Dubai (AsiaNews) - The economy of halal products ("pure" for Islam) is set to grow, given that the Muslim population is increasing worldwide, and with it greater demand for products that have been anointed by the orthodox ritual.
"Halal" products range from foods that do not contain pork or alcohol, tourism or financial services that comply with Islamic rules, etc .. Increasingly products are being certified as sharia-compliant, passed by Imams or other experts Koran.
According to industry experts, the "Halal" economy is growing by 2 to 2.3% per year.
According to the Organization for Islamic Cooperation the entire global "halal" industry is worth about 2.3 trillion US dollars. Obviously, "Halal" products will primarily target the Muslim population.
It is thought that by 2030 there will be around 2.2 billion Muslims in the world, thus constituting a giant "catchment area" for these products.
It must be said that in the Koran Christians foods are called "halal" (v.: " This day [all] good foods have been made lawful, and the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them", Koran, al-Ma'da [The Table] 5, 5). But this has never been specified on the labels of "Christian-Western" nor on Islamic products. For some experts, the emphasis on "Halal" products is likely to be a kind of trade protectionism.