Bangladesh Businesses Target $5.2 Trillion Global Halal Market With Dedicated Authority

🌏 Business leaders have called for a dedicated authority to streamline certification, testing and other facilities for halal food products with a view to capturing a larger share of the global halal market, which is estimated at $5.2 trillion. The Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) has proposed forming a Bangladesh Halal Development Authority to coordinate certification and other activities related to the sector.

📊 The chamber has also recommended internationally recognised halal certification, accredited testing laboratories, skilled manpower development, and mutual recognition agreements with major halal markets. The recommendations were submitted to the prime minister on 14 August as part of a policy guideline prepared after consultations with agro-product producers, business associations and government and private-sector stakeholders. The recommendations have also been sent to the relevant ministers, secretaries and heads of government agencies, BCI said.

💰 $5.2 Trillion Market Opportunity

The chamber sees significant opportunities in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe and North America, where demand for halal products is growing among the nearly 2 billion Muslims worldwide as well as among non-Muslim consumers. Several Bangladeshi companies, including PRAN Group, Bengal Meat Processing, Akij, Square, Golden Harvest and Ahmadullah Agro Foods, are already exporting halal products. Most of the country's halal export activity, however, has emerged through individual private-sector initiatives rather than a coordinated national strategy.

• 💰 Global halal market size: $5.2 trillion
• 👥 Global Muslim population: ~2 billion
• 📍 Target markets: Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe, North America
• 🏛 Proposed: Bangladesh Halal Development Authority
• 📜 Certification since: 2007 (Islamic Foundation, BSTI since 2022)
• 📜 Mutual recognition targets: Malaysia, Indonesia, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar
• 📅 Policy submitted to PM: August 14, 2026

⚠ Fragmented Certification Holding Back Exports

Formal halal certification in Bangladesh began in 2007. The Islamic Foundation has been issuing halal certificates with assistance from Malaysia's JAKIM since 2011, while the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) has also been providing halal certification since 2022 under OIC-SMIIC standards. BCI argues that the absence of a single, internationally recognised authority is creating difficulties for exporters.

The dual certification system — Islamic Foundation and BSTI both issuing halal certificates — creates confusion for international buyers who may not recognise both authorities. The lack of a unified national authority also means that mutual recognition agreements with importing countries cannot be negotiated efficiently, as counterpart authorities in target markets typically prefer to deal with a single designated national halal authority.

📜 Mutual Recognition Agreements Proposed

The chamber further recommended mutual recognition agreements with potential markets including Malaysia, Indonesia, the Maldives, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Technical assistance could also be sought from relevant authorities in Malaysia, Indonesia, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, as well as OIC-SMIIC, to improve Bangladesh's halal production and certification capacity. Mutual recognition agreements would allow halal certificates issued in Bangladesh to be automatically accepted by importing countries — eliminating the need for re-certification at destination, which adds cost and delay to export shipments.

💰 International Buyers Demand Traceability

Bengal Meat Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Asif said international buyers increasingly wanted traceability throughout the production process rather than merely a halal logo on the packaging. "They want information from the birth and rearing of an animal to its slaughter and packaging," he said. For meat products, buyers may seek information on the animal's origin, feed, vaccination, health checks, slaughtering and processing. This means halal compliance is increasingly linked with quality, food safety, traceability and transparency.

BCI said international halal buyers are becoming more demanding, with major markets increasingly requiring evidence that standards are maintained at every stage of production. The traceability requirement reflects a global trend in food safety regulation — where halal compliance is increasingly integrated with broader food safety, quality management and supply chain transparency standards rather than being treated as a standalone religious certification.

💵 Testing Laboratory Shortage

Kamruzzaman Kamal, director of PRAN Group, said the shortage of internationally accredited laboratories was making it difficult for Bangladeshi exporters to obtain the certificates required by overseas markets. This can increase testing costs and delay shipments, reducing the competitiveness of Bangladeshi products. BCI Director and Easy Food Chairman Zia Haider also raised concerns over the existing certification process, alleging that applicants are sometimes asked to provide vehicles and additional payments for certification-related services.

The laboratory shortage is a structural constraint that affects not only halal certification but broader food export competitiveness. Without internationally accredited testing capacity in Bangladesh, exporters must send samples to laboratories in Malaysia, Thailand or the UAE for testing — adding weeks to the certification process and significantly increasing costs. Investment in domestic accredited laboratory capacity would reduce both the time and cost of halal certification, improving export competitiveness.

🌏 Strategic Context For Bangladesh's Export Diversification

For Bangladesh's broader export diversification agenda, the halal market represents one of the most promising non-RMG export opportunities. The country's agricultural base, growing food processing industry, and Muslim-majority population provide natural advantages in halal production. However, capturing a meaningful share of the $5.2 trillion market requires the kind of coordinated national strategy that BCI is proposing — rather than the fragmented, company-by-company approach that has characterised Bangladesh's halal exports to date.

The proposed Halal Development Authority, if established with adequate regulatory authority and operational capacity, could transform Bangladesh's halal export trajectory. By unifying certification, negotiating mutual recognition agreements, building testing laboratory capacity, and coordinating market development activities, the authority could create the institutional infrastructure needed to scale halal exports from the current modest base to a meaningful contributor to Bangladesh's post-LDC graduation export portfolio.

The coming months will reveal whether the government takes up BCI's proposal and establishes the Halal Development Authority — or whether the halal market opportunity remains another case of unrealised export diversification potential in Bangladesh's economic development trajectory.