Ugandan coffee, milk, honey, and many more packaged foods were on display in Kuala Lumpur last month, under the theme Uganda at the Malaysia International Halal Showcase. Behind the displayed products was a significant credential: Uganda’s halal certification that is now recognised in Malaysia. With the halal certification, the door to one of the world’s most demanding halal markets is open for Ugandan products.
Uganda at the world’s largest halal trade show
The Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) ran from 23 to 26 September 2026 at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) in Kuala Lumpur. Now in its 22nd edition, it is billed as the world’s largest halal trade exhibition: event listings put this year’s edition at more than 1,700 booths and some 40,000 trade visitors, across clusters running from food and beverage to cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, Islamic finance and Muslim-friendly tourism.
For Uganda, the showcase was less about volume than about visibility a chance to put certified Ugandan products in front of buyers who source for supermarkets, distributors and manufacturers across Southeast Asia and the Gulf.
What was on the stand
The display read like a tour of Uganda’s agro-processing sector: Akizi Coffee in retail packs, Jesa UHT milk and dairy drinks, instant whole milk powder in tins, bottled honey, baking products and ingredients from companies including Best Ingredients Uganda Ltd and Amos Industries arranged on black, yellow and red cloth, with the crested crane overhead.
Alongside the exhibitors, the Uganda High Commission in Kuala Lumpur and Explore Uganda branding gave the stand a second job: introducing the country itself to visitors who may know Ugandan coffee without knowing where it comes from.
The credential behind the display: the Uganda Halal Bureau
The Uganda Halal Bureau is an independent, Muslim-owned halal certification body established in 2010 in Kampala, working to OIC/SMIIC, MS and GSO standards. By its own account it has certified more than 300 products across seven industry sectors, covering food, beverages, food premises, hotels, restaurants and slaughterhouses.
Two recognitions matter most for a trip like this one. The Bureau is recognised by JAKIM, Malaysia’s Department of Islamic Development, as a Foreign Halal Certification Body for the period 2025–2028, and it was admitted as an Associate Member of the World Halal Council in April 2024.
Why JAKIM recognition matters
JAKIM is among the most widely respected halal authorities in the world. When a certifier is recognised by JAKIM, products it certifies can be accepted in the Malaysian market without being certified again from scratch and that recognition is often treated as a quality signal in other markets too. In practice, it turns a Ugandan halal certificate into something a Malaysian importer can act on.
“Where can we buy this?”
The clearest signal from the four days was demand on both sides. Malaysian visitors asked the practical questions that matter to a buyer who imports this, what volumes can you supply, is it certified, where can I buy it here? Ugandans living in Malaysia asked a simpler version of the same thing: when can we get these products in our own kitchens?
That gap — interest without a route to the shelf is precisely what a trade show is for. Uganda’s goal in Kuala Lumpur was market entry: finding importers, distributors and retail partners who can turn a sample tasted at a stand into a product stocked in a shop.
What this means for Ugandans in Malaysia
For our community, this is more than trade-show news. It is the possibility of Ugandan brands on Malaysian shelves the coffee, the milk, the honey, the snacks that taste like home and the possibility of a role for Ugandans here who understand both markets: as distributors, agents, retailers or simply as the first customers.
If you work in food import, retail, logistics or distribution in Malaysia, or you would like to stock Ugandan products, the Union can help point you to the right contacts.
Interested in Uganda–Malaysia trade?
Tell us what you are looking for and we will do our best to connect you whether you are sourcing Ugandan products, exploring distribution, or exhibiting at the next showcase.
Photos from the showcase
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