$500 million in exports, cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, major and emerging industry players—how the 15th International Halal Congress went 14.02.2026 15:10The 15th International Halal Congress was held in Moscow as part of the 33rd Prodexpo-2026 exhibition of food, beverages, and raw materials for their production. Representatives from the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, federal relevant agencies, research institutes, and direct market participants—producers, certifiers, and exporters—discussed the halal industry in the context of increasing Russian agricultural exports, the industry's challenges, and its development prospects at the national and transnational levels (as part of the Eurasian Halal Union). The congress was organized by the International Halal Standardization and Certification Center under the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation and the National Union of Halal Products and Services Producers. Aidar Gazizov, PhD, Director General of the International Halal Standardization and Certification Center, moderated the event. Rafik Fattakhetdinov, Deputy Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation, extended greetings to forum participants from the spiritual leader of Russian Muslims, Chief Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gainutdin. He also drew attention to the participation in the Halal Congress of representatives of the diplomatic corps of Arab-Muslim countries: Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Mauritania, Turkey, Indonesia, Palestine, and other countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation: "In these fateful days for all of Russia, we especially appreciate not only the assistance that our brothers and sisters offer us in developing the halal industry, but also the fact that all of these countries remain friendly to our state."
Rafik Fattakhetdinov noted that the promotion of halal products and services on the domestic and export markets is also ensured by consistent support from government agencies, responsible departments, and ministries. "Today, halal exports from our country are approaching half a billion US dollars annually. Halal establishments are available in virtually every city, and stereotypes associated with the production of such products are disappearing altogether ," he concluded. The diplomatic corps opened the congress with remarks from Sidati Sheikh Ould Ahmed Aicha, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mauritania to the Russian Federation, and Samir Abu Saleh, Counselor of the Embassy of the State of Palestine. Deputy Minister Roman Nekrasov conveyed greetings from Russian Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lout. "Russia is a multinational, multi-confessional country, and many people here profess the religion of the Prophet." "In this regard, halal products and ideology are very close to the hearts of a significant portion of Russian citizens. And, of course, developing halal production and ensuring their purity and quality is a very important task for the Ministry of Agriculture, in conjunction with the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia ," the Deputy Minister confirmed Rafik Fattakhetdinov's words. The halal market is growing, and new opportunities are opening up for halal producers in Russia, the Deputy Minister noted. He also thanked the representatives of the countries present at the forum: "You are our reliable partners. We have strong, long-term ties that we are committed to expanding for the benefit of our peoples and economies. Today, the Russian Federation supplies products that meet halal standards to 19 countries, leaders of the Islamic world." According to the Deputy Minister, converting production to halal standards is currently an important priority for virtually all of Russia's largest agricultural producers, primarily those in the meat, dairy, and confectionery industries. "These are the sectors that today shape our country's agricultural exports, including to countries with a predominantly Muslim population."" , noted Roman Nekrasov. Alexander Yakuba, Advisor to the Head of the Federal State Budgetary Institution Agroexport, spoke in more detail about the destinations for halal supplies and their growth dynamics at the 15th Halal Congress. He explained that from 2020 to 2025, the total volume of halal product exports from Russia increased from $143 million to $389 million, of which $297 million went to Saudi Arabia. The highest growth rates last year were demonstrated by butter (94%), baby food (89%), and by-product meats (78%). By 2030, according to Agroexport's forecast, the volume of Russian halal supplies to the Persian Gulf countries and Egypt will increase to $700 million. Chicken remains the main export product, with our producers earning $254 million abroad in 2025.
A slide from Alexander Yakuba's presentation at the 15th International Halal Congress
Representatives of major market players PJSC Cherkizovo Group and GAP Resource, long-standing partners of the Halal Center for Social and Security (MSSS) and certified by the center, provided congress participants with more details on their work in this area. The long-awaited opening of the supply route to Malaysia was a separate story. Aidar Gazizov recounted a conversation with Minister Oksana Luth at Gulfood-2026, in which he informed her that by the end of 2025, at the request of Malaysian Minister of Agriculture, Food Safety and Security Mohammed bin Sabu, the first five tons of Russian halal turkey had been delivered to the country in time for Christmas. This was made possible thanks to the joint efforts of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, Rosselkhozbank, the Halal Center for Social and Security (MSSS), and the Damate Group team. Ravil Seifetdinov, Deputy Chairman of the Muslim Spiritual Directorate of the Russian Federation for Internal Affairs and member of the Russian Government's Expert Council on Partnership Financing, announced at the congress that the halal sector is integrating into the Russian national economy thanks to growing exports. At the same time, he noted, companies operating in the halal industry are forming a market segment based on strictly regulated ethical standards. This creates the preconditions for developing banking and financial products that take into account the specifics of Islamic financial and economic doctrines and ensure compliance with Shariah requirements. "Today, in collaboration with DIN Finance Consulting, an expert in the partnership financing market, we help organizations interested in partnership financing products navigate the diversity of banking offerings and select the optimal solution that takes into account their business specifics and Shariah requirements. At the same time, we implement Shariah supervision at our partner banks, monitoring the compliance of financial products with established religious and legal norms ," said Ravil Seifetdinov.
The signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding between the Halal International Center for Social and Cultural Affairs and DIN Finance Consulting LLC confirmed the cooperation outlined by the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Spiritual Directorate of Muslims.
A key topic at the 15th Congress—as in all previous years—was the issue of enterprise certification and the regulation of certification bodies. Most speakers agreed that the industry has yet to overcome the problem of transparent oversight of halal certification bodies. Certificates continue to be issued without proper procedures by entities not accountable to authoritative Muslim spiritual administrations. Alternatively, manufacturers themselves use Islamic symbols on their products, misleading consumers. This was discussed by Aidar Gazizov, Director of the Halal International Center for Social and Cultural Affairs, and Tashohadzhi Agamerzaev, a representative of the Halal Committee under the Muslim Spiritual Administration of the Republic of Tatarstan and Executive Secretary of Technical Committee 704 "Halal Products, Services, and Processes." Agamerzaev presented the activities of the technical committee, which was updated in 2025, for the first time at the congress. Deputy Minister Nekrasov also addressed the issue of production transparency and certification: "We believe that the transition to modern digital technologies that will ensure product traceability at all stages of production will greatly facilitate progress toward compliance with the most demanding standards. We are very pleased with the position of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims, which supports our initiatives in implementing product traceability systems in our practices, including in the halal sector ." A transparent internal system and uniform standards agreed upon by the spiritual administrations will also facilitate more effective integration of the Russian halal industry into international markets. Anastasia Kavrusova, Deputy Head of the Standardization Department for Industrial Sectors of the Standardization Department of Rosstandart, spoke at the congress about the compliance of national standards in this area with authoritative international standards. She reported that Rosstandart has become an observer member of the Institute of Standardization and Metrology under the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (SMIIC), and today 11 national halal standards comply with SMIIC standards.
Slides from Tatyana Kulagina’s presentation at the XV International Halal Congress
The discussion also focused on the mutual recognition of certificates within the Eurasian Halal Union, which currently includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Mongolia. This issue was raised by Aibek Atashev, co-chair of the union and director of Halal Damu under the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The discussion was supported by representatives of major Russian halal exporters, who said that such mutual recognition of certificates would simplify sales to their neighbors.
In addition to major players in the domestic halal market, newcomers to the industry participated in the 15th Congress. Andrey Grechkin, CEO of Dalreftrans LLC, spoke about halal product logistics. His company handles refrigerated container shipping as part of the FESCO transportation group. Although, according to the speaker, their logistics standards default to product separation and GOST-compliant packaging, the company decided to obtain halal certification in connection with its expansion into new markets in the Arab-Muslim world. Among recently certified companies, a representative of JSC NPO TEKHNOLOGII presented on the launch of halal complex food additives, and Ivan Kotov, Director of NPO Velis LLC, spoke on Proficoll, a gelatin made from the scales of wild river fish. His company has registered a separate patent for this product.
The congress was also attended by Alla Belotelkina, Head of the Export Product Certification Department at United Confectioners LLC; Ilyas Mamleev, President of the National Union of Halal Product and Service Manufacturers; Tatyana Savenkova, Doctor of Engineering, Director of the Research Institute of Quality, Safety, and Technologies of Specialized Food Products at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics and President of the Union of Food Ingredients Manufacturers; Anastasia Zubenko, Head of the Department for Interaction with Relevant Government Agencies and International Inspections at Resource State Enterprise; Dmitry Terekhin, Deputy Director for Export Development at New Farms LLC; Najibullah Jabbori, Head of the Representative Office of the Russian Export Center in the UAE; and an auditor from the Certification Department of the Halal Standards Committee under the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan.
The congress concluded with the award ceremony for the winners of the annual "Best Halal Product" competition and the participants of the collective exhibition of halal product manufacturers at Prodexpo 2026.
Based on materials from the press service of the Russian Spiritual Directorate of Muslims (DUM)
