What is Halal?
The word «Halal» (from the Arabic al-halal — permitted, legal) means what the Muslims are allowed to eat and use, including food.
In the meantime we witness the transition from the «era of mindless consumption» to the era of natural and useful consumption.
Today, the term «Halal» is synonymous with quality and environmental friendliness. That is why the food industry as the «heart» of the Halal industry flourishes even during crisis, since the definition of «Halal products» ensures that the product meets modern environmental requirements: vegetables do not contain nitrates, meat products — carcinogens and genetically modified ingredients, yogurt and cottage cheese — preservatives, artificial flavor and color enhancers..
However, in the modern world, the definition of «Halal» applies not only to food, but also to cosmetics, the service industry, hotel, restaurant and tourism business, to everything that does not violate the original religious requirements, and also implies a healthy lifestyle.
In recent years, «Halal» products have become an element of the market mechanism due to the growth of the Muslim population, thanks to which Western corporations have begun to produce these goods in global scale. Being an important powerful driving force on the global market, «Halal» products definitely have a long-term development perspective.
According to the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) reports, the global market of «Halal» products is estimated at $2.3 trillion. In this segment, food accounts for about 67%, the pharmaceutical market — 22%, and another 11% is the cosmetics and perfume market.
Thus, high demand stimulates the rapid development of the production of «Halal» products on the world market. This means that the potential volume of the «Halal» food market is 17% of total global consumption.
According to the OIC report, in 2016 Muslims around the world spent more than $1173 million on food, while China — $854 million, the United States of America — $771 million, Japan — $380 million, India — $341 million, Russia — $316 million.
It should be noted that Muslim countries import 18.9% of meat and meat products annually, as well as 47.8% of vegetable products.
The number of Muslims in the world is 1.7 billion, or about 24% of the world's inhabitants. It is expected that by 2030 the number of Muslims will be close to 2.2 billion people. Consequently, food consumption indicators (especially meat) in Muslim countries will grow much faster than the world average.
Despite the economic problems, including sanctions and their consequences, «Halal» business feels confident and is growing rapidly throughout the world. This is evidenced by the global market, which never ceases to surprise us with its diversity and availability of «Halal» goods and services.
Thus, the popularity of «Halal» cosmetics has been growing, as the purpose of this product is to preserve the appearance of a person without harm. The absence of animal fats, alcohol, gelatin, glycerin, palm and oleic acids, flavors and dyes, as well as the non-use of testing of «Halal» cosmetics on animals make these products popular not only among Muslims and vegetarians. These are precisely the criteria that influence the choice of the modern buyer, who cares about their health.
There are the Top-10 countries in the world, which are leading in the use of «Halal» cosmetics: UAE, Malaysia, Singapore, Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Oman and Brunei.
In general, in 2016 the Muslim market has spent more than $56 billion on cosmetics and personal care products, which is 7.4% of the global market turnover. At the same time, the United States of America have spent $84 billion, Japan — $80 billion, China — $63 billion, India — $46 billion, Germany — $40 billion.
Products and services subject to certification:
«Halal» certification is mainly applicable to food, as well as cosmetics, household chemicals and some types of services:
- animal breeding;
- livestock production;
- animal feed;
- crop production;
- vegetable production;
- long-term storage products;
- catering companies;
- chemical and biochemical substances;
- others.
What is a «Halal» mark?
«Halal» is a special universal marking all over the world, which is applied to the packaging of the goods of the manufacturer that has passed the «Halal» certification and is a direct confirmation of the quality of the product and its compliance with all the necessary requirements and standards.
It is no secret that «Halal» is a sign of quality, which is used as an international brand. Thus, more and more manufacturers are seeking to get this long-awaited green badge on their services and products..
After all, the «Halal» mark is not just a label, it is an entire industry that ensures the safety of human health and human activity, quality and reliability.
What is Halal certification?
Certification is a voluntary procedure for documentary confirmation by a third independent party of compliance of raw materials, additives, spices, manufactured products, production premises, used means, business management, services provided, and previous specified «Halal» requirements, which are set forth in the regulatory documents of the company executing certification procedure. The confirmation is carried out by the initiative party on the basis of an agreement with the certifying authority.
One of the main problems preventing the «Halal» market from developing faster is the lack of unified world food standards. Virtually every country has its own certifying organization, imposing its own requirements for «Halal» certification and extending its certificate strictly to certain markets, which leads to additional costs and reduces the opportunities for international trade.
At the moment, more than 120 «Halal» voluntary certification bodies operate around the world. It should be noted that in one country several officially authorized bodies issuing the «Halal» certificate may operate, and, as a rule, those that work under the Spiritual Administration of Muslims are considered the most competent. So, in Russia it is the International Center under the Council of Muftis of Russia, in Belgium — the EuroHalal Certification Center, in Germany — the Certification Center M-haditec GmbH, in Denmark — the Islamic Cultural Center, and in Belarus operates the BelHalal LLC, working together with the Spiritual Administration of Muslims in Belarus.
Considering that the «Halal» market mainly covers the countries of the Persian Gulf, the United Arab Emirates has the UAE Standardization and Metrology Agency (ESMA), which has established a unified procedure for obtaining the «Halal» quality standard for these countries. The body authorized to carry out «Halal» certification on behalf of the ESMA is an accredited expert agency for the conformity assessment of product quality RACS.
Thus, the certificate of «Halal» issued by any state certification authority is based on the standards adopted in a particular country and confirms compliance with the requirements for products and production in a particular region.
How to get «Halal» certification?
The «Halal» certificate issued by the Emirates expert agency RACS and the International Center for «Halal» Standardization and Certification of the Council of Muftis of Russia will provide Belarusian manufacturers with wide opportunities to export goods not only to 57 countries of the world that are members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, but also to all countries of the European Union, as well as the USA. In addition, in case the companies are interested, there is an opportunity to enter the markets of such countries as Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. The certificate «Halal» issued by the «Halal» International Center for Standardization and Certification of the Council of Muftis of Russia will provide an opportunity to export Belarusian products to all countries of the Muslim world promptly and profitably.
Step-by-step instructions on the procedure of certification of production for compliance with the requirements of «Halal» standards can be obtained by reference.
Benefits of certification with RACS:
- the possibility of supplying products to the OIC countries and the European Union, as well as the USA, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore;
- the absence of additional hidden commissions under the contract, a transparent certification procedure;
- RACS assistance in finding foreign partners for product sales.
