• Saudi International Halal Expo & Summit 2024 - Saudi Arabia - Oct 28-30, 2024
• World Halal Summit Istanbul – Istanbul – Nov 27-30, 2024

• Jakarta Halal Expo and Conference 2024 - Jakarta, August 30 - September 1

With more than 160,000 halal-certified products, the country aims to position itself as a regional halal hub over the next four years, capitalizing on its proximity to Southeast Asia’s Muslim-majority countries as well as increasing its food exports to the Middle East.

“Under the current government, the Ministry of Industry’s Office of Industrial Economics has set a new strategy with the vision of raising the Thai halal industry to be ASEAN’s halal hub by 2028,” Dr. Winai Dahlan, director of the Halal Science Center of Chulalongkorn University tells Salaam Gateway.

To achieve this vision, the Office of Industrial Economics intends to develop the local halal industry to ensure it has the highest quality and standards as well as to reduce limitations and amend regulations for halal accreditation, says Dahlan.

The Halal Science Centre is a government-funded facility that plays a pivotal role in developing halal standardization systems in Thailand.

In early 2024, the Thai Cabinet established the National Halal Industry Committee to steer the development of the halal food sector and the Thai Halal Industry Centre to promote local food products internationally.

These efforts are a part of a broader strategy to develop and promote various halal products and services, including fashion and tourism, as well as to develop a halal economic corridor across the southern border provinces of Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat, Satun, and parts of Songkhla. The plan is expected to bolster GDP by 1.2% by 2028, while creating an estimated 100,000 jobs annually.

Trade promotion

Despite being a predominantly Buddhist country where Muslims make up only 5.8% of the population, Thailand has taken strategic initiatives to expand its halal food sector and is running intensive trade promotion campaigns to pursue opportunities in promising markets.

“The halal food sector is a large market where consumers have high purchasing power. It accounts for a global market value of approximately $1.2 trillion,” Phusit Ratanakul Sereroengrit, director-general of Thailand’s Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), tells Salaam Gateway.

“DITP has implemented various projects to enhance the potential of Thai halal products in international markets, including branding of such products and promoting their exports to targeted countries.”

DITP operates under the country’s Ministry of Commerce.

For example, the Thailand pavilion at the Gulfood exhibition, that took place in Dubai in February, saw the participation of 134 companies, with trade negotiations reaching a total value of $207.6 million, according to Ministry of Commerce data. These include immediate orders of about $9.2 million. 

Next on DITP’s agenda is to promote Thailand’s halal food products at the upcoming Thaifex 2024, one of Asia’s biggest F&B industry events, as well as among overseas stores and importers, with meetings planned in key cities of Chicago (US), and Doha (Qatar) next month. 

As the main promoter of Thai exports, DITP has also been organizing business matching and trade negotiation activities for halal F&B products. 

Following a series of such meetings in the MENA region in April 2024 - which brought together 10 foreign importers and 21 Thai exporters resulting in a total order value of $25.9 million - DITP has scheduled similar events for Southeast Asia in July, and for East Asia and South Asia in September.

“The Muslim market in ASEAN is massive, and Thailand has significant advantage in logistics and a variety of products that cater to the needs of this consumer segment,” says Sereroengrit.

“With the efforts of the Central Islamic Council of Thailand (CICOT) and the institutions that inspect and certify various halal standards in accordance with Islamic provisions, halal products have become one of Thailand’s key export sectors and have earned trust among global consumers for their quality and standards.”

Thailand’s free economic system which enables fair competition and is based on open market mechanisms, has also allowed the private sector to contribute to the growth of the halal food sector.

“The state is responsible for controlling and preventing the creation of advantages and disadvantages for any one or group of businesses, and for stimulating competition in price, quality, and style of products. It plays a small role in setting the direction for the country's industrial development,” explains Dahlan.

The halal business case is moving in the same direction, he adds.

“The rapid growth of halal food in Thailand is therefore the work of the private sector – either through agricultural or industrial production; the service sector and the Islamic organization sector in order to ensure the halalness of products. The state only provides support in various fields, including halal science and technology work carried out under state universities,” adds Dahlan.

Giant leap in halal exports

As a result of the government’s support of the industry and the private sector’s efforts, Thailand’s halal food exports have seen a 24-fold increase over the past two decades, with the lion’s share going to the 57 Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries, says Dahlan.

Thailand’s exports of halal F&B products to OIC countries amounted to $6.2 million in 2023, a 5.3% increase year-on-year, according to Ministry of Commerce data. The exported goods included rice (35%), sugar (22%), canned and processed seafood (10%), cassava products (4.3%), wheats and ready-to-eat products (3.4%), and fresh and frozen chicken (3.4%).

