The Halal industry might seem like a new market to many but not for Prima Agri-Products Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian owned company which has been in the delicatessen food business for the past 15 years.
Prima’s signature product, which happens to be the favourite of many, is Malaysia’s very own delicacy, sate. This tasty meal of skewered chicken uses a secret recipe of blended local herbs and spices, and comes with its very own peanut sauce. Prima has a data bank of over 500 tested and proven Halal food products, one hundred of which are propriety items belonging to international fast food chains and restaurants.
It has successfully developed Prima, Baguz and Le Sate Mas brands for institutional and retail markets both domestic and overseas. This is made possible because of Prima’s breakthrough in food processing technology from intensive research and development. In the process, Prima has managed to restructure and substitute non-Halal raw materials without sacrificing taste and texture.
This extensive range of quality Halal products has put Prima on the A list of the Halal food industry, and they now have niche markets all over the world. One can easily get Halal clod cuts, Halal gourmet sausages, Halal pizza with pepperoni and Halal sate in London, Paris, Frankfurt and Hong Kong.
The company, established in 1987, is a true blue success story. Its future plans are geared towards widening their horizons and spreading their wings – in a nutshell, expanding the business. To accommodate the tremendous increase in demand, Prima is developing a 40 hectare site in Gambang near Kuantan, Pahang, into the Prima Halal Food Park. The park is to increase production from the current 25 metric tonne (mt) per day to 230 mt per day. The food park is one of the Halal food parks endorsed by the Agriculture Ministry.
Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin welcomed the Prima Halal Food Park saying that Malaysia needed more of such ventures. “The Halal industry is a big market so more focus should be given to it. Malaysia has a good location and we are well structured globally, this should be taken advantage of.
“Prima has been bold enough to venture into the industry in a big scale. They must ensure that they keep up the excellent quality of all products,” Muhyiddin said.
Prima Halal Food Park will integrate small and medium enterprise capabilities with the support of Prima common services to produce Halal delicatessen.
“Sixty per cent of products will be for the export market and 40 per cent for the domestic market,” Prima Agri-Products Sdn Bhd general manager for finance and human resources Ahamd Nadzer Idris said.
“This is an excellent business opportunity for international, local food manufacturers and supporting industries which will have access to common facilities, common services and complementing businesses to other manufacturers.”
Ahmad Nadzer explained that 74 entrepreneurs within the small and medium scale industries in food production are invited to participate in the 74 full fledge manufacturing units under the vendor system.
“The 74 entrepreneurs will be owners in a highly specialized manufacturing system of Halal meat based delicatessen food.
“Prima Agri-Products will share and transfer manufacturing experience and expertise to them to produce Halal delicatessen products. “The manufacturers will be able to produce Halal products under their own brand or brands for their existing and new markets, both domestic and export,” he said.
There will be an 11,000 square feet land area with greenery landscape, a 7,000 square feet specifically designed production area complete with machineries according to process flow and an investment with a payback period not exceeding eight years.
“The entrepreneurs will be provided with exclusive commercial recipes of delicatessen products and opportunities to secure manufacturing contracts with Prima Agri-Products,” Ahmad Nadzer said.
“There are six product categories (cold cuts, sausages, cooked chilled soups, sauces and marinades, prepared foods, convenient foods and other value added foods) with yearly total production of 73,800 metric tonnes.
“At full capacity of production, each SME unit in the Prima Halal Food Park will produce 3,000 kilogrammes per day with sale value of RM738million.”
Ahmad Nadzer said Prima Halal Food Park requires 66,420 metric tonnes of processed raw materials which meet international standards and specifications.
Raw materials comprise of processed chicken, beef, turkey, lamb, spices, vegetables and ingredients. Packaging materials, both primary and secondary, will also be required.
There will be 12 industrial lots for independent producers, 16 units of food packaging producers and other support services, 82 SMIs factory units under Prima vendor programme and 32 units of factory lots for seafood, pastry and agro based ingredients. Prima Halal Food Park is located within the gazetted Gambang Industrial Area, approximately 30 kilometres from Kuantan, Pahang. It has multiple accesses by highways through the new East Coast Highway, Segamat in Johor or Pekan and Kuala Lumpur – Kuantan principal road.
The park will have common facilities to be managed by Prima Agri-Products. Its principal activities will be acting as the primary marketer for domestic and export markets of products produced by the 74 SMEs. Prima will also provide common services to all manufacturers including the 74 SMEs for certification, quality standards and quality assurance.
Prima Agri-Products Sdn Bhd is certified by the JAKIM, Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Islamic Development Department of Malaysia), Veterinary Services Department of Malaysia, Health Ministry of Malaysia and ISO/HACCP by Reinisch-Westfalisher TUV e.V (RWTUV), Germany.
For more information on the Prima Halal Food Park, visit website: www.primahalal.com
The Central Common Facilities available are:
- Cold storage facilities for raw materials,
- Cold storage facilities for finished products
- Dry storage facilities for spices, vegetables and ingredients
- Dry storage facilities for packaging materials
- Refrigerated transportation and other logistic support
- Offices of government regulatory agencies to provide auditing, monitoring and accreditation services in compliance with national certifications
- Effluent water treatment plant and retention ponds to ensure environmental compliance
- Technical support services
**This article was first published in The Halal Journal Pilot Issue (August 2004).