Jenny Singer, Bord Bia Frankfurt

Nestle is the world’s leading manufacturer of Halal food with a turnover of €3.5bn  in 2008 and according to the company’s executive vice President, Frits van Dijk, there is increasing market potential for Halal products in Europe with an anticipated growth of 20-25% by 2020. The total European Halal food market is currently valued at €44bn.

Germany, with a Muslim population of around four million, has a halal market worth €4bn according to business-wissen. Within this figure, kebab meat accounts for €2.8bn of the total. The market continues to show good growth and offers potential for Irish companies, particularly in the meat sector.

As Halal slaughtering does not take place in Germany due to legal constraints, German Halal certifying bodies such as Halal Control and m-haditec do not certify German meat.

According to Das-Parlament, Holland and Denmark are two of the leading exporters of Halal meat to Germany.

Potential contacts for Irish companies with a Halal certificate that want to enter the German market include International Meat GmbH, an importer of Halal meat and Mekkafood Gmbh, a leading manufacturer of frozen Halal meat products. Mekkafood supplies to the retail and wholesale trade such as Toom Hypermarket (part of the Rewe Group) and Real (part of the Metro Group).