Malaysian, Turkish Halal Manufacturers To Jointly Target EU, ASEAN Markets

Malaysian and Turkish companies should explore opportunities for collaboration in halal manufacturing not only for their countries but also for the European Union and ASEAN markets.

Turkish Ambassador to Malaysia Merve Safa Kavakci said that Turkey and Malaysia, with their top-notch quality infrastructure, have the technical competence, human resources, experience, and motivation needed for the realization of projects in the halal sector.

“As I’ve always emphasized, our strategically located countries should be seen as gateways to Europe and ASEAN. When we talk about the concept of halal and halal certification, it is worth mentioning that not only Muslims but also non-Muslim consumers prefer halal-certified products and services due to the perception that they are clean and healthy.

“In this respect, the halal product and service market is growing year by year.

“Therefore, it is important to establish a reliable certification system operating at the global level for the consumers to trust the products and services claiming to be halal and for the international trade of these products to continue (being) increasingly free from technical barriers,” she said in a pre-recorded keynote address at the Kuala Lumpur — Istanbul Halal Industry Corridor Webinar on Tuesday.

The webinar was held in conjunction with the upcoming eighth OIC Halal Expo 2021 on Nov 25-28, 2021.

Kavakci said that Turkey is Malaysia’s third-largest trading partner in the West Asian region, mainly driven by the free trade agreement (FTA) that entered into force in 2015 and has been mobilizing the untapped trade potential between both countries.

“Just one year after the FTA, in 2016, our trade volume increased by 34% and reached US$2.6 billion (US$1=RM4.15). In 2017, our bilateral trade reached its highest value with US$3.4 billion. It is remarkable that our trade volume, which had been around US$2.5 billion since 2018, increased by more than 7.0% even in 2020, the year of the pandemic.

“It is also pleasing to see that our trade volume has increased by 46% in the first six months of 2021 compared to the same period of the previous year. This is an important sign that our trade is normalizing after the pandemic,” she said.

Kavakci also expressed confidence that the Malaysian institutes, organizations, and companies, as exhibitors in the upcoming halal expo, will converge to create trade and business connectivity in the relevant sectors like food and beverage, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, tourism, Islamic finance, and modest fashion.

Originally published on www.theedgemarkets.com