Search Results for: World Trade Organisation

Spain has been expanding its halal tourism and food sales, as it leverages its geographical proximity to Muslim countries in north Africa to provide travel and accommodation services.

In the CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index 2021, by CrescentRating & Mastercard, Spain climbed six positions to the 16th in the top non-Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) destinations (https://www.crescentrating.com/reports/global-muslim-travel-index-2021.html).…

South Korea’s pharmaceutical industry, a global player with exports reaching South Korean Won KRW7.93 trillion (USD6.8 billion) in 2020, has been expanding its foothold in the world’s Muslim markets, offering guarantees that manufacturers avoid inputs that are offensive to Muslims.…

Indonesia’s drive to require pharmaceutical products to be halal-certified is gathering pace, but the country’s pharma industry’s reliance on imported raw materials for medicines is impeding progress, officials and industry players say.  

In October, Indonesia issued a government regulation requiring pharmaceutical products to be certified halal by 2029 for over-the-counter drugs and 2034 for prescription medicines.…

The halal food market and industry in Kenya, east Africa’s economic hub, is growing, say experts, although reforms in regulation and certification are needed to underpin the sustainability of this growth.

As elsewhere, said Eugene Jernigan, director of International Trade Policy and Development at the Action Green for Trade and Sustainable Development (AGTSD) organisation, that serves small businesses in Kenya, Covid-19 hit food service sales in Kenya, and that included halal outlets.…

Halal food exports from India are growing fast, according to a key Indian certification organisation, with domestic consumers among India’s 200 million Muslims also being increasingly demanding about halal standards.

According to Faiyaz Khan, the master technologist in food technology, of certification body the Jamait-Ulama-I-Hind Halal Trust, the volume of halal certified exported food products sold from India have grown by more than 50% over the past two years.…

On November 11 (2021), Indonesia’s National Ulema Council (MUI), the country’s top Muslim clerical body, ruled that “using” cryptocurrency is haram, due to its “uncertainty” and “potential for wagering and harm”. 

The ruling, which was not accompanied by any public clarification of MUI’s position on what constitutes “using” cryptocurrency, sent ripples through the Islamic world and reignited discussions about the role of the rapidly expanding digital assets sector in Sharia-compliant finance. …

A recent verdict (judgement 1751/2021) by Greece’s top court, the Council of State, regarding the ritual slaughter of animals has raised significant concerns to the Muslim and the Jewish communities of Greece, potentially impeding growth in Greek halal exports. The ruling effectively withdraws a permit that has allowed the slaughter of animals without stunning them first, as (usually) required to produce halal and kosher meat.…

BRITAIN’S halal food market maybe growing, but the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) in January 2020 has been impeding the sale, production and export of such products, and the regulatory headaches may get worse in future.

Speaking to Salaam Gateway, Rizvan Khalid, managing director, of Euro Quality Lambs, a major England-based producer and exporter of halal sheepmeat, said trade red tape imposed since the UK quit the EU has imposed GBP500,000 of annual regulatory costs on his business.…

Halal experts and animal welfare activists around the world are seeking common ground on how to keep and slaughter animals in the most humane ways possible. Halal certification systems that forbid pre-slaughter stunning as haram is becoming an increasingly acute issue for countries with strong animal welfare culture traditions and growing Muslim populations.…

THE USA is this year steadily installing new AML/CFT controls under a new ‘Anti-Money Laundering Act’ (AMLA) passed by Congress in January, the dying days of the administration of former President Donald Trump, overriding his veto of this long-debated reform.

This legislation is substantial.…