Green, Organic, Plateau, Ecological: How Can Halal Food Go Global?

http://www.qhnews.com Xining Evening News 2009-08-10 09:37

Qinghai News Network - From 2007 to 2009, from 'Halal, Professional, Green, Win-Win' to 'Green, Organic, Plateau, Ecological,' the China (Qinghai) International Halal Food and Products Exhibition has been continuously moving closer to the world, and the development pace of our entrepreneurs is also striving toward the world. International buyers have come to our doorstep, and opportunities for industrial development are before us. But what products do we take to the international market, and what else do our Halal products need to go global...

Starting with certification, closing the distance to the world's Halal market

During the few days of the exhibition, what the reporter felt most deeply was that our entrepreneurs were all anxious and distressed, troubled by how their high-quality products could gain recognition in the international market. 'Our beef and mutton have always been welcomed by Muslim countries in the Middle East, but we can never form large-scale exports, because we have not yet fully integrated into the international certification system and obtained the formal passport to expand production and export products,' said an exhibitor from Qinghai Green Grassland Food Co., Ltd. with deep feeling.

Indeed, for the specific industry of Halal food, international Halal certification is a foundation for Chinese-foreign cooperation. Currently, Chinese and foreign enterprises are very concerned about whether the raw materials and products of Chinese Halal food can pass the Halal certification and quality standards of Muslim countries. A relevant person from the Qinghai Islamic Association said that if we widely carry out certification work in accordance with international Halal food certification standards, it will greatly enhance the international competitiveness of our enterprises.

According to a relevant Malaysian expert attending the meeting, currently Middle Eastern countries account for 80% of imports; Saudi Arabia and the UAE in particular are two very large markets for Halal consumer goods. If trade cooperation can be reached with these two countries, an enterprise will have opened up the Middle East market. But these countries have very strict Halal certification standards for products, with requirements from the product's source to logistics. Therefore, Halal food and product manufacturers must pass the certification standard testing in order to achieve exports or increase export volume.

Green Halal is our 'green card' to enter the international market

Green Halal products are needed not only by Muslims but are also loved by other peoples of the world. This was the voice the reporter heard most during the few days of the exhibition. Because green represents healthy vitality, and Halal implies pure and pollution-free, green, harmless, Halal and ecological—all products that contain the connotations of health and safety are what we need, and are also our highly dynamic advantage. From the start of preparing the exhibition, Vice Governor Wang Lingjun put forward the aspiration of building a green organic Halal food base and promoting green ecological resources as the core. Nan Wenkui, president of the Qinghai Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said that Qinghai is located on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which has bred green, organic and ecological agricultural and livestock products. This is where the advantage of our Halal food industry lies, and it is also the reason we are confident in making the exhibition a first-class Halal food exhibition in China and one influential in the world's Halal food sector. Our province's Halal consumer goods, relying on green resources, are increasingly loved by the broad Muslim community at home and abroad. If our entrepreneurs want to expand their development, they must, on the basis of expanding the scale of plateau ecological agriculture and animal husbandry production, strengthen a batch of green ecological agricultural and livestock production with strong driving capacity, so that the green Halal consumer goods industry continues to grow, thereby occupying a larger share in the international Halal consumer goods market, and enabling a green economy marked mainly by green production and green consumption to drive Qinghai's economic development. (Author: Xiaoyu)