The Western Cape provincial government is seeking to increase the value of Halal exports by $31-billion by 2020, through a proposed Halal agroprocessing food park that will allow the province to double its share of the “fast-growing” market.

The R1-billion park, if approved, could be launched in the next two years, the Western Cape government advised on Monday.

Two sites were under consideration for the Halal park, namely the Cape Town International Airport and a site in the Cape Winelands.

“The park will be a fully Halal zone and will be a cluster of manufacturing and service firms in the Halal industry. It will present significant opportunities for private-sector investment. We also hope to encourage the establishment of a single, globally recognised Halal certifying body to be based at park,” Western Cape Economic Opportunities Minister Alan Winde said.

The Halal food park was part of the province’s Project Khulisa growth strategy, for which Winde would next month submit the growth proposals to Cabinet for approval.

Project Khulisa had identified agroprocessing as a key growth sector with the potential to add up to 100 000 jobs and generate R26-billion for the economy under a high-growth scenario.

“The Halal park will play an important role in reaching these targets … [it] is expected to add a further 5 000 new jobs to our economy in the next five years,” he noted, highlighting that the global Halal market was worth $2.3-trillion.

The Western Cape government was working towards the development of the park in partnership with the Western Cape Fine Foods Initiative and the private sector, with prefeasibility studies suggesting that the park could generate up to R5-billion for the local economy each year.

Western Cape Fine Food Initiative CEO Nazeem Sterras said a prefeasibility study had been completed and looked at the products the Western Cape could provide, compared with what products were required worldwide, but especially in the Middle East, North Africa and even sub-Saharan Africa. “We’ve focused particularly on these regions because of their close proximity and the recent trade agreements signed with Africa,” said Sterras.

Winde said around 20% of the world’s Muslim population resided in the Middle East and North Africa.

Sterras explained that the latest figures obtained place the Middle East, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa markets at about $155-billion combined, covering four big areas, including food and beverages, tourism, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, as well as food ingredients and industrial chemicals to a smaller extent.

Earlier this year, Winde led a delegation to Malaysia, which strengthened trade links between that country and the Western Cape. The Western Cape Fine Food Initiative and the Malaysian Industry Government Group for High Technology had already signed a cooperation agreement to foster partnerships between the Halal industries of the two countries.

“This agreement will see the Western Cape producers learning from Malaysia’s international best practice.”

Sterras said internationally there was a huge focus on the Halal industry and Halal industrial parks were a key strategic catalyst for economic growth and access to markets.

“It is not just because of the religious or Sharia compliancy but because people are starting to realise that Halal-certified products already provide all the set standards that every human being needs to consider when they consume or use products,” he stated.

These standards included whether a product was healthy, nutritious, clean, safe and caused no harm to the environment. 

“Halal certification actually provides all these standards already, as part of what we call a lifestyle value proposition. It ticks all the boxes that people want in a good-quality product,” he added.