Muslims Need to Follow Unified Standards As Halal Economy Grows To $7 Trillion

Muslims Need to Follow Unified Standards As Halal Economy Grows To $7 Trillion. That is the message echoed by the speakers at the 7th World Halal Summit organized together with the 8th Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Halal Summit.

The world’s halal economy, which was $4 trillion in 2017, has now reached $7 trillion, Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay said Thursday while addressing the conference.

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 as they want to eat healthy food.

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, saying 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 training with worldwide validity.

With the training organized by HAK until today, “we have provided competence to nearly 300 industry professionals from more than 20 countries and we continue these training 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.”