Potential of Halal Industry for Maghreb Countries

By Mohd Ali Mohd Noor, Mohammed Rizki Moi

Abstract

The world halal market is a fast emerging sector that has received positive response. The potential of this market is being explored and such potential is not only associated with the total population of Muslims that constitutes 23 percent of the total world population but also takes into account the fact the non-Muslims countries domination on the trade of halal meat and processed food products and the demand of halal food. Halal products include both food and non-food items. This study aims to focus on the potential of halal industry in Maghreb countries namely Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia where majority of their Muslims population practices Maliki school of thought. Muslim population in these countries is nearly 100 percent that is a good indicator for a ready halal product market. Despite the huge number of Muslims population, their contribution to the world halal market, is rather scarce and insignificant. This study involves primary and secondary data which was analysed using the SWOT analysis to indicate the potential and the treatment for each country. The main finding implies that only four out of five Maghreb countries have potential to develop halal industry namely Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia on the ground that their net exports are positive. This study confirms that being the countries with majority Muslim population is the driving factor of the halal industry.