17th April 2026 - 3 min read
Malaysia’s halal exports reached RM68.52 billion in 2025, up 10.9% from the year before, according to figures released by the Halal Development Corporation (HDC). The segment now accounts for 4.3% of Malaysia’s total exports, a slight increase from the previous year’s share.
Food and beverage products made up the largest share of halal exports at RM36.86 billion, or 53.8% of the total. Halal ingredients contributed a further RM21.39 billion, or 31.2%.
Among the categories tracked, palm oil and its derivatives recorded the sharpest growth, rising 55% to reach RM4.57 billion in export value.
China was the top destination at RM9 billion, or 13.2% of total halal exports, followed by Singapore at RM7.11 billion (10.4%), the United States at RM4.46 billion (6.5%), Japan at RM4.22 billion (6.2%), and Indonesia at RM3.51 billion (5.1%). The spread across multiple major markets reduces Malaysia’s reliance on any single trading partner.
HDC noted that while food and beverage products dominate, there are opportunities to grow higher value-added segments such as pharmaceuticals and specialised halal ingredients, where margins and long-term growth potential are generally stronger.
Malaysia’s halal exports remain concentrated in food and raw ingredient categories, which are stable but also more price-sensitive and competitive. Pharmaceuticals and specialised ingredients carry higher margins and face less direct competition, though they require greater regulatory groundwork and investment to enter.
The 4.3% share of total exports also puts the sector’s scale in context. Halal exports are growing steadily, but they remain a relatively contained segment within Malaysia’s wider trade portfolio. The longer-term question is whether the sector can shift more of its weight into segments where Malaysia has stronger pricing power.
For SMEs in the halal sector, sustained export growth creates more room to scale, but only if they can meet the requirements of overseas buyers. Certification, packaging standards, and supply chain consistency are often where smaller producers hit barriers, which is why HDC’s focus on export readiness and its Halal Integrated Platform matters more in practice than the headline figure does.
For everyday Malaysians, the more direct connection is through employment and income in food manufacturing, palm oil, and related industries, which together make up the bulk of what gets exported. When these segments grow, the benefits tend to show up in wages, contracts, and business activity in the communities tied to those supply chains.
The longer-term story is less settled. A shift toward pharmaceuticals and specialised ingredients would likely mean higher-skilled jobs and stronger export revenue per unit, but that transition takes time and investment to materialise.
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Christina writes about personal finance with an eye for making the complicated feel straightforward. She is drawn to the everyday money decisions people face and genuinely enjoys finding the clearest way to explain them. Between articles, she is probably napping, on a hiking trail, or terrorising her sister’s cats.
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