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Friday, March 14, 2008

Halal Food Dominate Services Indust

MECD Hopes Halal Food Can Dominate Services Indust


The Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development (MECD) hopes that Malaysia's halal sector can dominate the services industry, said its secretary-general Datuk Musa Muhamad.

He said for example, the airline industry could use halal products and services.
"It can utilise Malaysian products manufactured by Bumiputeras," he told Bernama here on the sidelines of the Halal World Expo and Forum which ended yesterday.

Musa said that Malaysia was building up the image of local products so that they would be more competitive and expand further in the world halal market, which was now estimated to worth US$2.1 trillion.

"Previously, we were almost dependent on imported products, so we have the policy of import substitution. As such, we have to develop local industries to be at par or competitive to imported products," he said.

Musa also said that when looking at halal products, one has to take into account all halal aspects.

These included the "value chain" like marketing, financing and Islamic trading practices, he said.

Apart from halal food, the three-day exhibition also showcased financial services like Islamic banking and Muslim fashion.

Also exhibited were cosmetic products, which have captured a vast market in the Middle East. It was reported that this market has been growing by 12 percent annually with total value of related sales in the region reaching US$12.1 billion last year.

ABU DHABI, Dec 12 (Bernama)
By Nor Faridah A. Rashid