By Lee Hyo-sik
Korea has signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to cooperate on the production and sale of "halal food."
The accord will likely pave the way for Korea to develop and produce halal certified food products, and open the door wider for local food companies to make inroads into the UAE and other Arab countries.
President Park Geun-hye held a meeting with her UAE counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, in the UAE capital on Thursday and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to boost cooperation on halal food.
"Halal food has increasingly been popular with people of other faiths, thanks to its high sanitary standards," President Park said. "If we work together to create a credible halal certification system, we can take a lead in the global food industry."
Park said Korea expects to make another leap forward in the agricultural sector when more local food firms export high-quality halal food items to the Middle East.
Halal means lawful or permissible in Arabic and certification is given to only food items that are slaughtered, processed or manufactured in accordance to Islamic law. Muslims are required to consume only halal food. Food makers cannot add pork, alcohol or meat-derived food ingredients such as collagen.
In order to export food products to the UAE and other Islam countries, Korean food firms must first receive halal certification from each government.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the MOU signed with the UAE will make it easier for domestic food producers to obtain certification and ship their goods to the Arab nation.
The ministry said the Korea Muslim Federation will likely issue the certifications on behalf of the UAE government.
It plans to build a "halal food complex" inside the food industry cluster, which is under construction in Iksan, North Jeolla Province.
In 2014, Korea exported a wide range of halal-certified food products worth $680 million. It plans to increase the amount to $1.23 billion by 2017 as the global halal food market will expand to $1.6 trillion.
Park and the Crown Prince also signed MOUs on a range of business areas.
They agreed to set up a Korean cultural center in Abu Dhabi, the first of its kind in the Middle East. Currently, about 24,000 ethnic Koreans reside in the Middle and almost half of them live in the UAE.
The two leaders also struck deals to boost cooperation in the fields of energy, construction and healthcare.
Park asked the Zayed to make it easier for Korean builders and other companies take part in UAE's massive infrastructure development projects worth $23.1 billion.
Korea has signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to cooperate on the production and sale of "halal food."
The accord will likely pave the way for Korea to develop and produce halal certified food products, and open the door wider for local food companies to make inroads into the UAE and other Arab countries.
President Park Geun-hye held a meeting with her UAE counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, in the UAE capital on Thursday and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to boost cooperation on halal food.
"Halal food has increasingly been popular with people of other faiths, thanks to its high sanitary standards," President Park said. "If we work together to create a credible halal certification system, we can take a lead in the global food industry."
Park said Korea expects to make another leap forward in the agricultural sector when more local food firms export high-quality halal food items to the Middle East.
Halal means lawful or permissible in Arabic and certification is given to only food items that are slaughtered, processed or manufactured in accordance to Islamic law. Muslims are required to consume only halal food. Food makers cannot add pork, alcohol or meat-derived food ingredients such as collagen.
In order to export food products to the UAE and other Islam countries, Korean food firms must first receive halal certification from each government.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the MOU signed with the UAE will make it easier for domestic food producers to obtain certification and ship their goods to the Arab nation.
The ministry said the Korea Muslim Federation will likely issue the certifications on behalf of the UAE government.
It plans to build a "halal food complex" inside the food industry cluster, which is under construction in Iksan, North Jeolla Province.
In 2014, Korea exported a wide range of halal-certified food products worth $680 million. It plans to increase the amount to $1.23 billion by 2017 as the global halal food market will expand to $1.6 trillion.
Park and the Crown Prince also signed MOUs on a range of business areas.
They agreed to set up a Korean cultural center in Abu Dhabi, the first of its kind in the Middle East. Currently, about 24,000 ethnic Koreans reside in the Middle and almost half of them live in the UAE.
The two leaders also struck deals to boost cooperation in the fields of energy, construction and healthcare.
Park asked the Zayed to make it easier for Korean builders and other companies take part in UAE's massive infrastructure development projects worth $23.1 billion.
