Huge opportunities for Sri Lanka in global Halal-conscious industry

From left: Mohamed Akif – Moderator, Althaf M. Ali - Vice President, Sales and Marketing of Aitken Spence Hotel Managements Ltd; Fazal Bahardeen - CEO of CrescentRating Singapore; Rushdi Siddique - Co-Founder & CEO, Zilzar Tech Malaysia; Dr. Banchong Withayametha - Deputy Director of Halal Science Center at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; Annes Junaid - Managing Director of CBL Natural Foods Ltd; and CEO of Ali Fatharally, Halal Accreditation Council

Sri Lanka is well poised to follow examples set by countries like Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia South Korea and Singapore in reaping economic benefits by catering to the ever-growing $ 2.3 trillion global Halal-conscious market.

This was the key message emphasised by multiple speakers at the inaugural conference organised by the Halal Accreditation Council (HAC) under the theme ‘Opportunities for Sri Lankan Exporters in the Global Halal Market’, held at Galadari Hotel in Colombo on 28 July 2016.

In his welcome remarks, Halal Accreditation Council CEO Ali Fatharally stressed: “The economic opportunities for Sri Lankan businesses are not just income and/or profits but also the ability to harness benefits, including much-needed foreign exchange to the country, the ability to increase direct and indirect job opportunities, the continuous improvement of the quality in their establishment which meets international standards and being sensitive, respectful to an important segment of society.”

The conference attracted a wide segment of corporate representatives, Government officials, chambers of commerce and economic think tanks and expert insights were shared by industry leaders from the Asia Pacific region including Dr. Banchong Withayametha - Deputy Director of the Halal Science Center at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; Fazal Bahardeen - CEO of CrescentRating Singapore; Rushdi Siddique - Co-Founder & CEO, Zilzar Tech Malaysia; Althaf M. Ali - Vice President - Sales & Marketing of Aitken Spence Hotel Managements; and Annes Junaid - Managing Director of CBL Natural Foods Ltd.

The Halal Accreditation Council (HAC) is a not-for-profit organisation registered as a limited by guarantee company and serves as the sole Halal compliance standards certification issuing authority in Sri Lanka.