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Last Updated: Jun 25th, 2007 - 17:07:26 |
KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 (Bernama) -- Northport is keen to work with the Port of Rotterdam, the only certified European Halal Hub, to reach 30 million Muslims in Europe as part of initiatives to develop halal trade as a mainstream activity.
Its Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Basheer Hassan, said other initiatives include providing dedicated shipping services linking Northport with the key Muslim consumer markets in Pakistan and the Middle East.
This includes the weekly "Halal Express" service mounted by national shipper MISC Bhd with Dubai-based Simatech Shipping LLC served by four 1,200 twenty-equivalent-units (TEUs) containership.
"They call on ports directly from Jebel Ali (Dubai), Damman (Saudi Arabia) and Karachi," he was quoted saying in an article on halal trade in the latest issue of "The Halal Journal."
"We are treating the prospects and opportunities in the halal trade as more than just a niche market. We provide an extensive range of facilities and services at our distripark within the Customs-free Free Commercial Zone to allow value-adding activities," he said.
Basheer also said special zones have been designated for halal activities while the need to further expand activities and the scope for testing and certification of halal products have been taken into account under Northport's RM500 million five-year expansion plan.
He also concurred with calls for a global halal standard as it would protect the integrity of the halal trade and quality of products that demand not only high hygiene but most importantly religious compliance on which there should be no ambiguity on standards and quality.
As to the setting up of the Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC), he said Northport would work closely with it to ensure halal trade via Northport meets the stringent Shariah requirements and standards.
"This way, we can help raise the standards and develop best industry practices within the global distribution, transportation and logistics supply chain of the global halal trade where the role of a port is crucial in the efficiency of the delivery system," he said.
-- BERNAMA
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