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| The Global Islamic Economy Report estimates that spending on Halal food is growing rapidly from $1.4 trillion in 2020 to $1.9 trillion in 2030 and nearly $5 trillion by 2050. (Source: Getty Images) |
In Arabic, “Halal” means “lawful” or “compliant” (permitted), in accordance with Islamic standards and values. A product or service that meets Halal standards is confirmed by a specific document (Halal certification) and a specific symbol (Halal stamp).
Huge potential
Muslim countries all have their own standards for Halal products in general and there is currently no harmonization or mutual acceptance. The Halal standards commonly used today are: OIC/SMIIC of the Institute of Standards and Metrology of Islamic Countries under the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), GSO of the Organization for Standardization of the Gulf Arab Countries, MS of Malaysia...
The global Halal economy is estimated to reach $7 trillion by 2022 and is expected to grow to around $10 trillion by 2028. Muslims currently make up about 24% of the world's population and are expected to increase by another 3% by 2050.
The Global Islamic Economy Report 2020 estimates that spending on Halal food will increase rapidly from $1.4 trillion in 2020 to $1.9 trillion in 2030 and nearly $5 trillion in 2050.
The Halal product consumption market is widely distributed around the world, from Muslim to non-Muslim countries. The spending and use of Halal products tends to increase. On the contrary, the largest Halal producing countries in the world are mostly non-Muslim countries. According to a report released in January 2023 by IMARC Group, the Halal food market is valued at more than 2,000 billion USD in 2022, surpassing the expected milestone of 2030.
Opportunities for Vietnam
Vietnam has great potential to produce and export Halal products as it possesses abundant raw materials and is located in Asia, home to about 70% of the world's 1.9 billion Muslims.
Currently, many countries that are major Muslim consumer markets or Halal product exporters in the world (such as Korea, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc.) have expressed interest and desire to promote cooperation with Vietnam in investing and developing the Halal industry in Vietnam to serve domestic consumption and export.
Furthermore, Vietnam has many favorable conditions to develop the Halal industry such as: favorable geographical location, strengths in agriculture, food, tourism, services; deep and comprehensive international economic integration when participating in many leading economic linkages in the region. The Government is very interested in opening up and supporting Vietnamese enterprises to effectively participate in the global Halal market...
On the other hand, Vietnam has many opportunities to produce and export Halal food thanks to the many free trade agreements (FTAs) that Vietnam is a member of. Moreover, being a member of ASEAN has connected Vietnam to important Halal markets in Asia. Vietnam is also a member of the ASEAN Working Group on Halal Food to strengthen its relationship with Halal consumer markets in the region.
Vietnam and some other ASEAN countries have started negotiations on mutual recognition of Halal certification. This will make it easier and faster for Vietnamese enterprises to obtain Halal certification in Vietnam, instead of in the host country. Vietnam has participated in bilateral discussions on Halal food with other ASEAN member countries.
In addition, Vietnam has signed many other FTAs, such as the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), creating ideal conditions for foreign investors to enter the Halal food market in Southeast Asia through Vietnam.
To date, Vietnam has issued four national standards TCVN in the field of Halal, including: Halal food - General requirements; Good agricultural practices for Halal production facilities; Halal animal feed; Halal food - Requirements for animal slaughter. At the same time, the Ministry of Science and Technology has granted a Certificate of registration for product certification activities according to Halal standards to two organizations. The Ministry is studying and developing a project to establish a national Halal certification center and is actively working with Halal certification organizations of other countries to implement the signing of mutual recognition of technical standards.
Standardizing subjects related to Halal products is one of the important measures to bring Vietnamese Halal products to better access the global Halal market, contributing to increasing the value of Vietnam's agricultural product chain.
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| The scale of the global Halal economy is a potential market for Vietnamese businesses. |
Positive signs
According to the Vietnam Halal Center, Vietnam has the potential to produce Halal goods worth up to 34 billion USD for OIC countries. However, domestic enterprises can only meet a part of the demand of OIC members because enterprises must have Halal certification for their products.
Halal certification is more complicated than other certifications because of the testing process and the lack of a unified international organization to issue it, each country has its own agencies. Therefore, Halal products must meet the standards of both the country of manufacture and the country of receipt. Enterprises face many difficulties in meeting the requirements of Halal certification.
In recent years, a positive sign is that the number of Vietnamese enterprises achieving Halal certification has been increasing with nearly 1,000 enterprises. The top 10 provinces and cities with many enterprises achieving Halal certification include: Can Tho, Hanoi, Bac Lieu, Dong Thap, Phu Tho, Ben Tre, Vinh Phuc, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan and Kien Giang. The five sectors with the most Halal-certified enterprises include: Aquatic products, seafood, tea, sweets, sugar products, pho, vermicelli, rice paper, vegetables and fruits (fresh/dried)...
On February 14, 2023, the Prime Minister issued a Decision approving the Project "Strengthening international cooperation to build and develop Vietnam's Halal industry by 2030", in which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was assigned as the focal agency, presiding over and coordinating with ministries, departments, branches, localities and enterprises in the implementation process to open up this potential Halal market.
Currently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has developed an Action Plan to implement the Project in 2023, focusing on major groups of solutions such as: integrating the content of developing Vietnam's Halal industry in bilateral cooperation with partners; promoting the signing of agreements to create a legal framework to enhance international cooperation on Halal; promoting research and providing information related to Halal, especially on trade policy, Islamic culture, Halal certification...; promoting trade and investment promotion of Halal products and services; supporting and connecting Vietnamese localities and enterprises with global Halal markets...
At the same time, the Ministry is actively coordinating with relevant ministries, departments, branches and provinces and cities to strongly promote information and propaganda, contributing to raising awareness of people, businesses and localities about basic information related to Halal such as: concepts, standards, certifications, development trends of the Halal market and culture, business with Muslims...
In addition, it is necessary to support and encourage enterprises and localities to produce products and services that meet Halal standards, in conjunction with the development planning of industries and localities to participate deeply and effectively in the global Halal market, while promoting the image and brand of Vietnam's Halal-standard products and services on the global Halal map. In particular, it is necessary to build and perfect a suitable management mechanism, aiming to gradually perfect the legal corridor in certifying, managing, and developing Halal standards...
With the spirit of diplomacy serving the economy and development, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with its role of "pioneering and accompanying", has been and will continue to coordinate with the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Science and Technology, Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Home Affairs and relevant agencies to stand side by side and support localities and enterprises in strengthening international cooperation to develop the Vietnamese Halal industry comprehensively and professionally, in order to open up a large, potential market and create new vitality for the country's sustainable economic development.
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