Halal in Asia Pacific

Russian halal: low fame, excellent quality

Russian halal industry has a small awareness in the Asia Pacific Region. The world's largest guide of halal restaurants and shops Zabihah captures only about 200 (as of September 2019) halal places in Russia. The same quantity in Japan, in the country with small Muslim population but huge number of Muslim tourists.

More than 250 manufacturers are certified, and more than 50 of them sale abroad in Russia, according to the International Center for Standardization and Certification "Halal" under the Council of Muftis of Russia. But a 2019 survey taken place in countries where the Muslim population dominates showed that ~3% of respondents were familiar with Russian halal products (survey data from the National Meat Association of Russia).

Marat Kabaev, the President of the International Association of Islamic Business (IAIB), told 'Pan Pacific Agency', that "Russia is ecologically safe, that is why our definite trump card in halal industry is agricultural products, mainly meat":

International market is largely dominated by the halal meat produced in non-Muslim countries – Brazil, Australia, New Zealand. Nevertheless, Russian products are still in demand. Irani companies buy a lot of meat in Dagestan. We now are negotiating to start shipments from Kalmykia that has a significant amount of livestock and all necessary premises to develop halal export. Therefore, what we need is to keep working, meeting, communicating and establishing new contacts.

Need to communicate more

Today the largest venue for Russia and the Islamic World cooperation is the international economic summit KazanSummit. In 2019 there is scheduled the 12th event. 84 exhibitors, including Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan presented their products at the largest Russian exhibition Russia halal Expo on an area of ​5 thousand square meters. Indonesia participated for the first time.

Another international event for the halal industry, World Halal Day, held in Russia for the first time in October 2019. Annual meetings of halal products manufacturers are organized by the Singaporean company United World Halal Development Pte. Ltd since 2014. Previous meeting in South Korea (2018) attracted participants from 45 countries. The 2019's meeting is united with Volga Investment Summit.

Asia Pacific Region: growing halal market

The two strongest markets for halal products are the Asia Pacific and the Middle East, according to 'The global halal industry: an overview' by the Africa Islamic Economic Foudation (Ghana):

More than half of the global Muslim population lives in the South Asia and Asia Pacific and the number of Muslims from these region are expected to reach 1.3 billion by 2030. Four of the ten countries in the world boasting the largest Muslim population in the world are located in the South Asia and Pacific region: Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.

So, the halal industry is booming in Asia Pacific region, 'The ASEAN Post' noted. All of the biggest importers of halal foods and beverages are Muslim-majority countries. Ironically, it is non-Muslim countries which are the biggest exporters.

It is not surprising that the biggest halal food manufacturers and exporters are located in non-Muslims countries like the US, Brazil, Argentina, Australia and China. Because of the traditional nature of the market, it is estimated that multinationals from these countries control 90% of the global halal market. In Malaysia, for example, Muslim consumers spent an average 14% of their food budget on meat. 60% of the halal meat is imported from India, Australia and New Zealand. Countries like Brazil, Argentina, New Zealand and Australia have established themselves as market leaders in the export of halal meat and poultry.

Special project: Halal in Asia Pacific

In 2021 'Pan Pacific Agency' plans to launch a special project 'Halal in Asia Pacific / Pacifica' to support Russian producers of the halal industry (food, clothing, jewelry, cosmetics and perfumery, etc.) in the Asia Pacific Region:

• B2B, B2C platform in English (halal.panpacificagency.com) for halal market brands promotion and interpenetration in the Asia Pacific Region countries;
• YouTube channel on halal products in the APR: recipes, contests, stories, interviews, reviews;
• Platform and YouTube channel promotion in APR media through 'Pan Pacific Agency' professional network.

B2B, B2C platform

halal.panpacificagency.com is a platform for communication of halal business execs from Russia and the countries of Asia Pacific Region. All activities are lined up around brands: halal products, halal places or halal events. The site erases cross-country barriers because it English-speaken.