The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states recorded a trade deficit of $63 billion for halal economy products in 2021, covering food, fashion, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, according to the latest OIC economy report.
The report said halal product exports last year were to the tune of $275 billion, lower than the imports which totaled $338 billion.
Only 18 percent of these imports were sourced intra-OIC.
The report, commissioned by the Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT) and produced by DinarStandard, a US-based research and advisory firm, was launched in Istanbul on Tuesday at an event attended by ministers of OIC member countries, and representatives from OIC organs.
“For close to four decades, ICDT has strived to facilitate trade and investments across OIC countries by promoting halal economy products and services by developing partnerships and strategic alliances between stakeholders of member states,” said Latifa El Bouabdellaoui, Director General, ICDT.
She said with this report, ICFT was aiming to inspire and empower OIC countries to act cohesively, promote inclusive growth and increase the OIC’s share in the halal trade and investments ecosystem.
While OIC countries were import reliant for the food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics sectors, they were net exporters of apparel and footwear products, having exported products worth $101.94 billion in 2021.
The imports last year were at $34.96 billion, resulting in a positive trade balance of $66.98 billion.
In terms of investments, OIC member states received a total of 180 investments across eight sectors of the halal economy, with 120 disclosed deals worth $7.9 billion in 2021.
Driving OIC member countries’ opportunity in halal trade and investments is its halal lifestyle consumer demand, estimated at $1.7 trillion in 2021, accounting for 79 percent of the global spend at $2.1 trillion.
Muslim spend on food by consumers in OIC countries, estimated at $1.07 trillion in 2021, is predicted to reach $1.5 trillion by 2026.
Islamic finance assets in OIC countries were worth $3.32 trillion in 2020 and are forecast to reach $4.82 trillion by 2025.
OIC member countries made up six of the top 10 global markets for Muslim consumer spend on media and recreation in 2021, with spending estimated at $141 billion. This is projected to reach $231 billion by 2026.
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