PETALING JAYA, March 25 (Bernama) -- As the custodian of Malaysia’s Halal economy, Halal Development Corporation Berhad (HDC) today unveiled Malaysia’s performance within the Halal industry as it continues to spearhead the development of economic catalysts aimed at bolstering Malaysia’s positioning as the most competitive country within the global Halal sector.
 
According to its statement to the media, HDC’s Chief Executive Officer, Hairol Ariffein Sahari, spoke of the overall economic impact of the Halal industry, forecasted to contribute approximately 7.0 per cent for 2019 and 7.4 per cent to Malaysia’s GDP by the year 2020. 
 
“Through increased consumer confidence, Malaysia registered a Halal export value of RM40.2 billion in 2019, a slight increase as compared to RM40.0 billion in the previous year, backed by higher imports from the Americas. In 2019, the Americas contributed an estimated RM4.0 billion of imports from Malaysia as compared to RM3.7 billion in 2018, displaying a year-on-year increase of 7.7%”.
 
HDC’s proprietary data sources and analysis for the year 2019 showcases the Asia-Pacific region as a major trading partner with a 67% (RM26.91 billion) share of Malaysian Halal imports, followed by Europe and the Americas at 12% (RM4.87 billion) and 10% (RM4.0 billion) respectively. “In terms of bilateral trade, China remains as the biggest importer for our Halal products (RM4.69 billion), followed by Singapore (RM4.54 billion), the United States of America (RM2.58 billion), Japan (RM2.35 billion) and Indonesia at RM2.06 billion, ” explained Hairol.
 
There were 1,876 Halal exporters in 2019 compared to 1,827 reported in 2018, representing a 2.7% increment in growth. A majority of Malaysian exports are represented by the Small and Medium Industries at 1,430 companies, slightly over 75% of the total size, and MNCs make up the balance of exporters.
“It was originally forecasted that by 2020, Malaysia’s annual Halal exports would reach an estimated RM50 billion. However, it has been a challenging start to the year as we face a global challenge on a monumental scale, considering the current volatility of oil prices and the COVID-19 crisis. Nevertheless, the Halal industry continues to show resilience due to its strong fundamentals, and we intend to further augment Malaysia’s market share through our strategic programmes amidst these challenges. We can still see that there is much headroom for growth, especially within the landscape of home-grown Malaysian exporters”, elaborated Hairol on the Malaysian Halal export industry.
 
HDC’s statistics showcase that in 2019, Halal Food and Beverages continued to retain its spot as the top contributor to the domestic Halal economy at RM22.05 billion. Halal Ingredients come in at second place with a contribution of RM12.64 billion, followed by Cosmetics and Personal Care at RM2.95 billion, Palm Oil Derivatives at RM1.26 billion, Industrial Chemicals at RM917.2 million and Halal Pharmaceuticals at RM400.9 million.
 
In comparison, for 2018, Halal Food and Beverages recorded a RM20.0 billion export value with Halal Ingredients at RM14.5 billion, Cosmetics and Personal Care at RM3.0 billion, Palm Oil Derivatives at RM1.8 billion, and a combined contribution of Halal Pharmaceutical and Industrial Chemicals at RM400 million. 
 
“While the process and verification of Halal products are of immense importance to protect the interest of consumers, HDC’s sentiment analysis reveals that the economic potential of the Halal industry was primarily responsible for galvanizing foreign and domestic investments, especially with regards to palm oil production”, according to Hairol. “A significant increase in prices of Malaysian crude palm oil per ton was one of the key factors for the Halal industry’s performance in 2019, as the industry experienced a market correction through an increase of over 20% as compared to 2018,” he said.
 
Hairol further explained, “the versatility of palm oil as a Halal ingredient for food and non-food products, as well as the Malaysian government’s commitment to the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) standards has generated significant global interest in palm oil derivative exports, making it a suitable component for Halal manufacturers”.
 
Investments in Halal Parks throughout Malaysia have resulted in a cumulative RM13.89 billion since 2011 and are expected to in excess of RM15 billion by 2020. As a consequence, businesses related to the Halal industry also have created more than 350,000 employment opportunities within this 9-year period.
 
As secretariat for Malaysia’s Halal Industry Development Council, HDC holds a critical role within the development of Malaysia’s Halal economy and is set to create linkages between Malaysia and the Halal ecosystems of other nations. 
 
“We will connect Malaysia’s Halal ecosystem to the rest of the world, and expect these efforts to create opportunities for both industry players and parties within the ecosystem with a focus on commerce, investments, quality employment, and technology exchange,” Hairol added.
 
ABOUT HALAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION BERHAD (HDC)
 
Halal Development Corporation (HDC) spearheads the development of Malaysia’s integrated and comprehensive halal ecosystem and infrastructure to position Malaysia as the most competitive country leading the global halal industry.

Established on 18 September 2006, HDC as it is also known, is the central coordinator that promotes participation and facilitates growth of industry players in the development of Malaysia’s Halal ecosystem.  An agency under the Ministry of Economic Affairs; it is the world’s first Government-backed halal industry development corporation. For more information, please visit HDC at - www.hdcglobal.com.

NEWS RELEASE prepared and issued by Halal Development Corporation (HDC).
 
SOURCE:  Halal Development Corporation (HDC)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 
Name: Norsida Ahmad
HDC PR & Media
Tel: +6012 3249703
Email: norsida.ahmad@hdcglobal.com

--BERNAMA