Halal exports bounce back to more than pre-pandemic level

 

The halal food and beverage sector continued to be the major contributor for halal exports, followed by halal ingredients, and cosmetics and personal care. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s halal exports this year are expected to surpass the RM42 billion pre-pandemic level, Halal Development Corporation Bhd said today.

The company’s chief executive, Hairol Ariffein Sahari, said halal exports in the first quarter of 2022 rose almost 100% from the same quarter a year ago.

“From the performance in the first quarter, and if this trend and momentum continue till the end of the year, we will be on track to surpass the pre-pandemic level,” Hairol told reporters at the launch of the “Make Halal Your First Choice” campaign today.

“During the pandemic, we projected that the halal economy would need at least three years post-pandemic to recover. But looking at the current numbers, it seems like we are recovering earlier than expected,” he said.

Hairol said the supply chain situation was also improving. “This was obvious from the business-to-business exports for palm oil derivatives and halal ingredients that have increased by over 100%. Other products are also slowly recovering.”

Imports from China were also increasing, he said.

An official from the international trade and industry ministry, Norazman Ayob, said Malaysia’s 2021 halal export performance rose by 19% to RM36.3 billion from RM30.5 billion a year earlier.

“This increase proves the importance of the halal industry to the Malaysian economy, despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Food and beverage continued to be the major contributor (valued at RM17.64 billion), followed by halal ingredients (RM13.49 billion), cosmetics and personal care (RM2.44 billion), palm oil derivatives (RM1.71 billion), industrial chemicals (RM0.75 billion) and halal pharmaceuticals (RM0.28 billion).

China had overtaken Singapore as the two largest halal destinations in 2021, recording exports of RM4.6 billion and RM3.7 billion respectively, followed by Japan, the US and Indonesia.

Direct investment in halal parks in Malaysia in 2021 also recorded a growth of RM210 million from the previous year, he said.

A total of 500 halal entrepreneurs are participating in the halal promotion campaign, which began at the end of April.

Lulu International Group and Lotus’s supermarkets are involved in the campaign, and a collaboration with Foodpanda will be held in June and July. - FMT