evaluated by the number of food and beverage products available in the stores.

As we can see from last year's composition of Halal exports, the food and beverage sector is already crowded with players, and halal does not necessarily mean food.

"As such Malaysia should leverage on its strengths to develop the other sectors within the diverse Halal industry.

"Malaysia is proud to be ranked as one of the top producers of halal ingredients in the world," added Dato' Seri Jamil. 

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