WORLD HALAL WEEK 2018

THOUSAND of delegates from around the world will gather in Malaysia in April to attend the World Halal Week (WHW) 2018 to discuss and deliberate on the extensive prospects of the Halal industry becoming a key contributor to Global Economy. 

WHW 2018 is led by the Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC), as the central agency under the Prime Minister’s Department of Malaysia and will be launched by YAB Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, the Prime Minister of Malaysia. 

Themed “Building for the Future”, World Halal Week has become pivotalin steering the growth of the global Halal industry and is organised by HDC in collaboration with the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) and the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM). 

WHW 2018 comprises of three major components: the World Halal Conference (WHC) 2018 from 4-5 April 2018 that will be organised by HDC; the Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) from 4-7 April 2018 organised by MATRADE; and the Malaysia International Halal Assembly (MyHA) from 26 March to 3 April 2018 organised by JAKIM. 

The media announcement today was led by HDC Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Seri Jamil Bidin and jointly present were MATRADE Chief Executive Officer Ir Dr Mohd Shahreen Zainoreen Madros, and JAKIM Director of Halal Hub Division, Dato’ Dr Sirajuddin Suhaimee. 

Speaking of the World Halal Conference, HDC Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Seri Jamil Bidin said the event will bring together more than 1,000 delegates from more than 50 countries to discuss an underlining theme “Whither the Next Economy?” Itis an international platform to highlight the areas of Malaysian expertise that seeks to be come a global benchmark in the development of the halal industry. 

“Industry players of Halal products cannot alienate themselves from what is rapidly happening around us – they must adapt, because the technology applies to everyone now and our role at HDC is to nurture and develop these companies to be ready for the global revolution,” said Dato’SeriJamil. 

“It is no longer a question of whether we are ready or not –we have no choice but to be ready! Companies must evolve to in corporate these new technologies in to their business, deciding how they can use all the tools at their disposal today to develop their business, reduce cost, achieve higher revenue and to increase productivity.” 

The 10th WHC 2018 will focus on five panel discussions namely on Game Changer: Economy Revolution; Emerging Trends of Global Economy & Implications to Malaysia’s Halal Industry; the International is a tion of Islamic Economy: Global Integration & Strategic Collaboration; Halal & Science; and the Digital Economy: Managing the Brand. 

On MIHAS 2018, MATRADE Chief Executive Officer Ir Dr Mohd Shahreen Zainoreen Madros said the four-day event will be held at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC). Dubbed as the world’s largest Halal Expo, last year’s event had drawn more than 22,000 trade visitors, attracted 576 companies from 33 countries, and successfully negotiated a trade value of more than RM1billion. 

This year MIHAS will be even larger, with visitors expected to increase by 10-15 percent, and with more than 1,000 exhibition booths. 

Meanwhile, JAKIM’s Director of Halal Hub Division, Dato’ Dr. Sirajuddin Suhaimee said more than 900 participants from atleast 42 countries are expected to attend the Malaysia International Halal Assembly (MyHA). The assembly will comprise of the Halal Professional Board course, International Halal Capacity Development Programme, Halal Certification Bodies Convention and the International Halal Authority Board General Assembly. 

To emphasize on Halal Malaysia’s performance, Dato’ Seri Jamil announced that the country’s total Halal export value in 2017 amounted to RM43.39 billion, increasing RM1.2 billion from the previous year. 

The food and beverage industry continued to account for the largest export value at RM20.1 billion, followed by Halal ingredients at RM15.7billion, palm oil derivatives at 3.6 billion and cosmetics & personal care products at RM2.9 billion. The top10 importers of Malaysia’s Halal products were led by Singapore (RM4.9billion); China (4.8 billion); Japan (RM2.8 billion); the United States (RM2.7 billion); Indonesia (RM2.2 billion); the Netherlands (RM2.0 billion); Thailand (RM1.7 billion); Australia (RM1.5 billion); India (RM1.4 billion); and South Korea (RM1.3 billion).

Dato’ Seri Jamil said multinational companies continued to dominate Malaysia’s halal export market, accounting for RM38 billion worth of exported products. Malaysian small and medium enterprises generated RM3.8 billion worth of exported Halal products while RM1.5 billion was contributed by small industries. 

“Globally, there is a rapidly growing interest in Halal products and the Halal industry in generalas countries begin to realize the potential of the industry and just how muchit can contribute to their respective economies,” said Dato’ Seri Jamil.  

“Itis also ironic that with a global Muslim population of more than 1.8 billion, much of the interest in developing Halal products and the Halal industry seem to come from non-Muslim countries, with the exception of Malaysia, where as the majority of Muslim countries appear to be the biggest consumer and not producer of halal products”.