Turkey announces launch of halal accreditation authority

25-Oct-2017 - Last updated on 24-Oct-2017 at 04:13 GMT

Turkey has come up with a draft law for a Halal Accreditation Authority, with an eye on the $3.9 trillion global halal trade. ©iStock

Related tags Islam Middle east

Turkey has established a Halal Accreditation Authority (HAK) as it seeks to drive food sector sales, which is expected to be worth $2.55 trillion by 2024.

This new agency, under Turkey’s Ministry of Economy, will be the sole authority on halal product certification and accreditation for Turkish and overseas organisations.

Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci recently highlighted to parliament’s industry and commerce commission the opportunities for Turkey in the international halal market.

He pointed out that halal products are not limited to food but also encompass cosmetics, textile, finance, supply chain and insurance, and estimated the current overall expenditure of Muslims on halal products to be $1.17 trillion.

“Turkey should lead such an international halal market,” Zeybekci stressed.

Apart from enforcing Islamic halal standards in Muslim countries and territories, halal accreditation agencies aim to protect halal consumers as well as facilitate international trade.

Asia-Pacific growth

According to Hexa Research, Asia-Pacific has the highest market share in terms of revenue and dominated the halal market by contributing $594 billion in 2016. The region is projected to maintain its dominance over the forecast period up to 2024.

Countries such as Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines are expected to drive the market.

In an earlier report, we noted that China is also seeking to boost its halal trade.

Even though Muslims account for just 2% of the population, the domestic halal market is valued at $20bn.

China is also the UAE’s top trade partner, with total bilateral trade exchange amounting to about $46.4 billion in 2016. According to the UAE Ministry of Economy’s statistics, much of it was for halal food.

The report mentioned that China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) project, which creates a land-link spanning more than 68 countries, also ties Muslim-majority markets in the Middle East, Africa and South and Central Asia much closer.

According Raees Ahmed, organiser of the biennial Halal Expo, the OBOR 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, the Middle East and Africa — the world’s largest halal market”.

Internationally, halal products are increasingly available via e-commerce through platforms such as midamarhalal.com and mullaco.com.