ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s halal industry remains underutilized over the years, says a report published by WealthPK on Friday.
Halal – meaning anything from food to nonfood items prepared from permissible ingredients in a clean and hygienic environment strictly in accordance with the Islamic law – is fast gaining ground in the global economy and is predicted to generate around $2.6 trillion by the year 2024 at a cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.1 percent.
It has over the years expanded from food items to pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, health products, toiletries and medical devices as well as service sector components (logistics, marketing, print and electronic media, packaging, branding, and financing) and has become a powerful worldwide market phenomenon for both Muslims and non-Muslims alike, WealthPK reported.
Currently, Oman, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Malaysia, Indonesia, China and India are major contributors to the halal market. Malaysia has won its recognition as the world leader in terms of development of halal standards and halal certification systems.
The Malaysian government developed the Halal Malaysia Logo in 1994 which was updated in 2003. It was due to these high standards that the United Nations has cited Malaysia as the world’s best example in the halal food industry.
Apart from the serious government efforts, the Malaysian banks have also taken a number of initiatives to help the halal food, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to grow and to expand.
Compared with these countries, the halal food industry in Muslim-majority Pakistan is yet to grab a sizable share in the world market despite the fact that it has a vast potential for halal economic growth.
The country is rich in cattle varieties and the world’s best classes of livestock originate in its various districts.
The encouraging thing is that after gaining access to the Jordanian and Indonesian halal meat markets, Pakistan intends to export meat and meat preparations worth $500 million by the end of the current fiscal year (FY22).
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the country exported meat and meat preparations worth $78.3 million in the first quarter of the Fiscal Year 2021. According to the United Nations Comtrade database on international commerce, Pakistan’s exports of drinks, spirits, and vinegar totalled US$347.56 million in 2020.
Pakistan has a total of 22 halal meat processing plants. To ensure quality and halal ingredients, the Pakistan Halal Authority (PHA) has decided to control food items at the import and export stage. The PHA has also launched a Memorandum of
Understanding/MRA with the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) and looks forward to working with the other nations to resolve the halal sector difficulties in order to expand the export potential.
To increase its share in the global halal market, the Government of Pakistan has constituted Agriculture and Meat Market Company in Punjab for halal meat processing. The company aims at formalizing horticulture and meat sector through interventions at each tier of value chain i.e. production, processing and marketing (inland & export) in compliance with international quality standards through public / private channels, WealthPK reported.
In spite of all these measures, the industry still faces many problems like limited government support, complicated procedures for handling meat exports and default on payments from the specific buyers. The government should pay immediate attention towards resolving these issues if it has to benefit from this market of massive potential.
The government should also roll out tax and monetary incentives for investors for export of halal brands.
Pakistan and China also have great prospects for cooperation in this area, as the former has competitive halal products, superior quality raw materials and a workaholic labour force, while the latter has advanced technology, marketing methods, packaging designs and advanced equipment. -INP
