Philippines to double halal-certified commodities

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines aims to double the number of its halal-certified products and services by 2028 as it launches a four-year strategic plan for the development of the industry, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual led the launching of the Philippine Halal Industry Development Strategic Plan 2024 to 2028, which aims to transform the Philippines into a premier halal hub in the Asia-Pacific in the next four years.

“We aim to enrich supermarkets shelves in foreign countries with Philippine halal products.The execution of our Halal Strategic Plan will see a doubling of our current 3,000 halal-certified products and services to 6,000 catering to both the burgeoning domestic demand and the global halal market,” Pascual said.

According to the DTI, this goal will build on the increasing number of Muslim Filipinos and tourists, Islamic exporters and bankers, halal investors, and health-conscious consumers.

Pascual acknowledged the challenge of the relatively low number of halal-certified goods, services, and companies in the Philippines.

He stressed that despite having Southeast Asia’s third-largest Muslim population, the country’s halal production lags behind that of non-Islamic countries like Singapore and Thailand. In addition, he highlighted that last year alone, the country imported $120 million worth of halal products, indicating a substantial market that it could satisfy domestically.

As only Philippine products certified by Philippine-accredited halal certifying bodies are allowed for export, Pascual said that the Philippine Halal Export Board, overseen by the DTI, has passed a resolution recognizing foreign-accredited Philippine halal certification bodies to further drive the growth of Philippine halal exports.

Figures from the DTI showed that the country’s halal exports to Islamic countries have been steadily growing, particularly in Malaysia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Iran, Qatar and Kuwait.

The DTI cited that in 2021, the top Philippine exports to leading halal markets were fresh bananas ($45 million), pineapple products ($25 million), beauty and cosmetics ($7.3 million), carrageenan ($2.9 million), medicaments ($2 million), crude coconut oil ($942,000), dried mangoes ($97,000), and calamansi ($34,000).

Aside from the certification of halal products and services, Pascual noted the gaps in the country’s halal value chain, which cast shadows on the industry’s credibility.

He noted that this requires a comprehensive industry-wide effort encompassing all stages, from production to consumption.

Moreover, Pascual cited the need to improve awareness and visibility of Philippine halal products.

“We aim to make it easier for all consumers, including the growing number of Muslim tourists, to find and access halal products.As we anticipate welcoming even more Muslim visitors than the significant half a million last year, overcoming these challenges is imperative,” the trade secretary said.

Apart from doubling the number of halal-certified products, the strategic plan also aims to attract P230 billion in investments, and generate 120,00 jobs over the next four years.

The DTI said the strategic plan also targets to create a one-stop shop to link all stakeholders and ensure synchronized efforts and develop a comprehensive halal value chain national brand to promote the Philippines as the fastest-growing and most halal friendly through regional development, institutionalized knowledge management, skills matching and upskilling, investment promotions, and capacity building.

In line with this, the DTI launched yesterday the halal-friendly Philippines campaign.

“This national initiative aspires to establish the Philippines as a customer-focused, collaborative, comprehensive, and competitive halal gateway and destination in the Asia-Pacific,” said Pascual, who also chairs the Philippine Halal Export Development and Promotion Board.