Halal authority highlights opportunities in wholesome products, services

Halal Certification Authority (HCA) has stressed the need for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria to take advantage of opportunities created by the emerging halal industry.

It stated this at an event themed, ‘Emerging Halal Market: Tool for Economic Growth’ and organised by Halal Certification Authority (HCA) to educate the public on its certification.

The Chairman of HCA and Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Lagos, Ibrahim Oreagba, said the authority was primarily responsible for certifying products. “We realised that a lot of people do not even understand what Halal is. Even some Muslims don’t know the difference between Halal and non- Halal products. So, we must create awareness and this seminar is one way of educating the public and also our clients on Halal and certification processes,” he said.

Professor of Islamic Law, University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Abdulmajeed Abdurrazaq Alaro, noted that the halal industry, which includes foods, non-food products and services is another alternative source of income for Nigeria.

He said: “When we look at it from a pure economic perspective, the Halal industry is needed in Nigeria. We all know that the mainstay of our economy as a nation as we speak is oil and the whole world today is already planning for life after oil, even those that have bigger and better capacities in terms of oil reserves and capacity to produce and market. They are already looking for what comes after oil exploration and production as the mainstay of their economies.

“So, when we look at it from that angle, we don’t have to close our eyes to alternative sources of income for us as a nation. So, the Halal industry will provide one of the many alternatives that are available. It is a very big market today; we are talking of a market that has a share of about $5 trillion globally. Hence, it is better for us to look in that direction too by diversifying our sources of income as a nation to continue to grow our economy and to continue to develop our country.”

Alaro, disclosed that the Halal industry is currently at the elementary stage in Nigeria, with an insignificant market share.

Prof. Alaro added that despite the poor assessment of the industry in Nigeria, its goods and services are accessible globally, with Brazil, a non-Muslim dominated country as the number one exporter of Halal foods industry.

“Others are India, United States of America, etc . This is to tell you that the Halal industry is accessible to the entire world already, but what is quite unfortunate is that Nigeria ought to have taken the advantage of having its huge population of Muslims. That should be to our own advantage and that is what we are calling for, but Halal is already in every major economy of the world today. It’s not new and it is not strange,” he noted.

Associate Professor and the Founder, Institute of Islamic Finance Professionals, Dr. Yusuf, called on Nigerians, particularly the SMEs to key into the Halal product movement.