It may sound a bit like trying to sell fur coats in the Caribbean, but an Edmonton company is part of a consortium that has just opened an office in Dubai to sell Halal (Islam approved) foods in the Middle East.

"We don't expect results overnight, but our research shows us Canadian products, especially beef and chicken, are highly regarded there," says Noorudin Jiwani, owner of Aliya's Foods in Sherwood Park.

"And having a person there working on our behalf is important."

The plan is to also introduce the region to exotic Alberta meats such as bison and elk, and with the global Halal market estimated to exceed $1 trillion US by 2010, the sooner you get into it the better.

Aliya's, which produces samosas and prepared Indian dinners at two plants in the area under the Chef Bombay brand, is part of a group called Prairie Halal Foods.

It includes Lilydale, Canadian Rangeland Beef and Bison Inc. of Rimbey, Calgary meat processor New Food Classics, The Meat Grinder Ltd. of Edmonton, Canadian Premium Meats, a Halal-certified slaughter plant at Wolf Creek, and Prairie Heritage Beef, a group of ranchers producing "natural" beef.

The consortium is supported by the Alberta Livestock Industry Development Fund, and general manager Wahid Kandil is a former ALIDF employee.

Jiwani says each company may not be able to fill a container with products by themselves, but together they can. And Dubai is a good place to start because the United Arab Emirates has a large population of Indian workers.

The group expects to make inroads in other countries such as Kuwait and Egypt, and Jiwani eventually plans to crack the huge U.K. appetite for Indian food.