The $1 trillion investment by China in its ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative is expected to accelerate the growth of the $50 billion GCC Halal food market and global Halal economy and make Halal products much cheaper to the Middle Eastern consumers, said organisers of the forthcoming Halal Expo Dubai.
 
The event focusses on a number of business verticals, including, halal food, halal beverage, halal fashion, halal cosmetics and personal care products, halal travel and tourism, halal hospitality, halal banking and finance.
 
Halal Expo Dubai, supported by a number of government and semi-government organisations as well as the media, will be open on September 18 and 19, at the Roda Al Bustan Hotel – near Dubai International Airport, Al Garhoud Area.
 
More than 100 companies from 15 countries Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Poland, Pakistan, Switzerland, India, ?UK, Brunei,? Philippines, South Africa, China and many more are expected to join the show.
 
More than 4,000 trade visitors are expected to visit the event, from 40 countries, while more than 100 business organisations from 13 countries are expected to showcase halal products and services.

Spanning more than 68 countries and encompassing 4.4 billion people and up to 40 per cent of the global GDP, China’s One Belt, One Road project will create a direct land-link with the Middle East markets where it could roll out an increase volume of Halal products – be it food, hygiene, health, perfume and cosmetics, said a statement.
 
The country, with a 26 million Muslim population, has a flourishing domestic halal industry and continues with efforts to strengthen the halal ecosystem in the country, it said.
 
Mohammed Saleh Badri, secretary general, International Halal Accreditation Forum (IHAF), said: “Gaining credibility in the global halal food market is crucial for China to increase its presence.”

“The country is already the highest exporter of modest fashion to OIC countries and has a high potential in terms of catering to the rapidly increasing demand for global halal food market, which will cross $1.7 trillion by 2021,” he said.

China has also created infrastructure to support the halal trade, including the construction of halal food and Muslim supplies manufacturing hubs such as the Wuzhong Halal industrial park, in the Muslim stronghold of Ningxia, which has attracted 218 companies, it added.
 
In 2008, China formed its first halal foods certification centre named Ningxia Halal Foods International Trading Certification Centre, which created the General Provisions of Halal Food Certification in March 2013 with approval by the China Certification and Accreditation Administration in September 2014.
 
A credible halal food certification is crucial for China to develop trust in these products on a global level. The government is yet to come out with national law or regulations for the industry.
 
China continues to be the UAE’s top trade partner, with total bilateral trade exchange amounting to Dh170.2 billion ($46.37 billion) in 2016, according to the UAE Ministry of Economy statistics.
 
The GCC countries import $50 billion (Dh183 billion) worth of Halal products, according to a latest research by Farrelly and Mitchell – a food and agri-business specialist. Of this, the UAE’s Halal import bill is $20 billion (Dh73 billion), or about 40 per cent of the GCC’s Halal imports.
 
Raees Ahmed, director of Orange Fairs and Events, organiser of the Halal Expo – Dubai, 2017, said: “Chinese investment in One Belt One Road initiative will definitely accelerate the growth of the global Halal consumption, as it will reduce the cost of mass production and overland transport costs across Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa – the world’s largest Halal market.”

China’s halal sector is expected to reach $1.9 trillion by 2021, a CAGR of 9 per cent from 2015, according to research.
 
China has a strong domestic demand for halal foods, estimated at $20 billion coming from the 26 million Muslim consumers. Even though China’s Muslim population is only 2 per cent, majority are settled in Northwest China including Xinjiang, Ningxia, Gansu and Qinghai provinces, accounting for 70 per cent of the total Muslim population in these regions.
 
Ahmed said: “The Muslim population is also younger than the national average and with more than 41 per cent of being younger than 19 years. This age profile and increase in the Muslim population are the key long-term drivers for domestic halal food consumption in China.”
 
“Halal foods are considered to be healthy and hygienic. A growing number of non-Muslim consumers prefer halal foods, as they are deemed safer. As a result, the distribution of halal foods has expanded beyond traditional markets in cities such as Shanghai which has 80,000 Muslims,” he said.
 
“China is witnessing a growth in the number of national halal food players as well as partial halal product lines. In addition to demand from Muslim population, growing popularity of halal foods as a healthy option is also driving demand,” he added.
 
Orange Fairs and Exhibition, is organising Halal Expo – an international exposition to highlight the growth in the ethical, moral and halal and healthy living, products and services.
 
The event is the largest and most comprehensive business-to-business (B2B) halal exposition in the Middle East for the $2.3 trillion global halal industry. The event, which attracted participation from 13 countries in its previous edition and registered 3,700 trade visitors from 40 countries, expect larger trade participation where buyers and sellers of halal products and services are expected to do brisk business, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service