Region set to promote halal food production

As China's only provincial-level Hui (Chinese Muslim) autonomous region, Ningxia has an obvious and distinct advantage in terms of developing a halal meat industry, according to Wang Zhengwei, chairman of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region government.

He added: "Ningxia has four real advantages in this sector - its Muslim culture, its location, its well-established industrial base and its superb natural environment."

Ningxia is one of the major centers for the Chinese Muslim population and has a history of halal food and commodity production stretching back more than 1,200 years. This is largely due to the rich soil and clean water of the Ningxia Plain, which allows for the production of high quality foodstuffs, capable of meeting any international statutory requirements in terms of quality control.

Wang said that the world now has around 1.3 billion Muslims, a figure representing nearly a quarter of the global population. This accounts for an annual trade volume of Halal food in the region of $150 billion, a considerable incentive for Ningxia to build on its already strong Halal credentials.

To date, Ningxia has developed a complete halal food industrial chain. This has enabled it to produce a range of high quality Muslim commodities and halal products for both the domestic and international markets.

There are currently about 30,000 factories and produce suppliers working in Ningxia's halal food industry. The production in this sector represent 80 percent of the region's total food industry output and had a total industrial output value of 7 billion yuan in 2008.

Ningxia now trades with 121 countries and regions in the world. It has particularly strong links with the European Union, the United States, the Republic of Korea and Japan. It has also seen considerable growth in its exports to a number of emerging economies, most notably India, Brazil and Mexico.

In a bid to boost its exports, Ningxia has now reached agreements on the certification of halal products with several approved agencies in foreign countries, including Malaysia and Thailand. Additionally, Ningxia has founded its own International Certification Center for Halal Food, facilitating the entry of Chinese halal food into the international market.

(China Daily 07/27/2009 page8)