Britain's Halal Sector Increasingly Important Post-Brexit
Speaking at the AHDB Beef and Lamb Halal Seminar in Stratford-upon-Avon, Evans said Britain needed to compete in Islamic markets after leaving the EU.
"If we want to be open for business with the rest of the world, a lot of the rest of the world is Muslim,” he said.
"Muslims are the only major religious group projected to grow faster than the world’s population as a whole. The Islamic market is bigger than China.”
"Food is just one element. There are 1.6 billion Muslims,” he said.
Opportunities
He encouraged the sector to think more broadly about opportunities from other sectors for the food industry.
"If you look at travel, all travelers need to eat.”
Standards
Standards for halal were also discussed and AHDB proposed their own standards so products can be branded with a ‘halal assured’ mark.
Evans said without an accreditation it was potentially a ‘headache for exporters’ who wanted to enter Islamic markets.
He pointed to Australia where the Australian Government Authorized Halal Programme works with industry bodies to provide guidelines for halal slaughter. Export registered meat producers then receive a halal certificate.
"They have made a huge investment in the halal market,” he said.
Halal consumers looking for smaller cuts and convenience.
Muslim consumers are looking for the same things from their meat as the rest of the market, according to AHDB independent retailer sector manager Micheal Richardson.
Richardson who heads up the levy board’s marketing activity for the halal sector said they were having success with campaigns such as mini roasts as Muslim consumers look for convenience.
"In the non-halal sector, we have given this information to large numbers of butchers,” he said.
"Halal butchers were interested for the same reason.”
AHDB has used Healthy Kitchen, a cooking show on British Muslim TV, to promote beef and lamb recipes and is working alongside meat suppliers including Tariq Halal, Mullaco and Janan.
"We are looking to engage and inspire, particularly younger consumers,” he said.
"There is a lot more we can do with social media.
"We did do a lot through post which is probably not the best idea.”
Source: Halal Focus
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