Large halal food fair to open in NW China

The Sixth China (Qinghai) International Halal Food and Products Fair， the largest of its kind in China， will be held from July 13 to 16 in the northwestern Qinghai Province， according to a news conference on April 16.

The fair aims to provide a professional platform for industrial exchanges between Chinese and foreign enterprises of halal food and Muslim commodities. They will have cooperation opportunities in products trading， standard promotion， technology exchange and brand agent.

The exhibition will cover 30，000 square meters with 1200 standard booths. The enterprises at the fair will showcase various halal foods， food equipments and Muslim products.

Since 2007， the fair has been held five times in Qinghai Province. The previous fair of last year attracted more than 120 exhibitors from 26 foreign countries in Mid-East， South Asia and Central Asia and over 700 domestic enterprises. Some countries， including Turkey， Iran and Malaysia， set up their own national pavilions. Also， well-known corporations at home and abroad came to the fair and there were more than 150，000 visitors to the exhibition during the four days. The deal volume at this fair amounted to US$ 450million， with 130 business contracts signed by over 100 exhibitors and purchasers.

The fair， co-hosted by Qinghai， Gansu， Shaanxi and Xinjiang in northwest China and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT)， is on its way to internationalization. It is gaining more and more attention and support.

“The CCPIT will continue to support this fair by taking advantage of its close ties with business circles in Middle East， the Gulf and the ASEAN，” Yu Xiaodong， deputy secretary general of the CCPIT， told China’s Foreign Trade.

There are about 1.5 billion Muslims in the world， with 20 million in China. Data shows that in recent years the annual trade volume of halal food and products has climbed to over US$2 trillion.

However， Chinese halal food industry has to catch up in the international market and improve its recognition among foreign purchasers who do not know much about it. So far， only a few Chinese enterprises of halal food and products have taken part in international competition.

“Nowadays， there are only a few export-oriented enterprises of halal food in our province， and the exports total to only US$200 million，” Wang Xihui， president of the CCPIT Qinghai Sub-council， told China’s Foreign Trade.

Wang suggest that domestic enterprises actively seek for cooperation opportunities with foreign counterparts at the fair and try to get international certification of their halal food. Up to now， over 90 percent of the halal food enterprises in Qinghai have got the national certification.