Vietnamese businesses conquer the billion-dollar Halal market

At the International Exhibition of Halal Islamic Products (Mihas 2025), many Vietnamese enterprises introduced typical products, hoping to expand export opportunities to Malaysia and other Muslim countries.

Malaysian Muslims enjoy Vietnamese dried fruits at Mihas 2025 - Photo: NHAT XUAN

Mihas is considered the world's largest Islamic trade exhibition, held annually in Malaysia. This year, the event took place from September 17 to 20, bringing together 300 international buyers from 50 countries, organized by the Malaysian Trade Promotion Agency (Matrade).

Bringing to the exhibition a series of rice flour products, sticky rice flour and other pre-processed flours such as pancake flour, crispy fried flour..., Mr. Hoang Kim Manh, general director of CPT Corp, said that all of the company's products meet Halal standards, from raw materials, production processes to packaging.

In addition to the powder line, CPT Corp also introduces many dried fruit products such as mango and jackfruit. "These are all typical Vietnamese fruit flavors. We believe that with stable quality, Vietnamese dried fruit can conquer the taste of Muslim consumers," Mr. Manh shared.

Also attending Mihas 2025 with a group of dried fruit and vegetable products, Ms. Nguyen Thi Khanh An, representative of Thuan Huong Company, said that the advantage of this enterprise is organic products, few additives, no preservatives. This is a favorable condition to achieve Halal certification.

According to Ms. An, maintaining Halal certification is not simple. Every year, the inspection team will directly evaluate the production process, ensuring that there is no cross-contamination with substandard materials. "This is both a challenge and a motivation for businesses to maintain their reputation and move towards cleaner and more sustainable production," Ms. An said.

Introducing a nearly 30-hectare farm and a processing factory that has been granted Halal certification by a Middle Eastern organization, Ms. Ivy Nguyen, representative of another Vietnamese agricultural enterprise, said that the biggest difficulty in obtaining Halal certification - a "passport" for Vietnamese agricultural products to penetrate deeper into strict Muslim markets - lies in the inspection of the factory, production process and human resource management.

"However, with the advantage of plant-based products, this process is somewhat more favorable than the animal-based industry," said Ms. Ivy.

In addition to agricultural products, many Vietnamese businesses brought seafood products, organic foods and environmentally friendly solutions to Mihas 2025. Ms. Thanh Nhan, export manager of a dried fish processing enterprise Minh Chau Seafood, said that Malaysia has a tradition of consuming this product, opening up a competitive advantage for Vietnamese goods.

"Muslims abstain from pork and many other types of meat, but fish and seafood are familiar dishes. We have researched tastes to adjust the product accordingly from the beginning," Ms. Nhan shared.

Great potential for exporting to the Halal market

With more than 2 billion consumers, the Halal market has long been considered the "golden goose" of global trade. However, according to the General Department of Customs, in the first 7 months of 2025, the total two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Muslim countries only reached 24.7 billion USD, an increase of 5.7% over the same period last year.

Of which, Vietnam's exports only reached 10.9 billion USD, a figure considered modest compared to the potential, especially in the context of the global Halal market size exceeding 2,000 billion USD.

NHAT XUAN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/doanh-nghiep-viet-chinh-phuc-thi-truong-halal-ti-do-20250919081559888.htm