World Halal Forum 2013

The idea and concept for the World Halal Forum was born from our direct involvement and interaction with the players in the Halal Market arena. In 2004, it became increasingly clear that the stakeholders in the Halal market – the producers, processors, manufacturers, logistics providers, retailers, restaurants, food service providers and others, actually constitute a new kind of industry in their own right; a diverse, complex, yet integrated industry with a global reach that crosses geographic, cultural and even religious boundaries.

The Halal industry intersects and shares common values with many other industry sectors and yet it has a unique set of issues and concerns that are specific to the Halal market.

It became evident that there was a need for a dedicated Halal industry forum that would enable the stakeholders in the Halal market to gather on a regular basis. The Halal market is evolving at a rapid pace, and because of its global extent, the rate and nature of this evolution differs considerably from one country to the next, and from one industry sector to the next.

Much of the impetus for the development of the Halal industry comes from shifts of awareness and perception; consequently many of these developments are happening at a rapid pace and entire new industry sectors, such as in the field of logistics, research, lab testing and personal care are emerging on a continuing basis.

Consequently, the decision to stage the World Halal Forum as an industry-specific focal point came at precisely the time it was needed. Response from all quarters – government, industry players both large and small, NGO’s, certification agencies, academics – and from all corners of the world continues to confirm our assessment.