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By Katrina Mennen A. Valdez, Reporter
THE Philippine unit of Unilever said it is set
to export Halal food to the Middle East and other Muslim countries.
Alfredo C. Franco, Unilever Philippines vice
president for supply chain, told The Manila Times that the
multinational firm is in talks with the Muslim Mindanao Halal
Certification Board to meet the requirements of this market.
The local certification board is being honored
in the Middle East, Franco said.
“Apart from making [our] food products Halal-certified,
[this is] also one way for growing health- conscious consumers,”
he said.
Once certified, the initial products that will
be offered to the Middle East will be the mayonnaise-based segment
under Lady’s Choice dressings and sandwich spreads.
“Right from the very start, Unilever’s
mayonnaise products are very healthy and of quality, since it is
made from pure soya oil and other fresh ingredients,” Franco said.
Unilever has a state-of-the-art mayonnaise plant
in Cavite province. The facility has yet to reach its maximum
capacity, so the company wants to maximize this opportunity to
export food products for Muslim consumers all over the world.
There are 10 million Muslims in the country but
the requirements for Halal products across the globe are estimated
to be more than $200 billion a year.
Based on the United Nations’ data and Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) Factbook, Muslim consumers account for 25
percent of the world’s population. There are about 1.5 billion
Muslims in seven regions of 112 countries all over the world, and
the number is projected to grow at an average of three percent every
year. The CIA Factbook projected that by 2010, the Muslim population
will increase to 3.2 billion.
Unilever Philippines exports deodorants and food
flavorings under the Knorr brand all over the world.
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