Business Opportunities for Halal Products in the Global Market: Muslim Consumer Behaviour and Halal Food Consumption

Halal products, halal confectionary and food ingredients, and the syari`ah system have attracted much attention among members of Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) countries. It has been estimated that the trade value of halal products in the global market has reached more than $US600 billion and the trade will keep increasing at 20 to 30 per cent annually, The potential market for halal products is the world’s Islamic population, which is of the order of 1600 million people. Of this total, Indonesia contributes 180 million; India, 140 million; Pakistan, 130 million; the Middle East, 200 million; Africa, 300 million; Malaysia, 14 million and North America, 8 million. Apparently, the availability of halal products is still limited; as a consequence, to meet consumer demand some Islamic countries have to even import halal goods from non-Muslim countries. For instance, Middle Eastern countries import halal meat from non-Muslim countries, especially from Australia and Brazil (Sungkar, 2007). It is, then, a lucrative market and there are huge business opportunities for halal food in the domestic and international markets. As the world’s most populous Muslim country, Indonesia has the potential to become not only a major market but also a major producer of halal products. Therefore the study will be a valuable aid to help assess Indonesian capability in seizing market opportunities in the global halal food trade.