Brunei Halal goods set for launch within year

Saturday, September 26, 2009

First range won’t be sold locally but sent straight to markets abroad

BRUNEI
is expected to launch its first range of products under the premium
Brunei Halal brand within the next six to 12 months, The Brunei Times
learned yesterday.

“Right now we have already targeted several
companies food and beverage companies and are in the process to select
companies to manufacture for Ghanim,” said a spokesperson from Ghanim
International Food Corporation, the company appointed by His Majesty’s
Government to oversee the Brunei Halal brand.

The Brunei Halal brand was launched during the fourth International Halal Products Expo (IHPE) (July 30-Aug 2) this year.

Among
some of the objectives for the Brunei Halal brand are giving local
companies a platform at gaining a slice of the global halal market,
which is estimated at US$580.9 billion and growing rapidly.

The
brand is owned and managed by a government-owned company, Brunei
Wafirah Holdings Sdn Bhd, which has appointed Ghanim to manage the
brand marketing. Ghanim is 50 per cent owned by Hong Kong logistics
firm Kerry FSDA and the Brunei government.

The Ghanim
spokesperson said that the first range of products using the brand,
once confirmed, will not be sold locally but will be sent straight to
overseas markets.

“We have not confirmed the places which we will be exporting to,” she said.

Earlier
this year, Noel Shield, Ghanim interim CEO, said the company was
targeting markets with “high disposable incomes” with the UK, Middle
East and Europe being the first three.

“Because of this, local
producers cannot sacrifice quality or have lower quality specifications
for price as the brand must be instantly recognised as a brand that
represents guaranteed food safety, food quality, manufactured according
to the highest values of environmental and religious law, and a brand
that a person can purchase with complete confidence,” Noel said during
workshop for small business.

Some of the supermarkets that Ghanim will be targeting include Tesco and Carrefour outlets to help sell the products.

“We
hope to see more products for the Brunei Halal brand, but the
challenges will remain… Market is a very important consideration, and
it’s not just about producing it, but having the capacity to produce
it,” Dato Paduka Hj Mohd Hamid Hj Mohd Jaafar, permanent secretary of
the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources and co-chairman of the
organising committee for the halal conference, said in a recent
interview.

Acting director of the Agriculture department Hjh
Normah Suria Hayati PJDSM DSU (Dr) Hj Mohd Jamil Al-Sufri said that the
application process would begin with auditing whereby the products are
checked and certified for both its halal status and high quality.

“It
has to be of quality… when you see a product that has the Brunei
Halal brand, you would not have doubts (of its quality),” she said.

Hjh
Normah explained that Ghanim Food International Corporation is in
charge of ensuring that the products’ safety and quality factors are
not compromised before proceeding to the Brunei Religious Council for
its halal certification process. She said after certification, the
products will be brought back to Ghanim Food International Corporation
for contract manufacturing.

“After the manufacturing, then the products will be in the international halal market,” she said.

Ghanim’s
Shield said his main focus in the very early stages would be on “the
people who are export-ready and accredited (for compliance with some
global standards)”.

During the launch of the brand, Shield
said that from information gathered from government officials there was
a lot of interest in the brand. The Brunei Times