The Latest UK Halal Meat Market and Consumption Situation

With the recent outbreak of COVID-19, demand for Halal meat has increased. For example, customers who on average buy 1 kg of Halal meat per week are now requesting 10 times more in the same visit, putting pressure on the market to meet the growing demand. The whole society is panic-buying, causing price increases across the entire supply chain from farm to public. We are also seeing prices rise for all other goods, and unfortunately demand exceeds supply.

Previous reports show that the Muslim community accounts for 3-5% of the UK population but consumes 20% of local fresh meat products. Therefore, the Muslim community's meat and poultry consumption is 8 times that of the non-Muslim community. As a result, the 'Muslim pound' is of significant value to the meat market, and now larger brands are also offering Halal food.

In just the past two weeks, local Halal bodies have received hundreds of inquiries about meat/poultry supply and prices, and Halal bodies have had to take measures to handle these inquiries.

First, it is important to understand why shortages occur, and to ask ourselves 'where did the meat and poultry come from before the Covid-19 outbreak.' In all the calls we received, the focus was on price, not on questioning the authenticity of the products being purchased. Chicken is chicken, but to make chicken Halal, it must be processed according to the conditions stipulated by Halal.

If we break down the composition of the poultry market, in the UK we slaughter up to 104 million chickens per month, of which 20% are 'Halal.'

As we understand it, we import 40% of the UK's products each month (41.6 million chickens), of which 20% are 'Halal' (8.3 million). When you look at the data being handled, in order to keep up with this huge demand, it is quite astonishing to say the least. As a responsible community, we must consider our consumption, especially at the crossroads we are at. The pandemic looming globally is a moment to reflect and positively change our lives.

As we understand it, most of the imported poultry entering the UK comes from the Netherlands, Poland and Spain, either stunned, mechanically killed, or even gassed to death. No one continuously monitors the origin of these 'Halal products,' and they are treated as Halal when they may not meet Halal standards at all.

In the UK, HMC accounts for a small proportion of the entire meat/poultry industry, but HMC is questioned about whether it can respond on behalf of the entire Halal market. Since most of the supply chain remains unregulated, it is difficult for HMC to give a clear overall answer regarding stores/manufacturers/brands that are not HMC-certified. It is for this purpose that HMC was established—to combat improper practices and give consumers confidence when buying Halal meat and poultry.