PART of Penang Port will be turned into a halal section with halal concept facilities by mid-October.
State Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Abdul Malik Abul Kassim said yesterday the Penang Port was discussing with a Syariah compliance logistics company plans to brand Penang as a halal port.
“The Penang Port has already obtained the Syariah family compliance approval in May.
“The state is now having direct discussions with the Rotterdam Port in Holland and with other related logistics companies,” he said.
Abdul Malik said although Penang Port had allocated certain portions of the port area to be turned into a halal port, the areas would be expanded progressively depending on the demand for halal shipments.
“The state will also embark on a drive to create awareness among exporters on the port halal facilities to enable them to trace where the raw materials were obtained from, their packaging and the company used to transport the products,” he said.
He added that once operational, the halal port could take advantage of the opportunites provided by the halal industry in southern Thailand.
Halal products from southern Thailand are currently being exported via Bangkok.
Abdul Malik said the halal port in Penang would be similar to the one in Rotterdam.
It will have cold room facilities, storage areas and other related facilities to store halal products.
He said the state would look into tapping the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMTGT) to attract investors for the halal industry.
“The state is keen to take advantage of the growing US trillion-dollar halal products industry worldwide,” he said.
By : The Star Online
