China's Halal Food Industry Enters the Fast Lane

Industry scale continues to expand, product characteristics increasingly prominent

Xinhua News Agency reporters Ma Yong, He Huiyuan, Wang Bo

Reporters learned at the 2010 China Qinghai International Halal Food and Products Exhibition held in Xining, Qinghai, that in recent years China's Halal food industry has maintained an average annual growth rate of over 10%. Halal food, a self-contained system characterized by 'only good food, careful and selective choice, strict hygiene, attention to nutrition, and emphasis on health care,' is becoming a new force of rapid growth in China's food industry. Since reform and opening up, especially the development of the western region, the economy and society of China's ethnic-minority regions have continued to develop, the living standards of the Muslim community have continued to improve, and China's Halal food industry has also entered a period of rapid development, with the industry's scale continuously expanding and its characteristics increasingly evident. Currently, global Halal food trade reaches US$2 trillion per year.

Long history, rich variety

With raw-material advantages

According to food experts' statistics, China currently has about 5,000 traditional Halal dishes and nearly 1,000 snacks. Since reform and opening up, China's Halal food industry has developed greatly, having formed Halal food categories such as grain, oil, meat, dairy, pastries, sugar making, canned food, confectionery, condiments, soy products, starch, salt making, egg products, additives, yeast, tea making, children's food, health food, fruit and vegetable processing, quick-frozen food and freeze-dried food.

China is rich in raw-material resources for Halal food. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Inner Mongolia grasslands and other areas abound in high-quality forage, and the beef and mutton are of excellent quality. Currently, China is an important major cattle- and sheep-raising country in the world; the sheep raising volume, slaughter volume and mutton output all rank first in the world; annual beef output is nearly 5 million tons, with exports ranking third in the world. At the same time, China's plant resources for producing Halal food are extremely rich.

Distinct regional characteristics

With a foundation for international exchange and an exhibition platform

The more than 20 million Muslims scattered across China give Halal food significant regional characteristics and an obvious diversification trend. The northwest region is a Muslim-concentrated area in China, with its Muslim population accounting for more than 80% of China's total Muslim population. The development of Chinese Halal food is especially flourishing in Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang and other places.

Qinghai Province is located at the center of the northwest region and has rich Qinghai-Tibet Plateau animal and plant resources; Halal food and products have always been a pillar industry and have developed relatively fast. Relying on its location advantages and industrial foundation, Qinghai Province has held the China (Qinghai) International Halal Food and Products Exhibition for four consecutive years, showcasing exhibitors' products and services while also providing a platform for exchange among buyers and sellers, producers and brand holders, technology providers and investors, promoting international cooperation in Qinghai's Halal food. The just-concluded 2010 Qinghai International Halal Food and Products Exhibition attracted more than 700 enterprises from 22 countries and regions and 24 domestic provinces, regions and municipalities, with final contract and agreement funds reaching US$400 million.

As China's largest Hui-concentrated area, Ningxia's Halal food has also formed a certain industrial cluster and scale effect, and has reached mutual certification agreements with Halal certification bodies in Malaysia, Thailand and other countries. Currently there are nearly 10,000 enterprises producing and operating Halal food and Muslim goods. The annual industrial output value of Halal food reached more than RMB 7 billion in 2009, the Halal food industry accounts for 80% of Ningxia's food industry, and more than 300 patents have been formed.

Currently, China is researching and formulating the 'Halal Food Management Regulations (Draft),' bringing Halal food production and supply into the scope of legal management. The production correlation between the Halal food industry and industries such as animal husbandry and slaughtering is continuously strengthening, the industry chain continues to extend, and it has become an important force among China's emerging industries.

The number of enterprises is steadily increasing

The scale continues to expand

Authoritative figures such as Luo Liming, deputy director of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, believe that China's Halal food industry shows the following development characteristics. First, the number of enterprises is steadily increasing. While the Halal food industry in China's traditional Halal food markets of Qinghai, Xinjiang, Ningxia, Gansu and other places has developed considerably, Halal food enterprises in Shaanxi, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Hebei and the municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai have developed rapidly and increased in number year by year.

According to statistics, among China's more than 2,400 cities and counties, 97.3% have Halal food and products industries. There are more than 120,000 catering, non-staple food and food businesses, of which more than 6,000 enterprises specialize in producing and operating Halal food.

Second, the operating scale of Halal food enterprises continues to expand. A batch of leading Halal food enterprises with a certain scale and competitive advantage has gradually formed. Among them are time-honored enterprises such as Yueshengzhai, Hongqishun, Hongchangxing and Laosunjia, as well as a batch of emerging enterprises such as Yili, Maiquer, Haoyue and Caoyuan Xingfa.

Benefits increasing year by year, management comprehensively strengthened

But international market share is low

According to information held by the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, in recent years the comprehensive benefits of China's Halal enterprises have increased year by year. Some Halal food enterprises have become local backbone enterprises and have made positive contributions in paying taxes, absorbing employment and participating in social welfare undertakings. According to statistics, during the '11th Five-Year Plan' period, the output value of Halal food production enterprises among China's designated producers of ethnic special-needs goods was RMB 304.67 billion, with value-added tax paid of RMB 8.6 billion.

At the same time, the production, operation and management of Halal food has been comprehensively strengthened. Nationwide, 16 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, and 18 provincial-capital and sub-provincial cities have issued regulations or documents on Halal food management. These regulations and documents clearly stipulate the market access conditions for Halal food production and operation enterprises, providing important legal protection for standardizing the development of the Halal food industry and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of ethnic-minority communities.

Despite the good development trend, Wan Jifei, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, pointed out that the current total global Halal food trade exceeds US$2 trillion, but China's Halal food exports are still less than US$100 million. This not only reflects that China's Halal food industry has broad market opportunities and space globally in the future, but also reflects the deficiencies and gaps of China's Halal food industry in international recognition, brand value, industry chain, added value and R&D innovation.

While maintaining rapid development domestically, how to more effectively develop international markets has become the 'top priority' for China's Halal food industry, and this is also the real test of whether China's Halal food can achieve a comprehensive improvement in industry scale and level. (China Quality News)