By Anwarulhaq Baig
NEW DELHI: Could any move to ban Halal products in India deal a severe blow to the economy, especially when the latest global Halal Food market report predicts a skyrocketing market value of $5.96 trillion by 2033, driven by increasing demand for halal-certified products worldwide?
In a groundbreaking January 2025 report, world-renowned Dublin-based market research agency ResearchAndMarkets.com reveals the Halal Food Market is set to explode from a staggering US$ 2.67 trillion in 2024 to an eye-popping US$ 5.96 trillion by 2033, driven by a booming global demand for halal-certified products, rising customers, and a shift toward health-conscious, ethical eating. As consumers demand cleaner, healthier food, Halal products are becoming the gold standard in quality and hygiene, with international halal standards gaining traction and opening lucrative new markets even in non-Muslim countries in Europe, North America, and Asia, according to the market research agency.
During a hearing last week in the Supreme Court, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Uttar Pradesh government, strongly opposed Halal certification. Mehta expressed shock over the wide-ranging Halal certification of products beyond meat, including cement, water bottles, tulsi and even iron bars. Mehta argued that while Halal meat certification is acceptable, the certification of everyday products like wheat flour (atta) and chickpea flour (besan) raises concerns, questioning how such items could be deemed Halal or non-Halal. He also alleged that Halal-certifying agencies were charging hefty fees, collecting several lakh crores, and driving up the prices of these products.
Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind has dismissed the Uttar Pradesh Government’s claims that Halal certification agencies are issuing certificates for items like iron bars and cement, allegedly inflating prices and raking in lakhs of crores, as baseless.
When IndiaTomorrow.net asked Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (Mahmood Madani), the main petitioner in the case, about Solicitor General Mehta’s claims regarding Halal certification, the Muslim organization’s spokesperson Azeemullah Siddiqi Qasmi dismissed the allegations that certificates were being issued for cement and iron rods as a canard. He clarified that Jamiat does not issue Halal certificates for such products.
The Jamiat spokesperson clarified that they only issue Halal certificates to firms that export items outside India, particularly to Muslim-majority and Gulf countries, and do not have domestic clients, as there is no demand or requirement for Halal certification within India. “We only issue Halal certificates for export purposes, not for domestic sales,” he stated.
This story was originally published in indiatomorrow.net. Read the full story here.
