Taiwanese Businesses Enter the Halal Market Via Malaysia

Taiwanese food producers are vying for halal certification as they try to expand their overseas markets, starting with Malaysia.

Transcript

00:00From local Malay food to Indian rice dishes and Chinese noodle soups, Malaysia is a heaven

00:16for foodies with diverse palates.

00:18And for over 64% of the local population, it's important that that food is halal, meaning

00:23prepared according to Islamic law.

00:29Over 20 million Malaysians are Muslim and follow a set of ethical practices that include

00:34avoiding products that may have come into contact with pork and alcohol.

00:39Now foreign food vendors hoping to penetrate the Malaysian market are changing their menus

00:43to suit that requirement.

00:45Like this Taiwanese coffee shop, which just opened its first location in Malaysia.

00:59That's caused some major changes for their brand.

01:10But everything on the menu here in Kuala Lumpur is completely different from the menu in Taiwan.

01:15For example, this coconut milk latte and this coconut pandan cake, known as onde onde, are

01:21all made to suit Malaysian tastes.

01:23And part of that is making sure everything is halal.

01:26The first step is finding halal-certified suppliers for raw materials like coffee beans

01:31and sugar, who do not use alcohol for disinfection or for preservatives.

01:35And this cafe has found a partner in Taiwan's first halal-certified sugar company that's

01:40here in Malaysia participating in the world's biggest halal trade fair.

01:44This sugar company spent over a year completely changing their production processes to meet

01:48halal guidelines, making sure the winter melon and sugar production processes are suitably

01:53clean for Muslim consumption, accruing over 50,000 U.S. dollars in fees for the adjustments.

02:00The end product?

02:01These halal-certified winter melon tea bricks, a transportable, ready-to-brew Taiwanese staple.

02:06It's really a Taiwan team, Team Taiwan, that we can come together and then to spread this

02:16authentic traditional beverage to the world.

02:22Taiwan is considered one of the most halal-friendly countries in East Asia, and Taiwanese businesses

02:26like these are adapting what they offer to make their customers feel more welcome.

02:31According to the Taiwan Halal Center, more and more Taiwanese companies are applying

02:34for halal certification and looking to expand their markets abroad.

02:38Taiwan's current halal certification companies have increased from over 700 in 2017 to over

02:441,000.

02:45And Malaysia is eager to play host to these companies by holding trade fairs that match

03:09foreign vendors with local partners.

03:12Of course, they want to look for markets here in Malaysia, but beyond that, they also

03:16want to look at the neighboring countries' markets, ASEAN markets.

03:21ASEAN, with 10 countries, has close to nearly 700 million population, with gross domestic

03:32product of nearly 4 trillion U.S. dollars.

03:36As Taiwan diversifies its trade away from China and looks south, Malaysia and its halal

03:41markets may be just what it needs in a steady economic partner in the region.

03:45Patrick Chen and Tiffany Wong in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for Taiwan Plus.