Chief executive officer Datuk Seri Jamil Bidin

Kuala Lumpur, (IINA) : The Malaysian Halal Industry Development Corp (HDC) expects the exports of halal products to grow between 5 and 6 percent this year, said chief executive officer Datuk Seri Jamil Bidin.

He said this would be supported by higher demand for local halal products, especially in the second half of 2017, due to the improving global economy.

“In terms of the export trend in the first six months of this year, normally it is slower but it will pick up by the end of the year, and I’m confident we will achieve the target,” he told Bernama Agency.

Jamil said he observed that the country’s halal industry development had evolved not just through the export figures or the number of investments, but also via the adoption of Industry 4.0 or automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies.

Towards that end, he said HDC would collaborate with various agencies to produce innovation that would benefit the industry. “We see a lot of potential, particularly in the halal ingredients segment, which is still in its infancy and we also see the need to increase the number of experts in this segment,” he said.