South Korean Food Companies Tap Global Halal Market Amid Tough Competition From Cheaper Competitors And Poor Exchange Rates
South Korean food companies, as well as farmers, are making an effort to tap the global halal market as the former face sturdy competition from cheaper competitors and poor exchange rates, as reported by Yonhap News Agency Monday.
Halal food are food products which adheres to Islamic law. These products are being prepared following specific guidelines, which include killing the animals by cutting its jugular vein, carotid artery and windpipe.
According to reports, global halal market is accounted for roughly 18 percent of the total food market equivalent to $2.3 trillion.
Farm ministry revealed that exports of food and agrofisheries products to Muslim countries belonging to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) increased by 5.9 percent on-year to $339 million between January to November 2015.
"Halal is promising because of its size, and the fact that it is a relatively untapped market for South Korean companies and farmers," an official from the farm ministry said. "Many Muslim countries are keen to buy, safe and high quality products, instead of opting for the least expensive."
The ministry added that they are bullish to reach $1.5 billion worth of halal food exports annually starting next year.
An official from CJ CheilJedang said that the expansion is boundless since the population of Muslim is on the rise.
"With the global Muslim population on the rise, the possibility for growth is limitless so many companies are moving to develop more halal products for consumption," the official stated.
A South Korean businessman had his products certified to allow him to export to the Middle East.
"I found out that in the Middle East, there's such a thing as Halal certification," Kim Yang Chun said, as noted by Channel News Asia Nov. 17. "And I thought if I got my products certified I could start exporting to the Middle East. But everything has come to stop after that."
Kim and some other businessmen are working on getting a certification for their products in order to ship them to Muslim countries. Reports have revealed that getting your food products halal-certified is just the first step of a long process.
