Halal: A fast-growing market reinforced by Muslim religious concepts

Moroccan and Turkish shops are also prevalent in her area, enabling her to buy halal products as well as foods similar to those she bought in Egypt.

According to the State of the Islamic Global Economy 2020 Report released by the Dubai-based Standard Dinar Corporation, what is known as the halal economy accounts for 3.7% of total global trade.

The market value of these products, which are described as “halal” globally, is estimated at $ 2.2 trillion during 2019, the report said.

Areas covered by halal trade were expanded to include, in addition to meat and poultry, fat-free pork and cheese, water kept in non-alcoholic containers, animal gluten-free sweets and fat-free pork vitamins.

In addition to food and beverages, the halal goods market has expanded to include halal beauty products, which are products that do not contain pork fat or alcohol.

As for halal tourism going to countries, it usually qualifies to host religiously devoted families, especially hotels and resorts that do not allow the sale or offering of alcoholic beverages or pork, as well as those that share pools for women only without mixed. between the sexes, and there are no nightclubs or gambling halls. And halal fashion, which is modest fashion worn by veiled women. As well as the market of halal financial transactions for the transactions of banks, financial institutions, Islamic financial institutions and companies operating according to Islamic systems.

The halal food and beverage market is larger than the rest of the halal products and these products make up the lion’s share of global spending on halal products.

Every year $ 1.17 trillion is spent on halal food and drink worldwide, while less than $ 1 trillion is spent on the rest of the products described as halal.

Marwa and her family spend 80-90 euros a week on halal products, equivalent to about $ 86-96. Despite this, it confirms that the prices of these products are within the reach of Muslim families and that they are almost the same as other “non-halal” products.

Of the total food trade worldwide, the food and beverage trade is 30% halal, which means that almost a third of the food sold worldwide, whether in Muslim or non-Muslim countries, are halal products.

According to statistics from the World Halal Food Federation released in August 2017, the number of people consuming halal food reached nearly two billion people worldwide.

But the irony is that the ten countries that export the most halal products are non-Muslim countries, namely India, Brazil, Austria, the United States, Argentina, New Zealand, France, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore.

The share of what these countries produce from the total market of halal products worldwide is about 85%, while the share of Muslim countries in the production and sale of halal products is only 15%. Malaysia, Indonesia and Turkey are among the top Muslim countries contributing to the halal economy.Turkey occupies a prominent position, with its exports reaching more than $ 20 billion a year.

Turkish companies selling halal products exported to a number of European capitals make up approximately 15% of the total food production companies in Turkey.

Dr. Kamil Al-Sari, professor of economics at the Sorbonne University in Paris, told the BBC that the halal products market has witnessed global growth over the past 40 years. Prior to that, European capitals did not see a boom in such products. .

Al-Sari attributed this to “the increase in the Muslim population in Europe in recent years, regardless of whether they were displaced due to wars, economic migrants or students, in addition to the great influence of lawyers and sheikhs on Muslims.” . ideas, so they became too eager to seek halal products, or else they would have sinned, which was not the case 50 years ago. ”

He claims that in recent years, “Wahhabi” ideas and ideas related to visible Islam have spread to several European countries, so that covering and searching for halal products has become a normal issue with unprecedented participation.

In addition to these two reasons, studies show that the main driver of growth of the halal market globally lies in the development of the economies of Islamic countries, as well as in the increase in demand and demand for halal products from emerging markets in Europe, Japan, India and China.

With the increasing demand for halal products, food giant chains in most countries of the world tended to offer this type of products to achieve the increase of their profits by attracting Muslim customers all over the world.

Indeed, multinational companies tend to sell and supply these products, for example, Wal-Mart and Carrefour are the major suppliers of halal products, and companies such as Nestle have attacked the field and become a global leader in the production and supply of halal food goals. Muslims and others alike.

According to the teachings of Islam and Hebrew, the slaughtered animal must be healthy and its blood must be liquefied without using electric shocks or pre-slaughter anesthesia, which are methods used in most European countries.

The food shelves of the largest grocery stores in the British capital, London for example, are filled with products bearing the halal label.

At one of the largest stores in central London, I met Abu Ibrahim, the owner of the store, and he told the BBC that the market for halal products is not limited to Muslims. Those who buy from me ripen faster and taste better. “

Abu Ibrahim, depends on slaughtered birds under Islamic law in Britain, but imports halal meat from the Netherlands and New Zealand. He confirms that it is 100% halal, and the certificates that accompany each consignment of meat are verified, but these two countries are known for their “delicious” meat.

Most European countries prohibit the slaughter of cattle under Islamic law for reasons related to the protection of animal rights, but these products are imported from other countries and sometimes a certain number of slaughterhouses are allowed to follow Islamic law in slaughter.

European law stipulates that an animal must be calmed before slaughter, with exceptions relating to slaughter according to religious rules. However, this law allows member states to adopt rules guaranteeing greater protection for animals, noting that Article 205 of the The European Union Food Information Regulation states: The method by which the animal is slaughtered must be mentioned on all packaging, and therefore, this article takes into account the difference in beliefs regarding the manner of slaughtering the animal.

The European Convention on Human Rights, signed by all member states of the European Union, guarantees religious freedom. Despite this, other European Union countries, such as Denmark, Sweden and Slovenia, have banned traditional slaughter, but halal slaughter is still allowed. according to religious laws, in all From: Germany, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Greece, Spain, Estonia, Finland and Poland.

It’s what holds Brandhalal really?

Kamil Al-Sari says there are suspicions that halal brand products in the European market are in fact “halal”. Food control systems in European countries monitor the quality of food, compliance with specifications, cleanliness and compliance with health and environmental regulations, but do not monitor the compliance of these products with Islamic rules in slaughter or otherwise.

Halal product prices vary in some European capitals, in Britain, for example, halal product prices are much slightly higher than non-halal ones, but in the Netherlands, according to what Marwa confirmed, the prices are almost the same. , and in France, where sari has lived for 20 years, the prices of halal products are lower than non-halal ones, as these products target the Muslim majority, which is the poorest class in most European countries.

The halal products market is criticized for reflecting a growing Islamic presence in European markets and constituting a cultural change in these societies, as it encourages what is considered a “violation of animal rights”.

However, a recent study published by the International Islamic News Agency (IEA) expects that the global market for halal products will continue to grow to reach $ 10 trillion by 2030.