Talking Points of Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Hamid bin Haji Mohd Jaafar
Keynote Address “Brunei Halal Brand”
At the Halal International Conference, HICEA 07
Melbourne, Australia

23rd October 2007

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BISMILLAHIR RAHMANIR RAHIM

Alhamdullilahi Rabbil Alamin, Wassalatu Wassalamu Ala Asyrafil Ambia E Wal Mursalin Sayyidina Muhammadin, Wa’ala Alihi Wasahbihi Ajmain

Fellow Speakers, Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen,

To my Muslim Brothers
Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Ta’ala Wabarakatuh and a very good morning to you all

Alhamdullilah, we are grateful to Allah the Almighty for with His gracious blessings we are able to meet once again on this important occasion

Introduction

I am truly thankful especially to Zulfikar Mohd Shariff, CEO of International Halal Management Pty Ltd, ILHAM, for being invited to speak at this Halal International Conference Australia 2007.

Judging by the regional and international conferences and trade exhibitions in the last 3 to 5 years, this conference is indeed timely. In my view, this conference will help governments and industries in refining their strategies for developing globally competitive Halal certified products in the next few years.

The global Halal industry continues to develop as a powerful market force in the international market. With a current market value conservatively estimated at USD 150 billion, this is expected to rise with natural increases in population as well as increasing incomes and changing lifestyles in various Muslim communities worldwide. Bearing in mind that quality Halal foods can be enjoyed by all, the cross over market for Halal food is much higher. According to USDA Economic Research Service, global food retail sales exceed $2 trillion annually, with supermarkets / hypermarkets accounting for the largest share of sales (around 52%).

What is more interesting is that Halal applies equally to other commodities such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and other non-food products. For example, cosmetics, in 2004, Eurostat estimated that the market size of the European market had a retail sale price value of at least 65 billion euros (almost A$ 104 billion). Another example is personal care products. Euromonitor reported that global sales of personal care product almost hit the US $100 billion mark in 2006 (A$ 112 bilion). In pharmaceuticals, IMS Health, a world leading provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, announced that the global sales of pharmaceuticals in 2006 was valued at US $643 billion (~ A$ 719 billion). Indeed, the potential markets for Halal products are very large – and growing!

In the context of this conference in Australia, I am encouraged by the heightened attention that is being given to Halal foods. We have observed that until recently, the Australian food industry has shown, only with some notable exceptions, little interest in Halal foods. This is understandable – with 400,000 to 600,000 people of the Muslim faith in this country, are only a very small proportion of the total market in Australia.

That awareness is also happening in other non-Muslim majority countries that are exporting food world-wide. One basic question for those companies is how can they harness that interest and translate it into a means of gaining a share of the Halal food business? And this is where, I thought, Brunei Halal Brand comes in!

Brunei Halal Brand

Ladies and Gentlemen,
If you would allow me to share our perspective on this. Brunei Darussalam is a small Islamic Sultanate whose economy relies heavily on oil and gas. Its food production industry is not well developed. It has limited sources of raw materials and imports a substantial amount of Halal food products. In fact almost 80% of our food requirements are imported. Last year our importation of food and live animals was valued at B$ 374.4 million (roughly A$ 286.5 million). That constituted around 14% of our total import value. Since we import much of our food, our relevant authorities must ensure that imported foods conform to strict Halal requirements. That led to the development of Brunei’s stringent Halal regulatory and certification system.

Taking into account, the country’s goal of diversifying its economic base to sustain future socio-economic progress, Brunei explored its strengths that could be used to support economic diversification objectives. We have reached a conclusion that Halal is one of those. Thus, Brunei decided to play a significant role in the Halal market by developing a Brunei Halal Initiative for the global market two years ago.

We have heard the power of brand advertising and promotion as well as marketing campaigns in selling virtually everything consumers purchase. Opportunities and every medium of campaigns are used to get the message across. This is particularly important for consumers in rapidly developing and well-developed markets across the world.

For example, as we go to supermarkets, we look for organic foods, look at the packaging, read the box, and examine the labels; there is a message there. We also look at the fair trade message: it’s on the packet, the leaflet, the merchandising. Some of the messages have even become wallpaper on shops walls. This also applies to Halal. The packaging and marketing of Halal products and services are critical issues for the Halal industry. We need to change the mindset of consumers by demonstrating convincingly why Halal, while fulfilling a religious obligation for Muslims, is the best choice – for everyone.

We believed that Halal has the highest potential for brand value and brand loyalty and we have started already on the Brunei Halal branding exercise.

