Halal Expo 2017 successfully draws to a close

The 9th Halal Expo Dubai recently concluded at the Roda Al-Bustan Hotel on a successful note. A majority of the 100 exhibiting companies reported having brisk business with local and international trade visitors — part of the 4,000 people who came to the two-day business-to-business event.
Amina Ahmed Mohammed, chief executive of the Emirates International Accreditation Center (EIAC), officially opened the 9th Halal Expo Dubai, on Sept. 18. This was two days after Malaysia officially recognized the UAE’s “Halal Products Control System” national certificates and the national halal mark issued by the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA), which will boost the UAE’s $20 billion annual halal imports.
“The Halal Expo Dubai provides a great opportunity to showcase and promote halal products across the world and I’m glad that this is happening in Dubai — which our government wants to promote as a global center for the halal economy,” said Mohammed.
She added: “We are increasingly receiving applications from halal accreditation bodies across the world and have already received applications from 65 of the 120 bodies and more than 1,000 halal products manufacturing plants. We have already certified 35 of the halal accreditation bodies and will complete the rest within the next few years — which will allow halal products to enter the UAE markets without any further hassles.”
More than 100 companies from 15 countries, including Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Spain, Pakistan, Switzerland, India, the UK, Brunei, Thailand, China and the UAE, participated in the show.
“This UAE-led initiative, a first of its kind in the Arab and Middle East, will open up export horizons to producers in the country, as well as export and re-export support to dozens of new markets, which is positively reflected on the support and encouragement of international industries, especially in the markets of East and South East Asia and the Australian continent, and also contributes to food security in the country,” said Abdullah Abdul Qader Al-Maeeni, director-general of ESMA.
Abdirahman M. Abdi, minister for fisheries and maritime resources, Somalia, said: “The fisheries sector of Somalia is estimated to be worth somewhere between $800 million to $1 billion ... This sector has a huge potential and we are participating at the expo to explore new opportunities through Dubai.”