The WHS features a trade fair and six subject-focused forums hosted by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry Malaysia (MITI) and jointly organised by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM), and Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC).
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| Source: World Halal Summit. YB Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry, speaking at the World Halal Summit 2015 press conference on March 10. |
The halal component of the global economy is now estimated at US$2.3 trillion, with the the halal food sector alone accounting for almost US$700 billion of the total, serving a worldwide Muslim population of about 1.8 billion, organisers said.
The largest, world-renowned integrated Halal trade fair, Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) by MATRADE, will be the highlight of WHS this year. MIHAS, in its 12th edition, has now become the go-to halal expo.
The largest, world-renowned integrated Halal trade fair, Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) by MATRADE, will be the highlight of WHS this year. MIHAS, in its 12th edition, has now become the go-to halal expo.
“This year, we have allocated 640 booths for local and international businesses who are seeking to reach out to the right target audience for their Halal products and services. As of today, a total of 534 local and international companies have taken up our booths – with 55% local exhibitors and 45% international businesses from 20 countries...Representatives from Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) countries are from Bangladesh Indonesia, Iran, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Turkey," said Datuk Dr Wong Lai Sum, Chief Executive Officer of MATRADE, noting that 12 countries and territories are non-OIC members: Belgium, mainland China, France, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and the US.
“Last year, MIHAS generated total sales of US$291.4 million of which sales from the exhibition alone was recorded at US$147.5 million, and US$143.9 million from business matching. In tandem with increasing interest in the global Islamic economy sectors, we expect sales from MIHAS 2015 to multiply.”
In addition to MIHAS, the World Halal Summit brings together some of the key components of the halal ecosystem through six forums, the World Halal Conference (WHC), the 6th JAKIM International Halal Certification Bodies Convention, the Certifiers Forum, Scholars Forum, Academics Forum, and the Business Forum.
Said HDC’s Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Seri Jamil Bidin of the WHC theme, Halal Economy – A Profitable Convergence: “The conference’s theme reflects the need for a renewed global effort amongst halal stakeholders to further strengthen the integration of industries within the halal ecosystem towards the realisation of a holistic halal economy. More emphasis must be placed on areas that include research and development, innovation, human capital development, as well as Islamic banking and finance to develop a seamless point-to-point halal supply chain. In this instance, Islamic asset-based banking instruments must support the financing of the halal industry in the effort to realise true convergence of shari'ah principles throughout the industry.”
Read our blog post about World Halal Summit 2015 here.