The 8th annual international Moscow Halal Expo exhibition took place on 16-18 November in Sokolniki Exhibition and Convention Centre. It brought together manufacturers, suppliers, buyers and consumers of halal products and services from different regions of Russia and 40 countries, experts in halal certification and Islamic finance, religious leaders, government officials and consumers who care about the quality and eco-friendliness of the products they buy. Among the exhibitors there were companies from 12 countries: Russia, Azerbaijan, Brunei, Egypt, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Malaysia, Syria, USA, Turkey, Uzbekistan.
As in previous years, the visitors could find a wide range of halal goods and services, but this time the organizers focused on the business programme. As a result, many companies found new partners or discovered new dimensions for their business development, which is important for the growth and promotion of halal consumption culture on the Russian and global markets.
After the opening ceremony the Exhibition organizer, Kirill Skogorev (general director of Alif Consult LLC) gave a tour of the Exhibition for the special guests.

Products and services presented at Halal Expo 2017
For the first time the Exhibition was divided into two sections: Halal Food Salon and LifeStyle Salon. The Halal Food Salon brought together the manufacturers and suppliers of food products, including meat and sausage products from different regions of Russia and Azerbaijan — Argunskiy meat processing plant, Rayan from Kabardino-Balkariya, Ravis from the Chelyabinsk region, Safa and Optimum companies from Moscow, poultry and poultry products from different Russian regions — an-Noor brand by the Resurs company, poultry products and eggs by Roskar, products of Krasnobor, Ravis and Dary Podvorya, semi-finished meat products under Kazan, Payim, Safa and other brands, canned products of the Standart meat-processing plant from Kurgan, Safa and Rahmat Bio from Uzbekistan, dairy products of Beliy Medved and Lider A from the Chechen Republic, eco-products from Bashkortostan, Altay and Uzbekistan, different kinds of dates from Saudi Arabia, sauces by Kuhmaster and Asar, spices under the Allori brand, directly pressed oils from by El Baraka, baby food by Lider A and Habibi from Morocco, fish products and caviar by Kamchadal, urbech under the Multinuts brand, natural pectin-based fruit jelly of Marmeladnaya Skazka from the Tver region, Al Amira flour from the Stoylanskaya Niva company, yeast by Saf Neva, and even Korean candies and chips. Companies from Indonesia and Brunei presented a wide range of halal products, from beverages to snacks and spices. The Foodupak company offered the participants packaging according to halal standards.

The LifeStyleSalon included companies and projects offering non-food products and services. The guests and participants could become acquainted with the educational projects of the Medina Academy and the Islamic college of the Moscow region, numerous halal cosmetics brands (East Nights, Alpika, Halal’ Cosmetics, Maya Cosmetics, Baraka, Ayurveda, Dinara Sabun, Mekka Shop, Musafir etc), gifts for Muslim - prayer mats under the Albustan, MyPrayer and Sajda brands, gifts and stationary for Muslims offered by the HalalBox projects, books by Islamskaya Kniga, Alif, Dilya and Harun Yahya publishing houses, children’s products under Alif, al-Qalam, Tilmiz brands, including newly-designed children’s robots based on electronic technologies — BestBusyBoard. Fashion solutions for Muslims were presented by ByShafi and Chubaruk brands, as well as Dr Jeans from Malaysia. There were books of the ifexpert.ru publishing house available for those interested in advanced training in the field of Islamic business and finance. Oleg Shadksiy’s Centre offered different kinds of spine therapy. The UmmaJobs company came up with solutions for employers and employees. Several Syrian companies presented artisanal products.

The services sector also featured the Halwa Halal instalment card by Sovkombank, Alif TV channel and halal tourism offers.
Charity projects were also present — Zakyat charity foundation under the Religious Board of Muslims of Russia and the Dom Dobroty project also demonstrated their programmes.
The IslamicDecor company exhibited unique paintings featuring Islamic calligraphy.

Can Russia develop halal tourism?
Halal tourism is one of the halal market segments requiring special attention. Riyanto Sofyan, the head of the Team for Accelerated Development of Halal Tourism of the Ministry of Tourism of Indonesia, expert in halal tourism, spoke about prospects, programmes and challenges of halal tourism development:
“Halal tourism is actively developing, and we see a considerable tourist flow from European countries, with Russia being the leader. This is why we decided to attend the Halal Expo exhibition in Moscow and to demonstrate that Indonesia is ready to receive Muslim tourists from Russia.
On the whole, halal tourism in Indonesia is not much different from conventional tourism, since we abide by Islamic laws. For example, all food products in hotels and local shops are certified, it is easy to find a place to pray, and people spend their vacation in a halal way. There are over 800 000 mosques in Indonesia, and halal is really a lifestyle for us”.
The Ministry of Tourism of Indonesia is currently conducting research together with DinarStandard to find out how interested Muslim tourists from Russia (whose number is about 25 mln) are in halal tourism.

