Accompanying businesses to exploit the potential of the Halal market

In recent times, Vietnam has successfully exported many products to the Halal market, especially agricultural products. However, this is still a new market with great potential for Vietnamese enterprises. In particular, food safety and animal and plant disease safety (SPS) are particularly important issues in the production and trade of agricultural products and exported food.

The production line of Long Son Food Company Limited (Long Binh ward) meets Halal market requirements. Photo: B. Nguyen

In order to support agricultural production and trading enterprises in Dong Nai province to access information and better understand the new Halal market, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment coordinated with the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Dong Nai province to organize a conference to disseminate regulations and commitments on SPS in the VIFTA and CEPA Agreements (Israel, United Arab Emirates).

Dong Nai enterprises exploit the Halal market well

Vietnam is among the top 20 food exporting countries in the world and is one of the 15 largest agricultural exporting countries in the world. Vietnam is also an important link in the global supply chain with 17 signed free trade agreements (FTAs), including many new generation, regional and inter-regional FTAs. This result affirms that Vietnam's agricultural products and food have complied very well with the SPS regulations of the import market.

In recent times, the business community and related parties have had a clear change in awareness in complying with SPS regulations of import markets, especially in improving the quality of Vietnamese agricultural products and food in the international market. In particular, the Halal market has been exploited by many agricultural processing and exporting enterprises in Dong Nai province very early.

Ms. Vu Thi Thu, Deputy Head of Quality Management Department of Long Son Food Company Limited (in Long Binh Ward) shared: The company has had Halal certification for more than 10 years. This certification has created a great opportunity for Long Son to expand its export market. Up to now, the output of cashew nuts exported to Halal markets accounts for 5-10% of the total export output of the company. Exports to the Halal market are currently increasing because their demand for nut products and healthy products is increasing rapidly. Even non-Muslim customers prefer Halal products, so the opportunity to expand the market is still very high.

According to Ms. Thu, Halal certification for the cashew industry is not too difficult because the nature of cashew nuts already meets Halal standards. When certifying, businesses do not encounter difficulties, they just need to manage to comply with the requirements of the Halal market. In the coming time, businesses will actively participate in seminars and trade promotion programs to boost exports to this market.

Sharing the same view, Mr. Le Tri Thong, Director of Production Department of GC Food Joint Stock Company (in Ho Nai Industrial Park, Ho Nai Ward) said: Right from the first days of establishment, the company has identified the target market as exporting agricultural products, so it has made many export certificates, including Halal certification. Accordingly, from factory construction to production process, the company complies with the regulations of the Halal market. Currently, on average, the company exports about 500 tons of coconut jelly/month, 500 tons of aloe vera/month to Muslim countries. In recent years, exports to the Halal market have grown rapidly, so the company has identified this as one of the key markets to continue to invest in in the coming time.

Lots of room for growth

According to the assessment, the Halal market is a new market with great potential. The current Muslim population is about 2 billion people, accounting for 25% of the world's population. The size of the global Halal economy is expected to increase to about 10 trillion USD by 2028. The Halal food market alone is expected to be nearly 5 trillion USD by 2024. Muslim tourism spending is expected to reach 325 billion USD by 2030. In particular, priority markets include: Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Duy, Deputy Director of the Middle East - Africa Department (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) affirmed: Muslim countries have high demand for products from Vietnam and maintain good trade relations with Vietnam. However, the Halal market has not yet received due attention from Vietnamese enterprises, and has not created "heat" like the Chinese or EU markets. The Government and ministries and branches have focused on supporting localities and enterprises in exploiting the Halal market. This is a new market with much room for development, so proactively approaching it early will bring advantages to enterprises in the coming time.

Giving another perspective, Mr. Le Chau Hai Vu, Vice President of the Vietnam Farmers' Business Club, emphasized: The difficulties that businesses face to meet Halal market standards are not barriers. Businesses must change their perception to find a way to solve the problem. Because businesses must determine from the beginning whether this new market is big enough and wide enough to invest. Businesses must eliminate the fear of barriers to access this new market with great potential. The Vietnam Farmers' Business Club has many experts on the Halal market to advise and support businesses.

Halal is a new market from concept to practice, but Vietnamese agricultural products have good quality and can be exported to demanding markets in the world. What businesses need to do when entering a new market is to prepare enough conditions in terms of quality and standards to be ready to overcome technical barriers.

Mr. LE VIET BINH, Deputy Chief of Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment

Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam, Deputy Director of the Vietnam SPS Office, said: When we join the world trade organizations, one of the commitments is information transparency. All enterprises, organizations, individuals, and management agencies have the right to comment on draft notices on food safety and animal and plant quarantine within 60 days. We should take advantage of this right to comment because when this measure is applied, we can only comply. Previously, we rarely heard about changes in regulations on product quality and packaging, but now information has changed a lot. Enterprises must grasp the changes and new regulations to respond. Food safety and disease control, this is a matter of publicity and transparency, enterprises must change their awareness, it is not a barrier but a regulation that must be complied with.

Binh Nguyen

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202510/dong-hanh-cung-doanh-nghiep-khai-thac-tiem-nang-thi-truong-halal-e0b0064/