Overview of Egypt's Halal Market Economy

As a member of the OIC and the SMIIC (Standards and Metrology Institute for the Islamic Countries), almost 90% of Egypt's nearly 100 million people are Muslim. It is represented at SMIIC by the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality (EOS). Egypt is a member of the technical committees on Halal food, Halal cosmetics, agricultural products, terminology and handicrafts, and of the Committee on Conformity Assessment (CCA). Egypt is also a member of the SMIIC Accreditation Committee. Brazil, India, Sudan and Paraguay are the main countries from which Egypt imports livestock and meat, and Egypt is also the largest export market for US beef offal. On the other hand, although Egypt has banned meat imports from EU countries since the 1990s, due to Ireland's success in fighting animal diseases, Egypt signed an agreement with Ireland that paved the way for meat imports from Ireland. Halal certification activities The country's Halal certification activities are carried out by the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality (EOS). In addition to food, cosmetics and personal care products are also Halal-certified. Imported food must be Halal-certified. Exporters must provide a Halal certificate to prove that the food is produced in accordance with the country's Halal standard requirements. A COMCEC report notes that by 2020 the number of Muslim tourists to Egypt would increase by 7.4%, from 700,000 in 2015 to 1 million. Both per-capita spending and the number of tourists are expected to increase.