THE HAGUE, (Reuters Life!) – The business of selling  food that is halal, or acceptable to Muslims, is set to grow  rapidly in Europe in coming years as more supermarket chains  target the sector, a Nestle executive said yesterday.

Frits van Dijk, executive vice president at the world’s  biggest food group, told Reuters on the sidelines of the World  Halal Forum in The Hague he expected the halal food business in  Europe to grow by 20 to 25 percent within the next decade. The total European halal food market is currently valued at  about $66 billion, including meat, fresh food and packed food,  while the global market is worth about $634 billion.

“We are starting to see that these products are not just in  speciality shops but are also starting to get into the  mainstream of modern retailers,” said Van Dijk, pointing to  Britain’s Tesco and France’s Carrefour, which stock halal  goods. The halal industry is based on a belief that Muslims should  eat food and use goods such as cosmetics that are “halalan  toyibban”, which means permissible and wholesome.

Milk powder, cooking aids, seasoning and sauces are among  the most popular halal products in Europe at the moment, while  Nestle has recently started selling a range of meat-based and  frozen food halal products in France, Van Dijk said.

Nestle is the world’s leading manufacturer of halal food,  selling about 5.3 billion Swiss francs ($5.23 billion) worth of  halal food in 2008, about 5 percent of its annual revenue.

Its established halal food markets include Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey and Middle Eastern countries, while France,  Britain and Germany are emerging as its key halal markets in  Europe.
“Twenty percent of the world’s population is going to be  Muslim one day and they have expectations, they have needs,”  said Van Dijk.