By NNN-Bernama
Kuala Lumpur : The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has selected the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) to look into further developing the global halal industry which is estimated to be worth 580 billion USD.
ICCI President Sheikh Saleh Kamel said here Wednesday the chamber would look into the most basic yet important aspect of the lucrative halal (permitted, in Islam) sector, which was global standards and certification.
“The opportunities within the global halal industry are huge and yet there is no official authority that looks into the integrity of the halal market on a global scale. Now there will be one,” he said in a statement.
At the recently-held OIC Summit in Dakar, the ICCI was recognized as the principal representative of the private sector in OIC member states as regard to halal quality control and all Islamic governments were urged to facilitate the procedures for activating its mechanism.
Sheikh Saleh said this initiative was expected to help develop and modernize the halal goods and services which affected 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide, foster trade and facilitate access to genuine halal products and services in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries.
“There is a need to ensure the entire supply chain of halal products is protected for the benefit of Muslims and also those in the industry,” he said.
“The ICCI’s mission for halal is not only to provide credible and professional halal certification but also to help develop existing halal certification bodies to be at par with global industry requirements,” he added.