30% of halal products in Kazakhstan contain pork, reports the Ministry of Health

In Kazakhstan, about a third of products labeled “halal” were found to contain pork. Official data from the Ministry of HEALTH showed that out of 1,406 samples collected from 2015 to 2022, pork components were detected in 506 samples. 

In Kazakhstan, about 36% of products labeled as halal contained traces of pork. This follows data from the Ministry of Health, which shows that 506 of 1,406 samples taken between 2015 and 2022 contained pork components. At today’s press conference at the Central Communications Service under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the topic: “Development of Halal infrastructure in Kazakhstan,” this was announced by the Chairman of the Committee for Technical Regulation and Metrology of the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kuanysh Elikbaev.

“THIS YEAR THERE ARE NO CASES OF FALSIFIED LABELING OR INCONFORMITY OF CERTIFICATION. HOWEVER, AS OFFICIAL DATA OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH SHOW, FROM 2015 TO 2022, OF THE 1,406 SAMPLES TAKEN, ABOUT 506 WERE FOUND POSITIVE FOR UNIDENTIFIED PORK COMPONENTS,” NOTED THE HEAD OF THE COMMITTEE.

Elikbaev emphasized that the global market for halal products is estimated at between 1.5 and 2.2 billion dollars, with an optimistic forecast of its growth to 4.1 billion dollars by 2028, which is an increase of 10-15% every year.

“THE REASON FOR THE EXPANSION OF THE GLOBAL MARKET FOR HALAL PRODUCTS IS NOT ONLY THE GROWTH OF THE MUSLIM POPULATION, WHICH IS CURRENTLY ESTIMATED FROM 1.8 TO 2 BILLION PEOPLE, THAT IS A QUARTER OF THE TOTAL POPULATION OF THE EARTH, BUT ALSO ISLAMIC FINANCIAL A SYSTEM WITH ASSETS IN THE WORLD ESTIMATED AT $4 TRILLION , AND it IS PROJECTED THAT BY 2026 THEY WILL AMOUNT 6 TRILLION,” KUANYSH ELIKBAEV Stressed.

In addition, halal products are regarded by consumers as a product that has undergone additional testing and thorough certification, and therefore is worthy of trust.

“Globally, spending on halal foodaccount for 17% of all consumer spending, that is, every sixth tenge in Kazakhstan is spent on such products. In total, more than 4,000 producers in Kazakhstan can obtain halal labeling. This includes everything from the food industry to textiles. According to experts, today 70-75% of MEAT, semi-finished products, processed products and 65% of the main market of goods and services are already identified as halal. Thus, production increases.”

Statistics confirm the high performance of Kazakhstan's exports. In the first half of 2023, Kazakhstan saturated foreign markets with meat and meat products worth $83 million.

“AT THE SAME TIME, EXPORTS OF ANIMAL AND PLANT PRODUCTS, AS WELL AS READY FOOD PRODUCTS, REACHED 2.7 BILLION DOLLARS, WHICH IS 122 MILLION MORE DURING THIS PERIOD. CONSIDERING CONTINUING GLOBAL DEMAND, GROWING INTEREST IN HALAL PRODUCTS, GREAT EXPORT POTENTIAL OF KAZAKHSTAN COMPANIES AND EXPANDING TRADE OPPORTUNITIES, KAZAKHSTAN IS ACTIVELY WORKING TO IMPROVE HALAL INFRASTRUCTURE,” Stressed the CHAIRMAN OF THE TECHNICAL REGULATION COMMITTEE.