Growing Halal food market demands greater focus on ingredients

New exhibition supports consumer and business demand for Halal certified ingredients and raw materials.

With the global Halal food market currently valued at almost US$760 billion, demand for raw materials and ingredients that can be fully certified as Halal is higher than ever before.

Muslim consumers increasingly expect assurance that food and beverages fully comply with Islamic preparation requirements from the very start of the manufacturing process, creating increase pressure to source ingredients from certified suppliers.

To support local, regional and international food processing companies, Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) is to organise a dedicated trade show for the sector, Ingredients Middle East, which will have a particular focus on groups specialising in raw materials for Halal food preparation.

"As the Halal food market has grown more sophisticated, it has become increasingly important for food producers to demonstrate that all ingredients are fully certified. In creating a dedicated trade show for this sector, we hope to enable food manufacturers to meet with the suppliers of every ingredient to create a 100 percent Halal supply chain," said Joanne Cook, Industry Group Manager, DWTC.

To meet market demand, countries like Malaysia are establishing Halal industry parks to ensure that all food processed remains uncontaminated by non-Halal sources. Most recently, it has opened a 9,000-hectare Halal park in the region of Sarawak, to focus on prawn and fish farming, as well as poultry, agriculture and processing industries, officials said.

The Middle East's first trade exhibition dedicated to raw materials and ingredients has generated a strong response from the region's fast-evolving manufacturing and processing industry, with particular interest from groups specialising in Halal food,.

Ingredients Middle East, organised by Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), will take place from 15-17 June 2008 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) and has already attracted some of the world's leading ingredient producers.

As the organiser of Gulfood, the region's largest food and beverage event, Ingredients Middle East will support the Government's recent drive to support domestic food production, to reduce reliance on imports and better control prices, and the result has been a rapidly-growing local manufacturing sector.

The UAE's food processing industry was valued at US$ 3 billion in 2007 and is growing at 11% a year. With a population of around 4.1 million and an anticipated population growth rate of approximately 6.9% per annum, the UAE is one of the fastest-expanding markets in the world.

Given the strong potential for business development, Ingredients Middle East has drawn interest from manufacturers, distributors and international suppliers who cultivate, extract, process or supply raw materials and ingredients.

The event will welcome almost 100 exhibitors. Key suppliers include market leaders Doehler Middle East Ltd; CHR Hansen Middle East Fzco; Transveritas; Agus SP ZOO; Reda Food Ingredients; Food Specialties; Maskem; Dairy Tech; Agrana Fruit Istanbul and many others.

China, Egypt, Germany and Turkey are among the 17 countries that will be present this year as well as India, one of the world's largest markets for raw materials in food processing which has recently announced plans to invest US$25 million in the sector by 2015.

Co-located with Ingredients Middle East will be the specialist conference the "Arab Beverages Forum 2008", taking place on the 15 and 16 June. The conference will detail the current global situation and how it impacts the local beverage market.

Key topic areas include flavoring and packaging, as well as strategies to develop and position products to capture new markets. Delegates interested in attending the forum can visit www.taaheel.ae for more information.