The first ever halal trade conference of Iran and Croatia and the Southeast Europe opened in the Iranian capital on Saturday.
The three-day event is hosted by Halal World Institute affiliated to Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA).
During the conference, the participants noted that launching direct flights between Iran and Southeast Europe can improve Iran’s access to international markets and reduce transportation costs as well.
A number of Croatian and Southeast European traders active in the areas of production and distribution of halal food and some Iranian economic activists and food producers were present in the conference.
Addressing the event, ICCIMA President Gholam Hossein Shafei expressed hope that the conference could help improve Iran’s relations with Southeast European countries.
Noting that the halal food has been one of the world's booming industries in recent years, he said that the value of world halal market is estimated to hit nearly $1 trillion by 2027.
Iran was the sixth world biggest producer of halal food in 2020 and actually no non-halal food is produced in the country, Shafei said.
He added that the food industry is Iran’s third biggest industry after refining and chemical industries.
Shafei said that Southeast countries, with a nearly 48-million population, can be a good market for Iranian food products.
In the meantime, Mohammad Raza Karbasi, the director-general of the Islamic Chamber Research and Information Center (ICRIC), said that the objective of holding this conference is to explore the trade and production potentials between Iran and Croatia and the Southeast Europe.
He noted that Iran and the Southeast Europe have to pay due attention to promotion of ties in different areas.