Cape Town - In an ambitious move, the Western Cape government plans to establish a halaal Agri-processing Park in the province - a R1 billion rand project aimed at capturing a slice of the growing $2.3 trillion global halaal market.
The halaal food park is set to tap into an industry that could spell potential economic growth for the province and will have the ripple effect of creating thousands of jobs.
It is envisioned that the initiative will be a big boost for the Western Cape’s agri-processing sector and will set the province on a path to becoming an international supplier to North African and Middle Eastern countries.
And the Western Cape government is already scoping out possible sites for the halaal food hub, which includes the area adjacent to Cape Town International Airport and Spier in Stellenbosch.
Pre-feasibility studies suggest that the economic return could be as high as R5bn per annum once the park is fully established.
The recently signed historical Tripartite Free Trade Agreement effectively paves the way for easier access to African markets with significant and growing Muslim populations.
Around 20 percent of world’s estimated 1.8bn Muslim people reside in North Africa and the Middle East.
The plan has been in the pipeline for some time, but gained momentum with the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, the Western Cape Fine Food Initiative along with the Malaysian Industry Government Group for High Technology (Might) signing a co-operation agreementto foster partnerships between the halaal industries of the two countries earlier this year.
According to the provincial economic opportunities department, the global halaal food market - one of the fastest growing segments of the worldwide food industry - is believed to be worth over $2.3 trillion, of which only 11 percent is currently serviced.
The agreement with Malaysia - which is already a global leader in the development of halaal standards - is set to increase trade and economic opportunities between the two regions.
“Our industry will be able to learn from Malaysia’s international best practice and Western Cape producers will have increased market access.” economic opportunities MEC Alan Winde said.
An excited Winde said once up and running, the park will be a cluster of manufacturing and service firms in the halaal industry, and will present significant opportunities for private sector investment.
“It will also be a fully halaal zone. If you have a dedicated area you will create an ideal eco-system for all companies that decide to invest in the dedicated park. They will find benefit in collaboration, in certification, and in supporting each other within a value chain,” he said.
Winde said there were several issues that had to be thrashed out and corrected first.
“We need to go through a process of identifying a single certification of Western Cape halaal produced products that is going to become a recognised brand across the world. We want this halaal brand to be known as a good quality healthy product worldwide, whether you are halaal or kosher or just looking for good quality healthy product. Ultimately the certification will have to be synonymous with excellence, quality products that passed a range of standards,” the MEC added.
The brains behind the initiative is the team of the Western Cape Fine Food Initiative.
It’s CEO, Nazeem Sterras, said there was a huge focus on the halaal industry internationally.
“It is not just because of the religious or Sharia compliancy but also include Tayib or wholesomeness because people are starting to realise that halaal certified products already provides all the set standards that every human being needs to consider when it consumes or uses products, it's a total value proposition for all,” he stressed.
According to Sterras, these key requirements include whether a product is healthy, nutritious, clean, safe and causes no harm for consumers.
“Halaal certification actually provides all these standards already, as part of what we call a lifestyle value proposition. It ticks all the boxes that people want in a good quality product,” Sterras added.
He said in terms of business, they’ve looked at what the Western Cape can provide compared to what products are required in the Middle East, North Africa and even Sub-Saharan Africa.
“We’ve focussed particularly on these regions because of their close proximity and the recent trade agreements signed with Africa,” he added.
Sterras said the latest figures obtained puts the Middle East and North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa market together, at about $155 billion covering four big areas including food and beverages; tourism; pharmaceuticals and cosmetics as well as food ingredients and industrial chemicals to a smaller extent.
Cape Argus