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UAE:
Dubai Investment Development Agency (Dubai FDI), an agency of the
Department of Economic Development (DED), has joined forces with the
International Halal Integrity Alliance (IHI Alliance) to support the
growth of the local and regional Halal industry in line with the
evolution of Dubai into a hub and resource center for Islamic economy.
Dubai FDI will assist IHI Alliance to set up its regional office in
Dubai, in a move called the ‘IHI Alliance Middle East’ chapter. IHI
Alliance Middle East will provide Halal industry training for businesses,
government agencies, Halal auditors and Halal certification companies
with emphasis on professional and Islamic integrity. The global Halal
industry is thought to account for approximately US$632 billion annually
with an estimated growth rate of 29% per year. The Halal food industry
currently represents almost 17% of the world’s total food industry; with
key Halal markets being the GCC countries (see IFN Vol.10 Iss. 48).
Fahad Al Gergawi, CEO of Dubai FDI, conveyed that the arrival of IHI
Alliance has great significance as the local Halal sector is set to see
unprecedented demand and supply following the Islamic economy initiative.
“The Islamic economy initiative calls for the best standards and
practices, which would reflect Dubai's focus on being the best. The IHI
Alliance Middle East will promote knowledge exchange and transfer of
skills required for all Halal industry stakeholders to achieve global
recognition through leadership in quality, safety and sustainability,”
explained Fahad.
“I am pleased to bring our services to the industry players in Dubai to
help them capture the US$1.62 trillion market for Halal food and
lifestyle sectors. IHI Alliance has the right mix of professionalism,
integrity and vision, backed by sound Islamic and technical input to
serve the Dubai halal industry as we have done with others, including
Malaysia,” said Jumaatun Azmi, the founder and executive director of IHI
Alliance.
IHI Alliance is an international non-profit organization created to
uphold the integrity of the Halal market concept in global trade through
recognition, collaboration and membership with the Islamic Chamber of
Commerce and Industry. The IHI Alliance Standard is a global Halal
standard developed in alignment with the WTO-TBT (World Trade
Organisation-Technical Barriers to Trade) Code of Good Practice for
Standards Development.
In a recent report published by Thomson Reuters and DinarStandard
consumer expenditure in 2012 for the global Halal food and lifestyle
sectors was US$1.62 trillion and is expected to be valued at US$2.47
trillion by 2018. The Economist Intelligence Unit has estimated that GCC
Halal food imports are projected to increase to US$53.1 billion by 2020
while the UAE’s annual halal food imports is estimated to reach US$8.4
billion by the end of the decade.
For an in-depth analysis of the Halal financing sector refer to our most
recent IFN cover story of the 30th April (IFN Vol.11 Iss.17) –
'Does Halal financing have a limited shelf-life?'. For further
information, watch out for the next in our Halal series, with a cover
story on Islamic global food security released on the 7th May.
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