Al Islami represents UAE halal industry in Taiwan

Al Islami Foods, an award winning halal producer, represented UAE's halal food industry at a food forum in Taiwan.

"Countries that will succeed in entering the international halal market will be those who pay attention to the details of quality, standards and marketing, aligned with the most active players such as Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Singapore, Turkey and now UAE," stated Alex Andarakis, chief executive of Al Islami Foods, at the 'Exploring the Muslim Food Market Forum 2009' held at the sidelines of Kaohsiung Food Show 2009, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

The Southeast Asian producers are vying for the over $2.1 trillion and growing halal food market in 185 countries and working out long-term plans to enter the more than 1.8 billion Muslim market.

The show is jointly organised by Taitra (the Taiwan External Trade Development Council) and Kaohsiung City Marine Bureau under the auspices of the Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs. The exhibition which opened on November 5, will run till November 8.

The food show featured fresh fruits, agricultural products, meat and dairy products, fish products, condiments, frozen and processed products, dehydrated food stuffs, beverages, confectionaries, cookies, health foods, leisure foods, tableware, personal food and machinery.

The expo, which has become South Taiwan's largest food show in just three years, offered a much needed boost to the consumer-challenged economy of the SEA region while helping manufactures to test the foreign waters for additional business opportunities.

Taiwan is one of the world's top-20 exporting countries and has a good reputation for its food products - meat, fruits, vegetables and drinks. In 2008, Taiwan's food exports totaled $2.7 billion, according to Taitra.