Muslim World Needs Common Ground in $7 Trillion Halal Economy

The world halal economy, which was $4 trillion in 2017, has now reached $7 trillion, Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay said Thursday during the 7th World Halal Summit organized together with the 8th Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Halal Summit.

Oktay said that the summit hosts nearly 60 speakers from over 20 countries and 400 companies from 35 countries operating in several sectors, including food, cosmetics, medicine, chemistry, textile, tourism and technology, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which demonstrates the interest in halal products and services. He said that the primary reason those products, especially halal food, are preferred is the requirements of Islam; however, non-Muslims are also interested in such products for several reasons, including because they are healthy or clean. Today, the largest halal-product manufacturing countries are non-Muslim countries like Brazil, Australia, France, Germany and New Zealand, he said.

Oktay said the industry occurred initially in Far East countries like Malaysia or Indonesia with studies to ensure safety and halal properties in food, and has gained a different momentum with the initiatives of Turkey. “Islamic Countries Standards and Metrology Institute (SMIIC) was established in Istanbul under the leadership of our country and continues its activities. In addition, as an institution operating according to SMIIC standards, we established the Halal Accreditation Agency (HAK) three years ago under our Ministry of Commerce,” Oktay said, informing that the agency has evaluated the applications received from all over the world and has taken over 640 halal certificates under the guarantee of accreditation. As a result of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between HAK and SMIIC, HAK has become a training base that provides trainings with worldwide validity.

With the trainings organized by HAK until today, “we have provided competence to nearly 300 industry professionals from more than 20 countries and we continue these trainings without slowing down,” he said, noting that they attribute great importance to ensuring that all Muslims, including those in Turkey, do not have the slightest doubt about whether the products and services they buy are halal or not.

However, Oktay continued, “the Islamic world should now be able to speak a common language in terms of halal content, process and service.” “We cannot meet on a common ground and act together to contribute to the halal economy,” Oktay said, emphasizing that the reliable and global halal certified trade environment will result in benefits, health and trust for “all of us, all Islamic countries and our private sector.”

In a related developmnet, the Turkish Presidency’s Investment Office signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Friday with the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS) on agricultural cooperation, particularly regarding Africa.

The agreement was signed by Burak Dağlıoğlu, the head of the office, and Yerlan Baidaulet, general director of the IOFS. At the signing ceremony, Dağlıoğlu said Turkey is one of the most active members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Dağlıoğlu stressed that food supply was a critical issue worldwide and added that OIC members should cooperate deeply on this issue. While some countries have natural sources, such as water and land, but face difficulties accessing finance and technology, others have financial resources with a deficiency of natural resources, he said. “These countries are not the same, so we believe there should be better cooperation and integration between member states,” he added.

He underlined that of the $235 billion foreign direct investments that Turkey has attracted since 2013, $10 billion were from food and agricultural firms. “This shows that not only domestic companies, but also international companies are active in the food and related sectors in Turkey,” Dağlıoğlu said.

“Turkey is an agricultural center in its region, we’d like to share our expertise and experience in attracting investments in the food sector with (other) OIC member countries.” Baidaulet stressed that the Turkish Investment Office and IOFS would engage in results-oriented cooperation to develop agricultural investment opportunities in member countries with low human development indicators, especially in Africa. “To be successful and raise the Islamic Civilization even higher, we must do more as Muslim countries and organizations,” he underlined. 

Noting that the IOFS had declared 2022 as the Year of Africa, he added: “In this context, taking into account the important role played by Turkey in Africa, where it increased the number of diplomatic missions to 46 in a few years, in order to be able to successfully implement the programs we have designed, we invite the Investment Office to be one of the valuable helping hands of the IOFS.”