The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Convener for Standing Committee on Halal Meat Export Naseeb Ahmad Saifi has said that halal meat export from Pakistan can touch $5 to $6 billion mark in next five years if the government patronises livestock farmers and devise a coordinated and comprehensive policy for promotion of this industry.
Talking to media persons on Sunday, he claimed that Pakistan had made remarkable progress during the last few years amongst the halal meat exporters. He was all praised for the steps taken by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for the promotion of halal meat exports from Punjab and said the government could also support the exporters on that pattern as they could earn precious foreign exchange for the country and strengthen the national economy. Saifi said that according to a survey the global Muslim population is around 1.86 billion, which constitutes 30 per cent of the total world population. He said according to a report volume of halal products was $635 billion dollars in the year 2010.
He said volume of halal market in US was $17.60 billion while halal products constituted 18 per cent of the world food market. Similarly, volume of halal food of Europe had reached $67 billion. He said many companies in Europe had converted themselves according to consumers of halal products. However, he said their contribution was negligible in this trade. ‘Indian halal food export had reached $23 billion per annum, which should be a matter of concern for Pakistan,’ Saifi added. He called for understanding the importance of mark of ‘certified halal products’ on these products. He said if Pakistan wanted to compete with other countries in WTO regime then it had to promote its products at international level and devise an effective policy for promoting products as certified halal items at the earliest.
He said exporters of halal food and meat were facing numerous challenges and hardships in Pakistan which should be resolved at the earliest to promote food processing and export industry. He said exporters should be given special incentives and get rid of unjustifiable taxes and export tax, interference of provincial institutions and uninterrupted gas and electricity supply. It would help not only this industry but also earn the precious foreign exchange and bridging the gap between their import and export bill, he added.
