Chinese Muslims develop halal industry

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Chinese Muslims have announced plans to develop halal industries to accommodate not just the needs of fellow Chinese Muslims in China but also Muslims in other countries.“We have more than 10,000 factories, restaurants with halal-certified foods and beverages,” said Wang Shengjun, the Halal Food Commission chief of the Ningxia province, as quoted by antara.com.Ningxia, a province that has gained autonomy since 1958, is well known for its Muslim Hui ethnicity, which is the dominant ethnicity among the 35 Chinese ethnic groups found in the province. Wang said the province’s halal industry had a laboratory that used some of the most advanced technology in China, with 15 experts and 300 staffers. The halal product industry in Ningxia is currently worth up to 50 million RMB (Rp 70 billion).Wang also said the local halal industry was working with other halal industries abroad.“We have cooperated with halal industries in Saudi Arabia, Qatar,Egypt and Malaysia on a reciprocal basis,” he said.He added that that the Chinese halal industry planned to cooperate with its Indonesian counterparts soon./129