The Malaysian government has urged small and medium enterprises to take advantage of opportunities in the multi-billion dollar global halal food and non-food industry.

At the SME Mentoring Programme Awards Ceremony, held in Kuala Lumpar, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed advised entrepreneurs that the global demand for halal products currently exceeds supply. He estimated that only 20 percent of consumer demand is being met.

Mohamed commented, “With 80 per cent of the market left to be explored, SMEs must grab the opportunities by improving the quality of their products to meet the standard required to break into the international market.”

The size of the sector for halal food non-food products such as healthcare items, cosmetics, hotel and catering and other services is currently valued at around US$790 billion.

Mohamed observed that global halal market, with an estimated value of more than US$2.3 trillion a year, could help to improve the country’s economy.

Chief Executive Datuk Seri Jamil Bidin outlined at the awards event that the HDC currently oversees 200 halal manufacturing companies certified by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia.

Bidin commented, “We are targeting at least 300 new companies to enter the halal industry annually, with around 100 halal-certified companies coming from the halal ingredients business.”