ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is urging local entrepreneurs to venture into halal industry or to certify their products as halal.
DTI Undersecretary for Trade and Investment Promotion Nora Terrado on Monday said that local entrepreneurs, especially those from Mindanao, should take advantage of the growing $3-trillion global halal industry.
“Opportunities for halal is really great. We should follow the stream of opportunities than be left behind,” Terrado said, adding that other non-Muslim countries are cashing on the halal market, such as Brazil, New Zealand, and Thailand.
Terrado said the Philippines has just passed the law on halal promotion, which will now put into motion and guide the local halal industry.
Republic Act 10817 otherwise known as the Philippine Halal Export Development and Promotion Act of 2016 was enacted in May last year, which aims to “develop and promote halal industries as a mode of achieving equity and justice” among local farmers and producers.
Terrado said a master plan for halal is now being workout to advance the industry.
“Now we have the law and with the law there’s a catalyst. If the mission is clear people are organized,” she said.
“We have to identify the most important things that will bring us to the destination. We are gaining grounds. We will make it happen,” she vowed.
Terrado was here on Monday to provide the overview of the halal industry as part of DTI’s Slingshot Philippines campaign.
Under Muslim customs and traditions, consumers must be assured that the food they consume meets the halal requirements, which cover raw materials and other ingredients used, as well as processing and handling process.
For instance, animals must be slaughtered in accordance with Islamic rites to render them halal.
The use of pork and its derivatives are “haram” or forbidden in the production and manufacture of food and non-food products intended for halal classification.
Terrado said customers behavior right now is very critical on the quality of products.
Halal, Terrado said, is a “seal of quality and purity and safety.”
She admitted that the country’s halal industry is still in the “nascent” stage.
“We are very young in terms of supply and demands. There are ways to fast track the development in these areas,” she said.
According to Terrado, there's a need to build the proper “ecosystem for the industry” to thrive.
Senen Perlada, DTI export marketing bureau director, said there is a need to check the strength of the country in terms of what products or services that can be of the champion in getting a share in the halal industry.
Terrado said Zamboanga Peninsula has a great potential to be a hub for the halal industry particularly in the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) initiative.
Zamboanga City is being positioned as the halal trading center with the development of Asian Halal Center inside Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority and Freeport (Zamboecozone).
“Zamboecozone allocated at least 100 hectares that will be dedicated for the Asian Halal Center,” Dr. Sitti Amina Jaina, DTI regional director, said.
The center, which was established in October last year, aims to be the center of halal industries in the Philippines and in the BIMP-EAGA region.
Jain, who is also the chairperson of the Sub-Committee on BIMP-EAGA and ASEAN Concerns of the Regional Development Council here, said the center is in line with the government policy to tap the $2.6 trillion global Halal market.
She said DTI is promoting Zamboecozone by inviting foreign investors as well encouraging local businessmen to invest in halal productions and locate it the ecozone.
Ahmad Lokman Ibrahim, vice president Halal Malaysia Development Corp., said the Philippines has a great potential in making through the halal market since the Philippines is an agriculture-base country.
“This could be in terms of fruits or marine products. The Philippines should take advantage of this huge market,” Ibrahim said. (PNA)
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