Most of us are aware of many iconic international food brands. Some of these would include Kellogg’s, Heinz, Wrigley, Nestle, Danone and Kraft. Years of promotion and strict quality control have assured consumers that those brands provide guarantees of quality, nutritious, “clean and healthy” food that is good value for money. Indeed, we aspires to become like anyone of those, but with a “Halal” twist!

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Earlier I mentioned that Brunei started a Brunei Halal initiative 2 years ago. The overriding rationale for that is to contribute towards global efforts at fulfilling a collective “fardhu kifayah” on providing Halal foods and products to the growing world Muslim population as well as to “ensure the sustainability of Brunei’s socio-economy long after oil and gas”. Part and parcel of that initiative is the development of a Brunei Halal Brand. Two months ago, His Majesty, the Sultan and Yang DiPertuan of Brunei Darussalam, launched the Brunei Halal Brand at the 2nd International Halal Products Expo in Bandar Seri Begawan.

The key element of the Brunei Halal Brand is the strong partnership between the relevant stakeholders in the Halal industry.

In Brunei, at least 4 government agencies are working closely together to ensure that Halal certification is very stringent. These are the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources, Brunei Islamic Religious Council, Ministry of Religious Affairs and Ministry of Health.

Companies, either in or outside Brunei, can focus on developing and producing high quality, fresh safe and globally competitive products.

The cooperation between Brunei authorities and companies will assure Muslim consumers that Halal integrity is continuously maintained and remains in line with changes in the Halal industry.

Current Status of Brunei Halal Brand

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Considerable progress has been made with the Brunei Halal Brand.

A new Brunei Halal Accreditation label has been introduced. A Brunei Darussalam Standards for Halal Food, PBD 24:2007 and Halal certification guidelines have been developed and published and appear with details on our website at www.bruneihalal.gov.bn

I am happy to say that, the first accreditation of Australian food companies will take place before the end of 2007. Preliminary work has been undertaken on preparation of the Brand logo.

Arrangements are being finalized for the establishment of a Brunei Halal Brand commercial hub that will act as the main vehicle to operate the brand marketing and promotion activities in a totally commercial way. Our efforts also include the provision of an area of 263 hectares for the development of the industries through Joint Ventures and other FDI projects such as Halal Investment Park as well as research and support services for the developing Halal related industries such as a Halal Science Center and a Halal port.

All those are being backed up by our:

• Committed leadership that welcomes constructive suggestions, investment proposals in the implementation of the Brunei Halal Initiative;
• Improving business regulation;
• Flexible and highly educated and young population of course with continuous investment in Halal related HRD;
• Generous investment incentives;
• Good infrastructure and communication; and
• Mutually rewarding partnership between government and private sector.

Here in Australia, details of Brunei Halal Brand are being progressively presented to the Australian food trade – Brunei Government had an information stand at the large Fine Foods 2007 Exhibition in Sydney last month. I am glad to do the same here in Melbourne.

Brunei Halal Brand is also being promoted internationally – we will have a stand at the Halal World Expo in Abu Dhabi this December.

And plans are being put in place to launch the Brand logo internationally in February 2008, with products in the new brand image being in the marketplace in the first half of 2008.

We in Brunei are pleased with the very positive interest in the Brunei Halal Brand here in Australia. Over 200 companies have indicated their preparedness to becoming associated with Brunei Halal Brand. This includes over 160 food manufacturers and 40 companies involved in providing services to the food industry – packaging, storage, transport, and specialist advisory services (legal, financial, new product development, technical).

I want to acknowledge with thanks and appreciation to a number of people in local government, the like of the Mr Gary Jungwirth, Mayor of City of Hume, Mayor David Balfour of Baw Baw Shire and for their support and confidence and backing of the Brunei Halal Brand initiative.

Conclusion

Ladies and Gentlemen,
In closing, let me say that we are moving steadily in developing our Brunei Halal Brand strategy. Of course, there are obvious challenges. When one is developing a new brand to be introduced in the a competitive international food trade, proper planning and managing of all aspects of that activity has to be carefully undertaken to improve opportunities for success and reduce many types of risks.

At this point in time, we are taking steps in preparing for our commercial launch. As I said, targeted to be in February 2008. We will be properly prepared to achieve our objective that within 5 years, the Brunei Halal Brand will be truly a major feature in the international Halal food market. Insya Allah!

Finally, let me re-iterate what I have stated in the past regarding Brunei’s business approach in the Halal industry. Like many Islamic countries, Brunei is guided by the very principles of Islamic faith and income from the Brunei Halal initiative is only to ensure sustainability of Brunei’s socioeconomy in line with our policy to diversify our economy away from oil and gas.

Thank you.

Wabillahi Taufiq Wal Hidayah, Wassalamualaikum Warrahmatullahi Ta’ala Wabarakatuh