Competition Intensifies, Malaysia Must Continue To Empower Halal Ecosystem - Ahmad Zahid

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 8 (Bernama) -- Despite being recognised as a leader in the global halal industry, Malaysia must not rest on its laurels, as other nations are now competing to dominate the halal market, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

He emphasised that Malaysia needed to move faster, adopt more strategic measures, and foster greater innovation to ensure it not only maintained its position as the global leader in the halal industry but also emerged as the primary reference centre for all sectors of the halal ecosystem.

“The competition is intensifying as more countries have begun adopting aggressive measures to strengthen their position in this sector,” he said in a Facebook post today.

Ahmad Zahid, who chairs the High-Level Committee on coordinating the national halal agenda, added that as of December 2024, the halal industry had contributed 7.7 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), amounting to RM146.6 billion, while the global halal industry was projected to reach USD3.1 trillion by 2025.

“I have led efforts to develop a new, more dynamic, and effective strategy to elevate the Malaysian halal brand to greater heights.

“The main focus of this strategy is to enhance the competitiveness of Malaysian halal brands internationally, capitalising on the potential of the ever-expanding global halal market,” he said.

Ahmad Zahid said that to realise the vision, six key clusters had been identified as the core of Malaysia’s halal ecosystem transformation, including the national halal policy, which would be reviewed and improved to align with global developments and meet the needs of over 1.9 billion Muslims worldwide.

He said the halal certification system would be fully digitalised to accelerate and simplify the application process, with a target of achieving 100 per cent digitalisation by 2026, while monitoring and enforcement mechanisms would be strengthened to ensure the credibility of Malaysia’s halal certification.

In addition, Ahmad Zahid noted that the halal industry development plan would focus on high-value sectors such as halal pharmaceuticals, halal logistics, and food technology, with the halal pharmaceutical sector alone estimated to be worth USD134 billion.

“To ensure Malaysian halal products can penetrate more international markets, the new marketing strategy will fully utilise digital and e-commerce platforms.

“The Malaysian International Halal Exhibition (MIHAS), as the world’s largest halal exhibition, will continue to serve as a strategic platform to attract global investors and buyers, with the aim of increasing Malaysia’s halal product exports to RM63.1 billion by 2025, compared to RM40 billion in 2023,” he said.

Ahmad Zahid said that the management of halal talent and the workforce would be enhanced through training, professional certification, and the expansion of halal Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes, with a target of producing 50,000 competent halal workers by 2030.

He also said that halal research and development would be further strengthened through close collaboration between academic institutions and industry to foster new innovations in halal products and services, and that more halal centres of excellence would be established in Malaysia to drive innovation and technical expertise in the field.

“Malaysia must take the lead in transforming the global halal industry, and with a clear strategy and close collaboration, Insya-Allah, our country will continue to be a reliable and superior halal hub,” he said.

-- BERNAMA