Canada hopes to feed demand for halal food

<a href=biz.thestar.com.my>thestar.com.my By HAH FOONG LIAN

THE United States has predominantly been a big market for Canada, but the latter is now looking at other countries especially in South-East Asia, including Malaysia, to export their agri-food products. In their effort, some Canadian producers are even exploring the Muslim food market, a venture that will inevitably raise the matter of halal certification.  

Some of the producers are confident that they will be able to meet that expectation, though. John Ross, assistant director of red meat section (marketing and industry services branch of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada), said Canadian producers were now learning to better segment the market place, including ensuring that beef exported to Muslim countries are certified as halal. 

Interviewed during the recent Sial Montreal, the second North American Edition of the International Food, Beverage, Wine and Spirits Exhibition, Ross said Canada was beginning to look at the production of halal beef due to its immigrant population and the Islamic Society of North America would look into the certification. 

Canada, he said, had a track record of producing halal beef for Toronto. It later expanded its market to New York to serve the large Muslim community there. 

Ross said about 20% of Canadian beef exported to other countries were halal, and it is also being exported to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia and even Malaysia, which was Canada’s 24th largest export market for agri-food products. 

As different countries may have their individual requirements, the importing countries will determine the halal certification, Ross said. 

On Canada’s beef production, Ross said there were 100,000 producers in the country, with the top 20% accounting for some 80% of production. Sixty per cent of the beef produced are exported in the form of fresh and frozen meat. The US takes up 75% of the exported products. 

Canadian cattle, said Ross, are fed on grains for 120 days, which results in high quality grain-fed beef which were a little lighter, sweeter and more tender. 

The Sial Montreal saw the attendance of 686 exhibitors from 37 countries during the exhibition held from April 2 to April 4. 

Over 12,000 visitors, who included professionals from the food sector and buyers from 80 countries, attended the fair to engage in networking activities and enter into profitable trade negotiations. 

Apart from exporting halal beef, Canadian producers are also looking at international markets for halal French fries. 

One company that is confident of meeting the halal certification for this product is French fries producer St-Michel Arneault Inc. 

The company is looking at selling its halal French fries in Malaysia by starting a halal certification, said its export director, Bruno Lanoie. “We can get the Islamic authorities from importing countries to come and certify our production,” he said, adding that the company preferred to work on a bigger consumer base where it would accept orders of one or two containers. One container can accommodate between 20,000kg and 22,000kg of French fries.  

“Our selling point is that we are a small company and one of our specialties is to make labelling. We also cater to retailers who cannot get their supply (of French fries) from the bigger boys,” Lanoie said. 

Between 6% and 65% of the company’s products are for the export market, which comprises French Polynesia, Mexico, Caribbean Island, Venezuela, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, and Hong Kong.  

Established 30 years ago, the company hires between 60 and 65 workers and makes about US$30mil (RM115mil) year in sales. 

Halal lamb is another product that Canadian producers are keen to sell. 

Dave Fiddler, marketing manager of Canadian Prairie Lamb, said the company had sold halal lamb to Eastern Canada. It began selling processed lamb products last June to restaurants and hotels. 

Fiddler said the company’s processed products consisted of the legs and shoulders of lamb. Partly processed, the lamb products were convenient since they just needed to be heated up, he said. 

The two-year-old company has a slaughter facility, which has the capacity to slaughter 2,000 lambs a week, in Alberta while its manufacturing plant is in Saskatchewan. 

With the producers brimming with optimism, it might not be long before we see the produce section of our supermarkets filled with halal products from Canada.