Halal food market potentially worth $500b

The global market for "halal" food is potentially worth up to 500 billion dollars a year and Muslim countries should work together to tap into the booming industry, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said yesterday.

Abdullah told a conference of business leaders from the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), currently chaired by Malaysia, that the halal food market is now estimated to be worth 150 billion dollars a year.

"But if a larger proportion of the 1.8 billion global Muslim consumers are tapped into, the halal food market has the potential to grow up to around 500 billion dollars a year," he added.

Halal refers to food items, particularly meat products, prepared according to Muslim law. In Asia, even foreign fastfood giants like KFC and McDonald's need halal certification from Islamic religious authorities before they can sell their products to Muslims.

Malaysia is now a leader in the halal export industry and is ready to work with other Muslim countries, he said.