Mihas 2020 to garner RM50b halal exports by year-end: Matrade

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) aims to achieve its RM50 billion halal export target by year-end by enhancing its global marketing activities for local halal products.

To realise this, the trade promotion agency will be leveraging the 17th Malaysia International Halal Showcase (Mihas), to be held on April 1-4.

Deputy CEO (export acceleration) Mohd Mustafa Abdul Aziz told Bernama that Malaysia has a lot of advantages in the halal industry, especially in terms of certification, but Malaysian industry players must not remain complacent.

“Malaysia’s success in the halal industry has motivated a lot of other countries, both Muslim and non-Muslim, to explore the prospects of halal for their economy.

“We need to ramp up efforts to ensure the relevance of our local halal products globally, as there is still a major lack of understanding of what halal is all about among global buyers,” he said.

Mustafa said Mihas is a good platform to address this as it showcases the industry’s value to global buyers.

“Halal means the product is of superior quality and reliable – qualities that global buyers are looking for,” he said.

He said the growing Muslim population worldwide and the rising demand by nonMuslims for halal products also facilitate the rapid progress of the industry.

“Consumers are now actively seeking and familiarising themselves with halal products and services, which include food and beverages, ingredients, healthcare products and services, personal care, tourism as well as financial services,” he said.

According to Dinar Standard’s “State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2019/20”, Muslims spent US$2.2 trillion (RM9.1 trillion) in 2018, a 5.2% growth yearon-year.

The amount is expected to increase to US$3.2 trillion by 2024 at a compound annual growth rate of 6.2%.

Organised by Matrade, Mihas offers Malaysian exporters a platform to showcase their halal brands, and visitors will also be able to witness the conducive halal ecosystem that Malaysia has in place.

“Malaysia is the only country in the world that boasts a comprehensive ecosystem for the halal industry development agenda.

“This includes halal certification systems, standards and regulations, infrastructures, incentives, human capital and Islamic banking, supported by effective frameworks from governmental institutions, all linked together to create a holistic halal ecosystem,” Mustafa said.