Bangladesh eyes $7.7tn halal economy

With the global halal economy projected to reach $12.6 trillion by 2034, Bangladesh is being urged to develop a coordinated industrial and regulatory framework to secure a larger share of the rapidly expanding market.

Despite having a Muslim-majority population, a substantial domestic production base and access to a large potential consumer market, Bangladesh exported halal products worth only $943 million in the fiscal year 2025-26, indicating significant untapped opportunities.

Industry stakeholders have called for establishing a dedicated
Halal Industry Development Authority of Bangladesh (HIDAP) to coordinate the sector, simplify certification procedures, ensure supply-chain traceability and strengthen access to international markets.

They suggested that Bangladesh could draw lessons from the experiences of Malaysia and Indonesia in developing their halal industries.

The recommendations came at Investors Meet Up 3.0, held in Dhaka on Saturday (November 7), jointly organised by BDFairs and Junior Chamber International Dhaka Achievers, in cooperation with the Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI), Leather Foundation of Bangladesh and Japan-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

In his keynote presentation, Md Mominul Islam of Daffodil International University said the global halal economy was valued at $7.7 trillion in 2024, according to Dinar Standard’s Global Islamic Economy Report 2024.

The market is projected to grow at an annual rate of 6.2 per cent to reach $12.6 trillion by 2034, serving around 1.9 billion Muslim consumers.

Food represents the largest segment of the global halal economy, valued at $3.36 trillion, followed by fashion at $1.31 trillion, tourism at $1.30 trillion, pharmaceuticals at $1.24 trillion and cosmetics at $460 billion.

According to the presentation, Bangladesh currently has 802 halal-certified products and 301 certified producers, while exports of halal products reached $943 million in FY2025-26.

With Muslims accounting for around 91 per cent of the country’s population, Bangladesh has a substantial domestic market. The member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) also offer considerable export opportunities, Mominul said.

He identified several promising areas for investment, including halal agricultural technologies such as premium seeds and organic rice, as well as logistics infrastructure involving specialised warehouses, export processing zones, cold-chain facilities and ports.

The country’s blue economy could also create opportunities for producing halal gelatin from marine fish by-products for use in food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, alongside pearl and gem cultivation.

He further highlighted Islamic financial instruments, including Mudarabah, Musharakah and Sukuk, as potential mechanisms for mobilising investment in the sector.

Industry seeks simpler certification system
BCI President Anwar Ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez said agriculture, remittances and readymade garment exports, traditionally three major pillars of Bangladesh’s economy, had reached a stage of stagnation, while increasing automation was reducing the garment industry’s capacity to generate employment.

He said Bangladesh could develop the halal industry as a new source of economic growth through stronger government coordination and an accessible certification system for entrepreneurs.

“This does not require any additional utilities. We need to ensure that the products we are already manufacturing comply with halal standards and establish an effective certification system.

This would enable Bangladesh to export more products to the global halal market. As a Muslim-majority country, we have a significant opportunity in this sector,” he said.

AKM Badrul Ahsan, head of the halal certification department at the Islamic Foundation Bangladesh, said the organisation had been issuing halal certificates since 2005 but did not have its own laboratory.

He said the foundation worked with international organisations and followed prescribed protocols to issue certificates, while the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) had its own laboratory facilities for testing halal products.

According to Ahsan, the foundation conducts factory inspections through five to six teams as part of a multi-stage certification process.

Inspectors identify shortcomings during visits and subsequently verify whether factories have addressed them before the relevant committee approves certification.

He said an inter-ministerial meeting in 2023 had outlined the responsibilities and scope of work relating to halal certification.

Under the government’s approved Allocation of Business, the Islamic Foundation is responsible for setting halal certification standards and issuing certificates, he added.

However, Ahsan stressed that certification alone would not be enough to develop the industry. Public awareness and supporting infrastructure also needed to be strengthened.

He proposed establishing an integrated halal institution or creating a dedicated division under the Ministry of Commerce to bring the relevant stakeholders within a coordinated institutional framework.

Leather exporters highlight traceability gaps
Leather exporters said the lack of a reliable animal identification and supply-chain tracking system was preventing them from obtaining halal certification for leather sourced locally.

Shamima Akter Keya, owner of Bene, said exporters faced difficulties securing certification because the authorities required information on the origin of animals and traceability throughout the supply chain.

“However, it is not clear how we are supposed to collect this information. Bangladesh does not yet have a system to identify where cattle are slaughtered and whether the leather is collected following halal procedures,” she said.

She urged the government to introduce a mechanism to track leather from slaughterhouses to processing facilities, ensuring that the entire supply chain complied with halal requirements.

Exporters observed that although large numbers of animals were slaughtered in Bangladesh, the absence of a systematic tracking and certification framework made it difficult to establish the halal status of locally sourced leather for international buyers.

Green investment vital for industrial transformation
In a separate session titled ‘Sustainable Industry and ESG Investment’, keynote speaker Engr A Fattah Asif, consultant to NCL, SME Foundation and JICA/APO (Japan), stressed the need for greater investment in energy efficiency and environmentally sustainable industrial technologies.

He identified opportunities in energy-efficient machinery, renewable energy, solar power with battery storage, biogas, waste recycling and emission reduction.

As international buyers increasingly demand compliance with environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards, environmental certifications and transparent reporting, green investment has become essential for businesses seeking to maintain access to global markets, he said.

Carbon credit projects could also provide businesses with additional revenue by rewarding verifiable reductions in carbon emissions, he added.

Asif outlined a six-step roadmap for sustainable industrial transformation: factory diagnosis, problem identification, evaluation, financing, implementation and performance measurement.

He emphasised that sustainable investments should be technically feasible and financially justified through proper assessments of return on investment (ROI), internal rate of return (IRR) and payback periods.