Halal horizons: Japan eyes Middle East as next major emerging export market with new UAE platform

12-Sep-2024 - Last updated on 12-Sep-2024 at 05:49 GMT

Japan has earmarked the Middle East as its next major emerging market for exports. ©Getty Images

Japan has earmarked the Middle East as its next major emerging market for exports with the establishment of a specialised export platform in the UAE, banking on the rising interest in Japanese food in the region.

Japan has been on a quest to increase its food exports market since 2020 when the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) announced the establishment of the specialised Export and International Bureau to accelerate progress towards its goal of JPY2tn (US$13.7bn) by 2025 and JPY5tn (US$34.2bn) by 2030.

This has seen the implementation of various initiatives to boost exports, such as creating a set of national export and expansion guidelines back in 2022 and a specialised export support platform in Vietnam.

Most recently, MAFF has set its sights on the Middle Eastern market as its next major export opportunity and established another specialised export support platform here.

“The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market is attracting attention as an emerging market characterized by its growing population (500 million in 2023) and large young population (average age 29 years old),” MAFF said via a formal statement.

“The United Arab Emirates (UAE) in particular is a suitable base for promoting Japanese food in the Middle East region, as it attracts more tourists than the total population, is a logistics hub with some of the Middle East's leading ports and airports, and is frequently host to large-scale exhibitions.

“We have chosen to establish an export support platform in the UAE as of August 2024, as we see this as an important emerging market where the platform will play a central role in further promoting exports in the country.

“Recent years have seen interest in Japanese food growing in the UAE and exports of agrifood products from Japan having more than doubled over the past five years, reaching approximately JPY8.8bn (US$60.2mn) as of 2023.”

One of the major challenges that the support platform is expected to help Japanese food businesses with is the navigation of halal requirements, given the importance of this in the region.

“In the Islamic Middle East, it is necessary to comply with halal regulations [so one of the UAE Support Platform’s major roles] will be to provide information related to food exports such as the halal process and requirements, market characteristics and trends and so on,” MAFF added.

“The UAE has a diverse food culture based on the diverse nationalities of the people, so it is also important to expand the use of Japanese food products beyond just Japanese cuisine, but also into the cuisines of various countries.

“We will also provide support for developing local sales channels and improving the business environment, such as ensuring compliance with regulations, lobbying local governments and so on.”

Local focus

The platform is also expected to function as a public-private partnership to maximise effectiveness.

“The Export Support Platform is a framework whose main members are Japanese External Trade Organisations (JETRO) overseas offices and diplomatic missions [and] Japanese food-related businesses operating in overseas markets,” said the ministry.

“The main aim is to give a locally-driven perspective for businesses exporting into the UAE, and use a public-private partnership model to help businesses across the food, agriculture, forestry and fishery industries.”