DESPITE being in an advantageous position, Pakistan has not been able to profit from the immense opportunities the growing global halal food market offers to its exporters because of sheer neglect on the part of bureaucracy.

The country has yet to work out its own halal standards and set up an official certification body. A panel of the Pakistan National Accreditation Council, consisting of ulema and government officials, had approved of the creation of Pakistan Halal Product Development Board, on December 20, 2011, for the purpose, but it has yet to see the light of day. During the last five years, several seminars and conferences were held on ways to promote halal exports but without tangible results. Pakistan remains almost absent in the halal market.

The level of halal awareness among businessmen is quite scant. Many assume that since Pakistan is a Muslim country, its food products, meat in particular, should be treated as halal because the animals here are slaughtered according to the Islamic mode. But in trade there are no assumptions and the importers and buyers ask for halal certificates.

Pakistan is well placed to geographically dominate halal exports for South Asia if the government fulfils the requirements of consumers regarding halal certification. The country is located closer to the Middle East than any of its three biggest competitors, namely, Australia, Brazil and India, which pay higher shipping costs to reach these export markets as compared to Pakistan.

Several Pakistani companies have, of late, begun entering the red meat business but the biggest challenge before them is of regulatory nature. They must meet the requirement of meat importing nations of observing strict health codes for the safety of the meat, including traceability of the meat of any diseased animal to the exact location that it came from, so that the entire herd it was a part of can be slaughtered. This is something that is absent in Pakistan. The government has not yet created a regulatory agency that could catalogue the country’s animal population. There is no denying the fact that Pakistan has the potential to assume the leadership role in the global halal food market by adopting proper strategies, policies and practices. This market is undoubtedly the biggest untapped market for exports. Halal products are also seen as a potential engine of economic growth with an annual turnover of billions of dollars globally.

Halal meat is one of the fastest growing markets. In recent years, halal beef imports in the Middle East and Southeast Asia alone grew by over 18.2 per cent a year. Pakistan’s share in these imports has been hardly three per cent. Currently Pakistan exports meat to Saudi Arabia, UAE and other Gulf and Asian countries but it is not halal certified. Today, halal concept covers all the food and non-food products and also services. Before halal gained market status, this term was used for animal and poultry meat only.

Since halal label has become a symbol of good quality, products carrying this label are in great demand not only among Muslim states and expatriates but even among non-Muslims. The manufacturers in the West saw a great potential of profits in the halal products which has now moved beyond raw meat. Today, almost all goods and services, even cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, clothing and financial services are available as certified halal.

It is not just the rise in the number of Muslim consumers in non-Muslim countries that has made halal a big business. It is the global nature of the food industry itself. Around 80 per cent of the halal food industry is in the hands of non-Muslims. Brazilians have been big halal producers for decades. Brazil exports one million frozen halal chickens to 100 countries and more than 300,000 tonnes of halal beef products to Saudi Arabia, GCC, Egypt and Iran annually. Three-quarters of chickens exported by French firms are halal. Supermarket chains have separate halal lines. So, one sees an ever-growing demand for halal meat across the globe, in stores, restaurants and fast food chains.

In Europe, the market for halal foods is estimated at $66 billion with France having the largest share at $17 billion. That is just the tip of iceberg. The total global halal market of both food and non-food products is between $1.2 trillion and $2 trillion.

In the West, the US, Brazil, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and France are the biggest halal products suppliers. In the East, Thailand is the biggest exporter followed by the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and India. France exports 750,000 tonnes halal frozen chickens annually to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE and Yemen among other Muslim countries. United States is the third largest beef exporter in the world and more than 80 per cent of its frozen beef is halal. New Zealand is the fourth largest beef exporter and 40 per cent of its beef products are halal.

India became the world’s top exporter of beef in 2012 but its beef is not of cow origin but of buffalo which is considered inferior and is low-priced. India no longer exports cow beef and hence is out of the global beef market after a 2005 Indian Supreme Court ruling that upheld a ban on cow slaughter as constitutional. Pakistan has ignored this highly favourable condition for its beef exports. However,demand for Indian buffalo’s meat is on the rise in Gulf, Malaysia and South-Eastern countries for being lean, hygienic and because of certainty of its being halal.

The current estimated Muslim population is around 1.4 billion and it is growing at the rate of 2.9 per cent annually and is expected to be 30 per cent of the world’s total population by 2025. With this increase, the demand for halal food and Shariah-compliant products and services will continue to rise. This will also create more opportunities for companies to expand their reach. Pakistan’s halal-certified food products can definitely claim a huge chunk of global market. The country, having rich potential in livestock, dairy and poultry sectors, has the capability. — Ashfak Bokhari