PETALING JAYA, July 26 (Bernama) -- The Halal Development Corporation Berhad (HDC) will be spearheading Malaysia's push to increase its halal exports to the Republic of Korea with participation in the upcoming Seoul Food & Hotel (SFH 2021) to be held at KINTEX, Seoul from 27 to 31 July 2021.

This will be HDC's second participation in the event, in collaboration with the Korea Trade-Investment Agency (KOTRA) with the objective to promote halal trade, investment and know-how between Malaysia and the Republic of Korea.

For HDC, SFH 2021 will be the perfect avenue to introduce its new virtual product demo platform, as well as continue to facilitate halal trade and investment via the Virtual Business-to-Business (B2B), an effort that yielded a high success rate the year before.

One of the main development plans for HDC in 2021 is the establishment of the Halal Integrated Platform (HIP), a onestop online platform that helps companies grow their businesses, by connecting them to other industry stakeholders within the halal ecosystem around the world.  To empower Malaysian halal exporters to showcase their products and services to potential global buyers, HIP offers a Digital Augmented Showcase of Halal Malaysia or DASH, an application that delivers a combination of Augmented Reality capabilities through 3D-enabled presentations of Malaysian halal products and services.

As cross-border travel restrictions are still being imposed around the world, DASH provides a viable virtual platform for sellers to creatively display and sell their products to potential buyers worldwide, without the need for any physical presence.

“54 Malaysian halal exporters have so far had their products integrated into DASH, and their products will immediately gain more exposure either through a hybrid or full physical participation in the trade promotion events organised by HDC or any of our counterparts,” said Hairol Ariffien Sahari, Chief Executive Officer of HDC.

“By prioritising digital participation via DASH (the Augmented Reality); Virtual Reality and Interactive Digital Screens, we hope that the current 250 products listed in this 3D-enabled platform can be accessed by various global businesses participating in major regional trade shows, such as this SFH 2021 for the Asia Pacific region or the upcoming World Expo 2020 Dubai,” he added.

Another area of focus for HDC during its Korea halal mission next week will be to continue its Virtual B2B series. HDC through its International Cooperation Department has so far conducted two virtual B2B meetings for Malaysian companies in this regard.

The first session was held with Korean buyers in conjunction with the Seoul Food & Hotel 2020, which took place from 6 - 8 October 2020; while the second was with potential buyers from China, in conjunction with the Food & Hospitality China (FHC) 2020: Shanghai Global Food Trade Show, held from 24 - 26 November 2020.

The past two business meetings were conducted fully virtual via online platforms between Malaysian exporters listed within DASH and foreign buyers from several provinces in Korea and China respectively.

These sessions have certainly boosted the positioning of Malaysia's halal products, especially within the East Asian markets. Positive responses and conclusive feedbacks were received, with an estimated RM 10 million in potential sales can be expected from these two sessions.

“Virtual B2B is fast becoming the new preferred method for local halal producers to access foreign markets during times of a global pandemic such as now. This has not only helped us understand the expectations of global buyers and also that of our local exporters, but it also shows us the competitiveness of their products in penetrating new markets within the new norms of doing business,” Hairol added.

HDC also will be showcasing its Halal Training Institute, Halal Consultancy & Advisory and promoting Halal Parks as well as the upcoming World Halal Business Conference 2021 during the event.

After being postponed twice following the Covid-19 outbreak worldwide, SFH will finally proceed next 27 to 31 July amidst a social distancing level 4 imposed by the local authorities.

Organised by KOTRA, SFH is the largest international food and beverage exhibition in Korea and the fourth largest food industry exhibition in Asia, bringing together over 1,550 qualified exhibitors and 50,335 visitors from 40 countries annually.

"The global prospect of halal industry is highly regarded by both the government and business community in Korea as a new source of economic growth. HDC is certainly honoured to be leading this quick-win collaboration with KOTRA and remains fully committed to contributing towards the development of a robust regional halal industry, as well as to strengthen the warm ties enjoyed between our two nations," said Hairol.

More Virtual B2B sessions in other parts of the world are in the pipeline within HDC’s calendar for Q2 2021 onwards. Enhance your global presence with the DASH app. Download now on Google Play and App Store today.  For more information and inquiries, kindly contact HDC’s International Cooperation Department at international@hdcglobal.com. 

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 International Trade and Industry (MITI); it is the world’s first Government-backed halal industry development corporation. For more information, please visit HDC at - www.hdcglobal.com.