The claim that Islam is the fastest growing religion and second largest religion in the world is based on the increase of Muslim population by over 23.5 percent in the last fifty years (Abdul Latif, 2003). The comparison of total Muslim population with the world
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population indicated that among every four humans in the world, one of them is a Muslim. To the Muslims, food must not only be of good quality, safety and hygienic but must also be halal (Saleh, 1998). All foods are halal except those that are specifically mentioned in the Quran as haram. Islam only permits its followers the lawful, hygiene, safe and good food as stated in the Holy Quran and Shariah. Thus halal food industry must in full commitment to produce and serve clean, safe and wholesome food to consumers. In other words, the halal product should be recognized as a symbol of cleanliness, safety and high quality (Merican, 1995). As a highly reputed and recognized Islamic country, Malaysia is one of the pioneers in promoting halal food throughout the world and is well poised to play a leading role in boosting the halal food market. The vision of the Malaysian Government to position Malaysia as an International halal food centre sets the country on a strategic route to be the main halal food supply base and global halal certification center.
Malaysia’s expertise gained worldwide recognition and was cited by the United Nation' Codex Alimentarius Commission as the best global example where halal food is concerned. The Codex General Guidelines for the Use of the Term “halal” were adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission at its 22nd Session, 1997. The halal food should be continuously monitored and certified in order to protect Muslim consumers, to facilitate trade demand and increase non- Muslim recognition on halal food as a high quality food as well. To capitalize on this lucrative market, both domestically and internationally, Malaysia should strengthen the halal food industry trend, awareness, perception and its grant/ incentives scheme in a positive way. This is a factor that should be considered by Malaysian food manufacturers in order to put the halal food industry in
a position to meet the requirements of Muslim communities and become one of the leading suppliers of halal food products throughout the world. Plenty of tourist attractions scattered throughout the world have boosted global tourism activities and hotel trade. In 2003, the total number of tourists in the world was 703 million people, which generated revenue of RM 1517 billion (World Tourism Organization Website, 2003). The total number of tourists that arrived in Malaysia in 2003 was 10.6 million, which generated revenue of RM 21,291.1 million (Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism of Malaysia, 2004).
Malaysia’s vision to become a developed and industrialized nation in 2020 and robust progress of current economic development are leading Malaysians to have busier schedule. Hence, fast food and quick meals are becoming a solution and trend of Malaysian populace due to hectic working environment. According to Asia Inc. Magazine (2005), Malaysia is the second ranking in top 10 markets for weekly fast- food consumption after Hong Kong with 59 percent of adults who eat at fast-food outlets at least once a week. Hence, all fast food outlets in Malaysia are obtaining halal certification from JAKIM in order to fulfill Malaysian Muslim consumers’ requirement.
Realizing the huge and lucrative trade of halal food, many food companies are interested in gaining a market share in this business. According to Yip, (1999), the number of companies applying for halal certification in Malaysia increased from 280 companies in 1998 to 562 companies in 2001, which was a 90 percent increase (Mohd Salleh, 2003). In 2003, the number of products with halal labeling was 628, which rose to 930 companies in 2004 (Abdul Latif, 2005).
The active shifting demographic activities and Muslims high growth rate have contributed to higher demands and positive trends on halal food in non-Muslim countries. Countries such as United Kingdom and United States of America have large distributions of Muslim communities consisting mainly of people of Pakistani and Indian origin. In addition, the growing purchasing power of Muslims, especially those living in developing and well-developed countries, is another potential factor that will surely increase the consumption trend of halal food.
In 2002, Australian food exports to Muslim countries were valued at RM10.24 billion. Each year, Australia exports a variety of halal food types to more than 70 countries throughout the world. The Canadian domestic halal meat market value is estimated to be RM 684.8 million with an average annual household expenditure of RM 5193.6. Muslims are ardent consumers of meat and meat products, with feast days and celebrations that often include several different meat dishes. On average, Muslim households spend RM 99.5 per week on halal meat products. This is almost double the Canadian household meat expenditure of RM 54.4 per week. (Statistics Canada, 2003). This difference in weekly household expenditures may partially be explained by the difference in average household size. The survey respondents’ average household size was 4.4 people per household where as the Canadian Food Expenditure study’s average household size is 2.6 people per household (CMHC, 2004 Canadian Housing Observer).