Malaysia foresees Halal exports growth of 6%

Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister, Mustapa Mohamed said Thursday his country foresees a growth of six percent in the Halal products exports in 2012. This is due to growing demand from China and India, in addition to the possibility of taking over the markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Arab countries, said Mohamed in press statements. The number of Muslims living in China and India reached 19 million, he pointed out, adding that Malaysia\'s exports to the two countries last year came to 5.5 billion Malaysian ringgit of Halal products. He noted that based on the high percentage of Muslims, Malaysia seeks to export even more Halal products to the two destinations where the Muslim population is dense and increasing fast. Meanwhile, China is considered the second-largest world economy, with a vast Halal market worth USD 2.1 billion and it is likely to witness an annual growth rate of 10 percent in the Halal market, Mohamed pointed out. The minister further noted that China has imported products from Malaysia worth over 4.1 billion (ringgit) in 2011, from a total of 35.4 billion (ringgit) of exports in the same year exiting Malaysia.