MoIT to expand Halal market for Vietnamese goods

The workshop is a part of the Vietnam International Food Industry Exhibition - Vietnam Foodexpo 2024, aiming to support businesses to promote Halal food exports, gradually making Vietnam a typical Halal food supplier globally.

The Halal market is appreciated as very potential for Vietnamese exporters - photo: Hoai Suong

According to Vietrade, at the workshop, experts will update the developments of import, export and trade promotion of Halal products to Southeast Asia, the Middle East - Africa; answer and solve problems of enterprises when exporting Halal products; guide them to register for Halal certification; update new regulations on Halal in the world, and more.

Vietnam is evaluated as a potential exporter of Halal food. This becomes more apparent when Vietnam is in the top 20 food exporting countries and one of the world’s 15 largest exporters of agricultural produce, and is also an important link in global supply chains with 17 free trade agreements (FTAs) signed, including many new generation, regional and inter-regional FTAs...

However, Vietnam’s Halal product exports are still very modest. Despite its food export capacity in the world’s top 20, Vietnam is not yet in the list of top 20 to 30 global Halal food suppliers.

One of the reasons is that Vietnamese enterprises have not fully exploited opportunities due to certain difficulties in producing and exporting Halal products, such as high investment costs, and lack of information about Halal market culture, and Halal standards, etc.

In order to export Halal products to Muslim countries, it is extremely important for Vietnamese enterprises to choose a reputable and internationally recognized Halal certification organization. Although some organizations in Vietnam can provide certification services, their certification will not be valid when exporting to many Muslim countries without recognized by international organizations. Entry of products having certifications from an unreliable organization may be refused or they have to undergo additional inspections, wasting more time and money.

To avoid these risks, Vietnamese enterprises need to choose Halal certification organizations that have been recognized by leading Halal agencies, such as Malaysia’s Department of Islamic Development (Jakim), Indonesia’s Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH), the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT)... or other reputable organizations accepted by Muslim countries.

Currently, in Vietnam, there is only one organization that is internationally recognized by the above Islamic organizations, which is the Vietnam Halal Certification Authority (HALCERT). The limited information about Halal standards and Halal regulations make enterprises struggle to find a certification organization. A reputable and internationally recognized Halal certification organization will not only help their products be easily accepted in Muslim markets, but also create prestige and enhance their brands in the international market.