A R1-BILLION halaal agri-processing food park near Cape Town International Airport or the Cape Winelands is under consideration in the Western Cape. The proposed park will be a cluster of manufacturing and service firms in the halaal industry.

Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde said the Western Cape government was working in partnership with the Western Cape Fine Foods Initiative and the private sector to develop the park. “The global halaal market is worth 2.3-trillion (R29-trillion). “The proposed halaal park will allow the Western Cape to double our share of that fast-growing market’” Winde said.

The target market would be the Middle East and North Africa‚ home to an estimated 20% of the world’s Muslim population. “We seek to increase the value of halaal exports by $31-billion (R391- billion) by 2020‚” Winde said. He envisaged that the proposed park could add 5000 new jobs to the economy in the next five years. The park‚ if approved‚ could be launched in the next two years. Western Cape Fine Food Initiative chief executive Nazeem Sterras said there was a huge international focus on the halaal industry. Halaal industrial parks were a key strategic catalyst for economic growth and access to markets.

“It is not just because of the religious or Sharia compliancy, but because people are starting to realise that halaal-certified products already provide all the set standards that every human being needs to consider when they consume or use products‚” he said. Sterras said these requirements included whether a product was healthy‚ nutritious‚ clean and safe, and whether it would harm the environment. “Halaal certification actually provides all these standards already‚ as part of what we call a lifestyle value proposition,” Sterras said. “It ticks all the boxes that people want in a good quality product.”

He said his group had completed a pre-feasibility study and looked at products the Western Cape could provide, compared with what products were required worldwide‚ but especially in the Middle East‚ North Africa and even sub-Saharan Africa.

“We’ve focused particularly on these regions because of their close proximity and the recent trade agreements signed with Africa‚” Sterras said.

The latest figures put the Middle East, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa markets together at about 155-billion (R1.9-trillion), covering four big areas including food and beverages, tourism, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, plus food ingredients and industrial chemicals to a smaller extent, he said.

Winde will submit the proposal to the Western Cape executive council next month.

Source: Herald