Halal market in Canada is expanding fast
For Alberta’s Department of Agriculture, halal economic opportunities have become a major focus in the last years, informs Edmonton Journal.
Alberta beef industry provides almost 75% of nation’s steaks and now it is a good time to invest in a niche market, like halal, as long as it seems to be expanding at a fast pace, consider Grant Winton, head of Asia, Middle East and Africa international
relations division in Alberta’s Department of Agriculture.
Last year, two information sessions to outline halal opportunities gathered around 100 local producers interest to obtain a
compliance certificate. “Alberta producers and processors are business people who want to sell their product. There are and we
want to access them”, said Winton.
For now, the biggest hurdle seems to be the cost of getting a halal-compliant business according to all the requirements of the
Islamic law. It also has to apply to Alberta regulations for halal plants. The first exclusive halal slaughterhouse in the region was
opened last year nearby Edmonton. Alberta Bros. Meat Packers is processing beef, elk, goat, lamb and bison and the associates
want to obtain the federal plant certification in order to export some of their products. 25 years ago, in Edmonton, there were only two halal butchers. Now there are 25 of them. Halal products are seen in the supermarkets and there are new halal restaurants opening in the city, Imad Kaddoura, chairman of Awqaf Foundation explained.
“Whenever there’s a huge demand for certain products or industry, suppliers step in to satisfy that demand. If Alberta embraces
this - and they will - then… you have a booming industry”, predicts Kaddoura.
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