The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced on Tuesday that it was developing an interactive mobile application to increase people’s awareness of and further promote the country’s halal industry.
During the third Philippine National Halal Conference, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said his department was working on the app not only to increase awareness and promote halal-certified products and services, but also “provide [an] easy access guide for halal establishments and products.”
An Arabic word meaning “lawful” or “permissible,” halal refers to products or services made or rendered in accordance with Islamic law. Food, cosmetics, personal care items and pharmaceuticals, as well as hotels and restaurants, can be halal-certified.
According to Lopez, other Southeast Asian countries, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, have similar apps that allow consumers to validate halal certificates and check other information of products and their manufacturers.
“These apps help locate mosques and halal-certified restaurants with the use of GPS (global positioning system), which makes it easier for Muslim tourists visiting the county,” he said.
The Trade chief also said the halal economy was already showing impressive development before the coronavirus pandemic struck, noting that Muslim consumers spent an estimated $2.2 trillion across the different sectors of the halal economy in 2018.
For the Philippines alone, halal export sales reached $83.2 million, he added.
“It’s also important to note that the halal food sector was one of the sectors least affected by the health crisis, alongside the halal pharmaceutical and media sectors,” Lopez said.
The government has launched programs to develop the competitiveness and provide linkages for halal micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as well as halal-certifying bodies.
These bodies currently number 10, but Lopez said the government hoped to have more to accommodate more applicants and encourage more businesses to tap the growing industry.
“Food certifications are crucial in meeting the demands and capturing a bigger market share of the $3.3-trillion global halal market. That’s why we need to develop and expand the reach of Philippine halal-certified products for major Islamic markets by training our halal certification bodies on applicable ISO standard and market requirements,” he said.
“This will ensure producers, manufacturers and providers of halal products, processes and services are compliant with national, as well as international standards,” he added.