Africa Emerges As Key Growth Market For Halal Trade
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 (Bernama) -- Africa is emerging as an important growth market for the global halal industry, presenting vast opportunities for Malaysian exporters across a wide range of consumer products.
Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) chairman Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican said the continent’s large population and expanding consumer market made it a destination that halal businesses could not afford to overlook.
“The Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) 2026 has attracted growing participation from African companies, with Senegal bringing the continent’s largest delegation, while Rwanda and Comoros are among the latest participating countries from that continent.
“Africa is a market that we cannot afford to ignore. A continent with such a large population naturally presents significant market opportunities,” he told reporters during the International Sourcing Programme (INSP) media stakeout here today.
Reezal also proposed incorporating African languages into the MIHAS artificial intelligence (AI) application in the future to support greater participation from the continent.
The application currently supports eight languages — English, Bahasa Melayu, Bahasa Indonesia, Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, French, Spanish and Russian.
He said the application provides registered buyers, exhibitors and trade visitors with personalised AI agents to help them identify suitable business partners based on their specific requirements.
“For example, a buyer seeking a non-spicy sauce in a particular volume could enter those requirements into the application, which would then identify suitable suppliers among the participating exhibitors.
“If buyers were expected to search through every exhibitor individually, it would be difficult. The AI identifies the relevant suppliers and reduces the possibility of missed opportunities. It means less time spent searching and more time for business discussions and interaction,” he said.
Reezal said the application could also arrange appointments and provide multilingual assistance, helping to overcome communication barriers between buyers and suppliers.
“More importantly, the AI technology allows business matching and engagement to continue beyond the four-day physical exhibition. MIHAS should not revolve around only four days. Once those four days are over, businesses should not have to wait another year to engage again.
“With the AI operating continuously, engagement can take place 365 days a year,” he said.
This year’s INSP features 450 buyers, including 50 premium buyers from 45 countries, and is expected to facilitate about 4,000 business-matching sessions.
Reezal said the participating buyers underwent pre-vetting and preliminary engagement through MATRADE’s international network to identify their actual sourcing requirements before being matched with suitable Malaysian companies.
“This reduces the possibility of a mismatch when buyers and exporters meet,” he said.
Reezal said the premium buyers include major international retailers, importers and distributors such as Canada’s Loblaw Companies Ltd, Robinsons of the Philippines, Metro of China and Indonesia’s PT Sukanda Djaya.
He said access to such large international corporations would ordinarily be difficult for Malaysian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), despite their ability to produce quality and export-ready products.
“If MSMEs were expected to approach and open the doors of these major companies themselves, it would be almost impossible.
“That is why we provide them with the platform, access and opportunities to bring their products into the wider export market,” he said.
Reezal said MATRADE would continue tracking the business generated through MIHAS after the event, including conducting a follow-up assessment after three months.
“The monitoring process would determine whether potential transactions recorded during the event had materialised into actual orders. While contracts signed during MIHAS are classified as actual sales, longer-term orders are initially recorded as potential sales until they materialise.
“Sometimes, the amount eventually achieved exceeds the potential sales recorded, while in other cases it may be lower. We want to monitor the outcome and identify the problems that arise so that MSMEs seeking results through MIHAS can receive the necessary support from MATRADE,” he said.
-- BERNAMA