MANILA: The Philippines is pushing for common halal certification standards among Association of Southeast Asian Nations members, its Department of Trade and Industry says, as it aims to facilitate mutual recognition of products and expand access to Middle Eastern and other Muslim markets.
Three of ASEAN’s 11 members — Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei — are Muslim-majority countries, accounting for 45 percent of the bloc’s population of over 680 million.
While the Philippines is predominantly Catholic, it has a sizeable Muslim minority, which makes up about 10 percent of the country’s nearly 120 million people.
“ASEAN countries generally follow the same fundamental halal principles based on Islamic law. However, certification procedures, accreditation requirements, institutional arrangements, and recognition systems vary among countries. ASEAN is working toward harmonized halal guidelines for food and stronger mutual recognition to promote greater consistency and facilitate trade across the region,” the DTI told Arab News over the weekend.
“A more harmonized halal standard across ASEAN, particularly for food products, would promote greater consistency ... help reduce compliance costs, ease market entry for exporters, improve confidence of consumers and strengthen intra-ASEAN trade.”
