Japan Halal Summit kicks off on August 4

The Japan Halal Summit, organised by the Halal Development Foundation Japan and the Halal Development Council,  expects to capitalise on Japan's interest in penetrating the global halal market and prepares for the Olympics in 2020. Running from 4 to 6 August, the event is themed 'We Connect Islam and Japan', and is to be held at TKP Garden City Shinagawa in Tokyo, Japan.

According to the organisers, the halal market goes beyond food and beverages to Islamic banking, Islamic tourism and halal pharmaceuticals, and targets about 1.6 billion Muslims globally, or 23% of the world’s population.

The event site notes that Muslims make up the majority of the population in 49 countries around the world, with Indonesia at the top, counting 209 million or 87.2% of the population as Muslim. Pakistan has the second-largest Muslim contingent with 179.2 million, and India is third roughly 176 million Muslims. In terms of geographies, the Middle East-North Africa region has the highest concentration Muslims anywhere in the world. The organisers say that 93% of approximately 341 million inhabitants are Muslim in this region, compared with 30% in sub-Saharan Africa and 24% in the Asia-Pacific region. 

Key statistics for the halal market listed on the event site include:

• The global halal industry is valued at US$2.77 trillion and is growing at 20% annually
• Globally, Muslims spent US$1.1 Trillion on food and beverages in 2012, which is forecast to reach US$1.6 Trillion by 2018.
• The Islamic world imports most of its food, especially the Middle East, valued at US$15.4 billion and the halal food market is set to grow at the rate of 4.44% over the period of 2012-16.
• The halal food industry accounts for 20% of the global F&B industry. It was worth US$5.7 trillion in 2008 and is expected to increase to US$7 trillion by 2014.
• The Islamic finance market is estimated at $1 trillion.
• The global halal cosmetics market is estimated at US$13 billion and in the Middle East, the market is estimated to be worth US$2 billion. The global cosmetics market is worth US$334 billion.
• The shari'ah-compliant Islamic tourism sector is valued at US$100 billion, while the halal pharmaceutical industry is estimated to be worth US$500 billion.

A hundred delegates from around the world are expected to attend the summit, with representatives from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries, the Islamic Development Bank, Malaysia's JAKIM, Indonesia's MUI and UAE's Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology among others.