The export figure is expected to grow by 3% in 2024 to reach $6.4 million.

Indonesia, Malaysia, Iraq, the UAE, and Mozambique accounted for nearly 76% of Thailand’s total halal food exports to OIC countries in 2023. 

However, the country plans to diversify its halal food export markets. Alongside OIC countries, it is eyeing non-Muslim majority countries with large Muslim populations, such as India, China, Russia, the US, and the UK, as well as countries that receive large numbers of Muslim tourists, such as Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong.

Halal compliance

A distinctive feature of Thailand's commitment to the halal industry lies in its compliance with international standards. This commitment led to the acceptance of Thailand as a member of OIC’s Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC) in 2017, positioning it as the first non-Muslim nation to be accredited as a participant of the OIC/SMIIC.

Additionally, CICOT - the government organization responsible for issuing Thailand’s halal certification mark - requires businesses that have never held a halal certificate to first undergo training with the Halal Standard Institute of Thailand before applying for certification.

In a step forward for the country’s halal food industry, CICOT received an accreditation from the Saudi Food and Drugs Authority in 2023 and the UAE’s Emirates International Accreditation Centre in 2024, enabling Thailand to export various halal goods to both Middle Eastern countries.

“Halal certification of products in Thailand is in accordance with The Administration of Islamic organizations Act B.E. 2540 (1997), which is under the authority of CICOT in collaboration with the Offices of Islamic Committee of Provinces (ICOP),” says Dahlan.

“As a result, there are 41 halal certification bodies in Thailand: one office of CICOT together with 40 offices of ICOP, with all parties agreeing on the use of the joint mark of halal certification. Around 160,000 products are halal certified and nearly 7,000 establishments and factories are using the joint mark.”

The Halal Science Center’s operations have also led to greater confidence in the safety of halal food products from Thailand. The center plays a major role in strengthening the industry through science and technology and assists other countries in analyzing food samples. 

Since its establishment in 2003, it has developed various innovations, such as the HAL-Q quality management system to integrate halal standards into food safety, and H-numbers – the world’s first database of chemicals used in the food industry. 

With the rapid growth of technology and its impact on the development of commercial businesses, the Halal Science Center is looking to apply Shariah-compliant blockchain, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing to its operations, with the goal of building greater trust in the halal economy, says Dahlan.

As Thailand continues to push forward with its strategy, including its plan to turn the Southern Economic Corridor into a hub for halal food, the country is poised to become a major force in the global halal market.

Additionally, the UK’s halal meat and poultry sector is a lucrative one, which - at slaughter - is valued at around £1.7 billion, according to a report by the Halal Monitoring Committee (HMC) and the University of Huddersfield. The market is projected to swell to almost £2 billion by 2028, according to the report.

“The UK halal market will continue a positive trajectory due to population growth and high disposable income of the younger Muslim consumer,” Awal Fuseini, one of the report’s authors and halal sector senior manager at the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) told Salaam Gateway. 

“Consumer habits are however changing, so meat processors need to develop new products to suit the lifestyles of the younger, more adventurous halal consumer.”

Supply chain disruption

Among other things, Brexit has prompted an increase in bureaucracy and customs, which unfortunately, impacts the entire supply chain. This results in unnecessary confusion, and delays and costs for exporters, distributors as well as importers.

‘Prior to Brexit, there were no delays, checks or certification required and all that was needed was a delivery note,” explains Peter Hardwick, trade policy adviser for the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA). 

“Before Brexit it was the same to deliver goods to Birmingham and Berlin; in fact, you could do it on the same vehicle. Now it is as complicated to deliver meat to the EU as it is to deliver it to Canada.”

The UK held a referendum on its EU membership in June 2016, in which it voted to leave the world’s largest trade bloc. The country officially exited the EU, its biggest trade partner, in January 2020. 

The Brexit agreement meant new rules would govern how the UK and EU would trade with each other. However, four years later, manufacturers and other key stakeholders continue to grapple with key challenges. 

For example, UK meat exporters must – post Brexit - also ensure they have the requisite paperwork in place. Among them is an export health certificate (EHC) - an official document that confirms that the product meets the health requirements of the destination country. Previously this was applicable on exports to non-EU countries only.

Trade is more difficult now, whether export or import, says Rizvan Khalid, managing director at Euro Quality Lambs, a UK-based lamb supplier. 

“There is no opportunity as a result of Brexit that I can think of. It has stopped the export of smaller producers, so that benefits bigger producers like us - that's the one benefit for large traders, not necessarily the consumers,” 

Regulatory divergence with the EU

Despite its exit from the EU, the vast majority of the UK’s meat exports continue to go to the trade bloc. This has promoted the country to recalibrate its processes to adhere to the new requirements.

