Using blockchain to support Halal market penetration

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has great potential for Halal products. The MENA Halal consumer and beauty products market alone is forecast to reach a value of USD 5.9 trillion by 2025.

Halal livestock farming model in a Muslim household - Photo: PC

MENA's population is forecast to reach 600 million by 2030, along with the young generation's trend of consuming processed foods and cosmetics, opening up great opportunities for Vietnam to take advantage of its agricultural foundation and export natural products.

Must overcome complex regulations

Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo creates great opportunities for enterprises producing, cultivating, packaging, and transporting Halal products to quickly join the supply chain for the Muslim community worldwide.

Participating in the Halal (permissible practices that Muslims must comply with) market in the Middle East requires Vietnam to pay attention to some elements of Religious Law.

First, the religious law, the faith-based rules interpreted by the Muslim community from the Qur'an, is called Shariah (or the law of Allah).

However, in case no solution is found in Shariah law, Muslims can use another book, which is Sunnah.

This is the origin of the "fuzzy" points according to the regulations of each community, locality within the same church. From there, "mazhab" is created. Because these mazhabs interpret the verses of the Quran differently, many countries implement different laws and rules.

For example, it is important that Halal cosmetics are processed according to Islamic rules and that Halal integrity is maintained throughout the entire supply chain.

Determining whether a product is Halal or not is challenging, as a large number of ingredients can come from animal or plant sources and those that come from animal by-products.

All plant products are Halal, but once they are contaminated with ingredients or processing aids that contain intoxicating or addictive substances, they will be declared haram (not allowed).

To take advantage of the opportunity, in terms of legality in trade with Middle Eastern countries, Vietnam needs to pay attention to more important characteristics: penetrating the Halal market in general with about 2 billion consumers (the Halal market in the Middle East is about 315 million people), need to pay attention to the importance of Islam in trade exchange standards. In particular, the Halal standards of Middle Eastern countries are different from the Halal standards of Malaysia and Indonesia.

Opportunities from blockchain applications

To verify and ensure that there is no contamination with non-Halal materials or processes, many businesses and inspection organizations have "empowered" blockchain technology (a database system that allows the storage and transmission of blocks of information linked together through encryption).

This technology helps securely store information about the Halal certification process, providing clear and unchangeable records, ensuring Halal standards are met at every stage of the supply chain.

If blockchain is applied well, Vietnamese goods can increase consumer confidence in detecting fraud or errors in labeling, identifying Halal products while shopping in foreign markets.

Even though tourists come from countries with different Halal regulations, the host country also has the opportunity to sell products based on transparency about Halal standards.

In 2024, with the "Vietnam - UAE (United Arab Emirates) Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement", the UAE will become Vietnam's first comprehensive partner in the Middle East.

Opportunities for agricultural products, processed foods... to penetrate deeper into the markets of Middle Eastern and North African countries are opening up more widely.

If Vietnam successfully penetrates the Halal market, its agricultural exports and key products can increase by 50% or more for many product groups. The capacity of Vietnamese enterprises is such that we have successfully penetrated many demanding markets such as the US, EU, Japan, etc.

If you are really interested and invest in the Halal market, the possibility of double-digit growth of many industries is not too difficult, contributing to the double-digit growth rate in Vietnam in the era of national development.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dung-blockchain-ho-tro-tham-nhap-thi-truong-halal-202502170003033.htm