The 18th edition of the Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) 2022, organised by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), under the patronage of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), once again delivered a record-breaking showcase, generating a total of RM2.36 billion in sales, surpassing its original target of RM1.9 billion.
Of the total, exhibitors’ sales recorded RM1.65 billion from the showcase, while RM714.7 million was generated from the International Sourcing Programme (INSP), comprising pre arranged B2B meetings conducted physically and virtually in conjunction with MIHAS 2022. Top clusters with the highest total sales recorded was by financial services, agricultural produce, prepared food, beverages as well as palm oil products.
INSP MIHAS, held in conjunction with MIHAS 2022, was organised in a hybrid approach. A total of 264 Malaysian exporters and 192 foreign buyers from 33 countries participated in the physical INSP while 226 Malaysian exporters and 197 foreign buyers from 48 countries participated in the virtual INSP. Five premium buyers from India, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and USA were also brought in physically to meet with Malaysian exporters. A total sales amounting to RM714.70 million was recorded, comprising of RM650.22 million from the physical INSP and RM64.48 million from the virtual INSP.
“Through MIHAS, MATRADE continues to fortify Malaysia as the heart of the global Halal hub. This year, MIHAS was indeed bigger and better thanks to our hybrid approach. Moving forward, we encourage the business community, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to think regional or international even if they are newly established. Businesses must realise the vast opportunities available in the international halal market and make a move to capitalise on them. MATRADE is ready to assist Malaysian exporters to tap into the opportunities of global Islamic economy, which is estimated to reach USD2.8 trillion by 2025,” said MATRADE CEO, YBhg. Datuk Mohd Mustafa Abdul Aziz.
Following the success of MIHAS 2022, MATRADE announced that next year’s edition of the world’s largest Halal showcase, MIHAS 2023, will be held from 12 to 15 September 2023 at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC). YBhg. Datuk Mohd Mustafa Abdul Aziz said that close to 400 booths had already been reserved by this year’s exhibitors.
MIHAS 2022 comprised four key components namely, the showcase, INSP, Knowledge Hub and the MIHAS Awards.
The MIHAS 2022 showcase witnessed strong participation by industry players from 33 countries including Malaysia with an overall total of 1,258 booths occupied throughout the four-day exhibition from 7 to 10 September 2022. Of this total, Malaysian exhibitors occupied 1,049 (83.4%) of total booths while the remaining 209 (16.6%) booths were by international
exhibitors. Countries with large representation were Kuwait (33 booths), Indonesia (24 booths), Thailand (24 booths), South Africa (19 booths) and Palestine (14 booths).
The total number of visitors stood at 32,356, comprising of 20,334 physical attendees and 12,022 virtual attendees. YBhg. Datuk Mohd Mustafa Abdul Aziz further explained that the support from the business community was overwhelming because of MATRADE’s decision to organise the 18th edition of the event (MIHAS 2022) in a hybrid format, offering both physical and virtual approaches following the achievements of virtual MIHAS 2021. “The outcomes surpassed our initial targets and MIHAS 2022 was the best edition held to-date. While many were looking forward to the physical showcase, the outcome of virtual engagements was also promising, with close to 40% of total visitors attending the event virtually,” he said.
Complementing the networking aspect of MIHAS, the knowledge sharing component housed under the Knowledge Hub programme generated interest and participation of more than 1,500 delegates. Participants were represented by both Malaysian and international businesses across various Halal industry clusters. A total of five Knowledge Hub sessions were organised by MATRADE which focused in providing insights on trends, market access and sourcing requirements through direct engagements with premium buyers brought in physically to MIHAS 2022.
Following winning the World Trade Promotion Organizations (WTPO) Award last year, MATRADE has intensified is digitalisation efforts with the launch of a virtual learning platform, MATRADE Digital Learning (MDL). The platform was officiated by YAB Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob during MIHAS 2022. The MDL platform is one of the efforts of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and MATRADE to improve the knowledge and skills of Malaysian companies, including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in building their export competency. “The MDL platform was developed to prepare SMEs for the international market and subsequently strengthen their level of competitiveness at the global level,” YBhg. Datuk Mohd Mustafa Abdul Aziz said.
The prestigious MIHAS Awards returned this year. In addition to the participation of local companies, submission from international companies were also accepted including exhibitors from Kuwait, Indonesia, Thailand, South Africa, Palestine and United Arab Emirates (UAE). The awards were presented to 15 winners under four categories which celebrate the spirit of innovation and creativity presented in the form of products, services, exhibition booth designs and social media platforms dedicated to promote the Halal economy.
MATRADE encourages more Malaysian companies to seek the benefits of its wide-ranging programmes designed to boost exports. For more information on export promotions, exporters’ development programmes and other export-related advisory, kindly contact MATRADE offices, social media channels or visit www.matrade.gov.my.
Interested exhibitors for MIHAS 2023 can contact Mr. Yuhanis Abdul Latif at yuhanis@qube.com.my or +6019-9606535 for more information and early bird promotions.