KUCHING: Some 450 local entrepreneurs in Sarawak have registered for the Malaysia Halal Tour Programme 2022.
Chief executive officer of Halal Development Corporation (HDC) Hairol Ariffien Sahari said that the programme would be continued to enable the industry players to achieve the halal programme certification.
“We will increase the capacity further and also our player’s capability to become the main exporters for our country or at least become the main exporters within Malaysia as well,” he said.
He said this during a press conference after the launching of the Budget Initiative Campaign 2022 in conjunction with the tour programme at Majma’ Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Hall here yesterday.
He added that with the close collaboration between HDC, an agency under Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and Ministry of International Trade and Industry Sarawak (MINTRED) alongside Sarawak Islamic Council (MIS), it is expected that more local entrepreneurs throughout the state would continue to join the programme.
“I don’t rule out the possibilities that we will achieve 1,000 entrepreneurs by the end of this year,” he said.
Hairol also pointed out that Malaysia’s halal export has increased by over 19 per cent last year compared to 2020.
“As of June 2022, the percentage has increased to 60 per cent compared to the same period in 2021.
“If we keep this kind of momentum, we expect our halal export will reach up to RM42 billion, which is RM2 billion more compared to what was being achieved before the pandemic,” he added.
He then shared the top five main export destinations for Malaysia halal products which are China, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia and South Korea.
“For the Middle East and European region, we will study on ways we can export our products to the region, as we don’t want to limit our exports to certain countries only.
“Once our product is suitable for the market of both regions, then we will provide facilities that have been established by HDC,” he said.