Russian halal products to be exported to Gulf countries
Apart from sending tourists, the Russian halal market is also interested in exporting its products abroad. Ossama Emam, marketing director of the RACS company, spoke about the procedure of obtaining a foreign halal certificate during a session devoted to export certification for UAE, Gulf countries and the Middle East. The expert noted that RACS had already started working on certification of Russian halal producers together with the Alif Consult company.
A roundtable discussion on false marketing in the halal field also took place within the framework of the Exhibition. The speakers discussed problems caused by the attitude of some unscrupulous market players and unfair competition, which also includes certification institutions. The discussion participants noted that the market needed a proper dialogues and a civilized approach for more efficient functioning. Timur Shangareyev, advisor of the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Bashkortostan, Kirill Skogorev, general director of Alif Consult LLC, Ossama Emam, marketing director of RACS, Pavel Mamonov, head of the Foodmarkets project, representatives of halal certification institutions, manufacturers of halal products and services and media representatives took part in the discussion.

Roza Deberdeyeva, director of the Private Label exhibition, and Pavel Mamonov, head of Foodmarkets, conducted a seminar about packaging, branding and marketing for the companies willing to expand through proper positioning of their products in large retail chains. The brandologist Artem Kashehlebov delivered a presentation where he demonstrated how one should position a product and develop creative messages, spoke about the brand elements and cited interesting examples from well-known companies.
Multilevel marketing and cryptocurrency from the perspective of shariah
A seminar on shariah aspects of doing business, multilevel marketing and cryptocurrency, which took place on the third day of the Exhibition, attracted many visitors. Murad Aliskerov, general director of LaRiba-Finanse, explained based on his own experience why multilevel marketing was dangerous and demonstrated some unjustified pieces of information spread by such companies. Bulat Mulyukov, an expert in property relations, spoke about shariah aspects of this system and mentioned specific features of working with cryptocurrencies according to Islamic principles. The subject elicited a response from the audience and led to numerous questions and comments. The time allowed for the discussion was not enough to treat all questions, therefore it was suggested to continue the discussion later in a different format.

Madina Kalimullina, managing partner of Alif Consult LLC, said in an interview to “Vestnik Kavkaza” portal:
“In 2009 there were no Islamic financial companies in Russia, and today there are quite a few of them, they are functioning and signing contracts. There has been a significant development over these eight years. Although we don’t have laws defining operational procedures for Islamic banks, a special group under the Central Bank if Russia and an expert council under the State Duma have been working on it. Russia has started seriously considering alternative financial sources. Today the state has officially recognized the term “partnership banking”, which can be used to describe Islamic banking. It is important, since the functioning of any financial tool starts with its recognition, even if under a different name”.

An-Noor brand by Resurs, Alokozay and Allori chosen best halal products of the year 2017
Throughout the Exhibition the participating companies presented their products and services, and a contest for the best halal product of the year took place in the workshop area. This year visitors could vote for the first time, as consumers can decide better which product they like the most.
The contest results were announced at the closing ceremony of the Exhibition.
In the “Meat Novelty” nomination the prize went to the agricultural group of companies “Resurs”. The company is one of the biggest manufacturers of halal poultry in Russia. The products under the Alokozay brand were considered the best in the “I’ll have it with tea” nomination. The results of voting for the “That’s what I needed” nomination showed that consumers needed halal ingredients, sauces and spices the most. In this nomination the visitors gave preference to Allori — a manufacturer of spices certified according to halal standards. The contest took place in partnership with the Halmart retail chain. The prize was presented by Kirill Skogorev, director of the Exhibition, and Hizir Ortskhanov, general director of HalMart.

Optimum (Ekol brand) chosen the best halal company of the year 2017
The results of the contest for the best halal company of the year were also announced during the exhibition. Optimum, the owner of the Ekol brand, was selected the best halal company of the year 2017. This brand offers beef, lamb, poultry and sausage products. The company is expanding its presence on the market and has a reputation of a reliable supplier and a good partner. It is currently considering the opportunities for exporting its products and working in the Islamic investment market.

During the closing ceremony the partners and special guests of the Exhibitions received letters of recognition. The organizers are planning to develop the business dimension of the Exhibition. The participants have already started applying for the Exhibition, which will take place on 20-22 March 2018 in the Sokolniki Exhibition and Convention Centre. According to organizers, in 2018 the Halal Expo exhibition will also be held in other regions of Russia.

Source:mhe.su