Asia
Halal Food Expo Attracts Huge Crowd In S'pore
By BERNAMA
Apr 30, 2007, 10:11

A huge crowd thronged Hall 5 of the Singapore Expo here where halal food producers from the small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are exhibiting their products at the Asean Consumer Showcase and 6th Halal Food Expo 2007.

The four-day expo, which started yesterday, showcases various products from canned food to fresh fruits, confectioneries to kitchenware, food ingredients to packaging techniques, just to name a few.

Making a strong presence was Malaysia's Federal Agriculture and Marketing Authority (Fama) which has been participating in the fair since 2001 together with small-and medium-sized food enterprises.

"The market for halal food is too large to measure and it is growing all the time," Fama chairman Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri said.

"The halal food fair in Singapore is a step forward towards marketing, promoting and advertising and selling halal food products," he said in his speech at the launch of the fair organised by Singapore's MegaXpress Communications Pte Ltd.

Also held in conjunction with the fair was "Indonesia Today", an exhibition of consumer products from Indonesia.

Rahim said besides providing the opportunity to Malaysian halal food producers to network with major retailers, the fair also serves to survey the tastes and preferences of consumers and identify the potential products for marketing in Singapore and the region.

"These are products comforming to the halal standards and produced by our manufacturers with lots of dedication and passion who believe in the concept of ethical consumerism," he said.

He suggested that the organiser create a special category awards for the "most promising and potential halal products" at the fair in future.

"I think it's about time we create our own halal products "champions of the world", he said.

Singapore Member of Parliament for Joo Chiat, Chan Soo Sen, who launched the fair, said besides showcasing good products, the fair also brought together food producers from three countries.

"This is a fine example of how the three countries are working in harmony... you have taught politicians a good lesson," he said in a casual remark as he struck the gong thrice to signify the event launch.

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