The world's largest halal trade show gives AI its own sector for the first time

The 22nd Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS), the world's largest dedicated halal trade show, ran 23–26 September at MITEC in Kuala Lumpur under the theme "Shaping Trust, Driving Resilience." Organised by MATRADE under Malaysia's Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, the 2026 edition targeted more than $1 billion in trade value across 2,380-plus booths, 40,000-plus trade visitors and 80-plus countries spanning fourteen industry sectors — and for the first time gave artificial intelligence and halal technology a standalone sector rather than folding it into general food-tech. The new sector covers automated compliance tracking, supply-chain traceability and consumer demand forecasting, effectively formalising what several exhibitors had already been doing ad hoc. The theme choice — trust and resilience over scale — and the AI sector's focus on traceability and compliance rather than novelty both point the same direction: halal certification is increasingly a software and data problem as much as a jurisprudential one, and the institutions that govern certification will need technical literacy to keep governing it credibly.

This is a QeRN summary by Ahmed Qerni. Read the original at The Halal Times: https://www.halaltimes.com/mihas-2026-malaysia-kuala-lumpur-halal-trade-show/.