By NNN-Bernama
Beijing : China’s more than 20 million Muslim population is an attractive market for halal producers but it remains largely untapped by both the local and foreign vendors.
Very few Malaysian products are found on supermarket shelves here. The most likely product is the Ayam brand baked beans.
The Niujie Muslim Supermarket here, a short walk from the city’s oldest mosque, is reputed to be the only halal supermarket in China.
Its well-stocked shelves are filled with 7,000 items but the only product from Malaysia which it began selling a year ago is the Golden Spoons brand vegetarian ghee from Alami Oil Products Sdn Bhd.
Liu Nan, international buyer for the supermarket, said it sourced nearly all its items locally, mainly because it was unfamiliar with what were available in the international market.
“Also, we are not direct importers, we rely on what our suppliers bring in. Sometimes, if we see a product we like, we have to look for who can import it for us,” he told Bernama on Monday.
He said the supermarket was receptive to selling more foreign products but the key factors to doing it were finding marketable items, distributors and competitive pricing because the purchasing power of Muslims in China was not very high.
Apart from the vegetarian ghee from Malaysia, the supermarket’s limited foreign stocks included salted fish from Thailand and sweets from Switzerland.
The supermarket was established four years ago by a Beijing investment company to cater to the 240,000 Muslims in the capital.
Liu said most of the Muslim shops in China were small grocery shops and stalls, even in Xinjiang autonomous region.
“So, potentially we have a large untapped Muslim market and the supermarket plans to tap this,” he said.
Liu, who was employed by the supermarket three years ago, said his only links with Malaysian products were through the Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade) here.
He came across Alami’s vegetarian ghee while visiting the Malaysia Halal Showcase in 2004. The supermarket has sold more than three dozen 2kg tins a month since last year.
Asked on the price range of Malaysian products which would interest him, he replied: “Preferably between RM2 and RM5 (RM1=2.2 yuan/0.2885 usd)) at source. By the time they arrive at the supermarket, they would be higher with taxes.”
At the recent international food exhibition here, Liu was drawn to Malaysian food seasonings and sauces on display there.
“I think they can sell well here. I am making plans to get one container load via a distributor,” he said.
On demand for toiletries and cosmetics, he said it was competitive because 75 per cent of the market was dominated by multinationals.
Liu said the supermarket, also popular among Muslim diplomats, recorded a turnover of 55 million yuan (us$7.3 million) last year and in the first half of this year, sales were up by 20 per cent.
Matrade commissioner in Beijing, Abu Bakar Yusof, said price was the key to penetrate the Muslim market is China.
“Outside Beijing and Shanghai, most of the Muslim consumers are in the less developed markets. So, it is still basically competitive pricing and to get a good distributor to bring in the products,” he said.
He said Matrade would be taking part in the second China International Halal food and Muslim Commodities Festival in the Muslim-dominated Ningxia autonomous region from Aug 16 to 19.
“Apart from promoting Malaysian halal products, we will also be looking for potential joint ventures between Malaysian and Chinese companies for food and also non-food items like cosmetics and healthcare products,” he said.
Matrade plans to hold a trade mission to Xinjiang, Ningxia and Xian, which have sizeable Muslim populations, end-November.