If British exporters want to export to the EU, says Hardwick, they must fully comply with EU rules, even if the UK rules are different.

“Because some parts of almost all sheep and cattle are exported to the EU, especially offal, the entire supply chain must comply. All that divergence is doing is forcing processors and farmers to actually diverge from, in general, less strict UK rules in order to comply with, on the whole, stricter EU rules or risk losing the ability to export,” he says.

“Above all, as we diverge, we will have to give the EU more guarantees that we meet their rules.”

This has already happened with a new requirement that came into effect at the end of last year where vets have to produce an attestation that each farm meets all of the EU’s biosecurity requirements, adds Hardwick. 

Brexit piles challenges on existing issues 

Brexit has augmented existing domestic challenges rife across the country’s halal meat industry. These include the authenticity of halal certification and the debate as to whether stunning animals at slaughter is permissible.

“Some stunning methods [are] not acceptable for halal, such as captive bolt for cattle or gassing for poultry”, says Khalid.  

“Some suppliers market them as halal using certifiers who are not transparent in what they certify. This causes confusion in the market and makes consumers suspicious of all meat traders, even the genuine ones.”

Other challenges include nurturing a new generation of farmers that is expected to take over in the future.

“Demand for halal meat is growing but livestock supply is not keeping up,” adds Khalid. 

“There are fewer farmers, and are older with little succession plans so getting enough supply to keep up with the religious festivals of Ramadan and Qurbani [Eid ul Adha sacrifice] is a challenge.”

Incoherent government policy

The absence of a clear government policy covering meat, and by extension halal meat, also presents a challenge. Stakeholders argue that this makes it difficult for meat producers and exporters to ensure their end product is halal. 

The UK government does not have a coherent policy on halal meat unlike Australia or New Zealand which have championed national halal marks, adds Khalid.

“Even Canada has issued legislation to tighten up the marketing of halal - any halal claims must be accompanied by the name/brand of the halal certifier which increased transparency and trust. The UK in contrast is missing opportunities by not nurturing the development of the halal market,” he notes.  

Lucrative trade deals could yield gains

As the UK advances to secure free trade agreements (FTA) with non-EU countries, it could leverage on its halal meat exports.

The UK is currently negotiating an FTA with the Gulf Cooperation Council, a bloc of six Muslim majority countries, in what is expected to be a substantial economic opportunity for the country. 

Total UK-GCC trade stood at £59 billion, with the potential pact expected to open new opportunities for British halal meat exporters looking to diversify away from the EU.

“UK exporters have started looking closely at alternative halal markets, the Middle East being a prime example,” says Fuseini. “We have seen an appreciable increase in the value of halal meat exported to the UAE, Kuwait, Jordan, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.”

But Hardwick cautions that UK’s legacy trade deals which it rolled over from leaving the EU -and the trade deals it made subsequently - have had little to no effect on exports and are unlikely to do so. 

“The UK’s greatest unique selling point is delivering fresh meat quickly and flexibly to near markets, specifically the EU, and in order to serve the distant markets covered by these trade deals, we will have to deliver frozen meat. Freezing adds costs and reduces value,” he adds.

Nonetheless, Fuseini is optimistic that the UK government is following up to take advantage.

“The government clearly recognises the importance of the halal sector, that is why we are seeing increased activities in the Middle East by the Department for Business and Trade,” he says. 

“Furthermore, the government appointed an agriculture counsellor for the Middle East, mandated to promote UK agri-products to the growing Muslim population.”

• European Halal Congress – Bosnia and Herzegovina - May 28-29, 2024
• Saudi International Halal Expo & Summit 2024 - Saudi Arabia - Oct 28-30, 2024
• World Halal Summit Istanbul – Istanbul – Nov 27-30, 2024

The company, which operates brands such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Hardee’s and Krispy Kreme across the MENA region, opened 37 new outlets in the first three months of this year, with a similar count of stores under construction. The operator slashed almost 100 jobs amid internal restructuring and consumer disengagement, following the Gaza crisis. 

Americana’s shareholders approved a total dividend of $179.4 million – equivalent to $0.0213 per share - at its annual general meeting held on April 24. The company, which is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Tadawul, expects to open 200-225 new stores this year. 

Several US brands perceived as pro-Israel have been hard-hit in the wake of the Palestinian conflict. Kuwait-based Alshaya Group confirmed in March that it planned to furlough employees across its Starbucks MENA stores. It was also in talks to sell a minority stake in the coffee chain's regional business.