Workshop highlights standardization and certification for Halal products
Post date: Thursday, Dec 21, 2023 | 12:23 - View count: 523
The Vietnam Certification Centre (QUACERT) under the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality (STAMEQ), in collaboration with the Institute for Africa and Middle East Studies (IAMES) under the Vietnam Academy Of Social Sciences, held a workshop themed “Standardisation and Certification: The Key to Enter the Halal Market” in Hanoi on December 20.
The workshop highlighted the importance of Halal standards and conformity certification to promote Vietnam’s sustainable participation in the global Halal market.
The event featured the participation of Acting Director General of STAMEQ Ha Minh Hiep, Ambassador of Malaysia to Vietnam Dato’Tan Yang Thai, along with various domestic and international diplomats, international organisations and business, representatives from Muslim community and press agencies.
At the workshop, the reports and presentations on main topics were delivered, including “Halal Economy – culture and potential and opportunities for Vietnam”, “national Halal standards system and orientation for developing standards for the Halal industry in Vietnam”, “Halal certification support for Vietnam’s involvement to the Halal global market “, and “JAKIM role in Halal Certification Globally”.
Addressing the workshop, Acting Director General of STAMEQ Ha Minh Hiep noted that the workshop provided keys for businesses and related agencies to take advantage of the scientific and practical bases towards helping Vietnam truly integrate into the world’s Halal industry and confidently invest and develop the Halal market in Vietnam.
The workshop also discussed and evaluated the current status and prospects for the Halal industry in Vietnam while proposing new measures and policies to strengthen cooperation and take advantage of international resources to improve the capacity of Vietnamese businesses to participate in the production and supply chains of Halal products and services worldwide.
The participants raised many questions and proposes related to policy for state management agencies towards the development of Halal industry in Vietnam. Thereby, the practical and serious attention from the Vietnamese Government’s the development of the Halal industry as well as the needs of Muslim countries were highlighted.
Malaysian Ambassador to Vietnam Dato’Tan Yang Thai said this workshop is a great start for businesses and industries interested in venturing into the halal economy, to have a basic understanding of the halal concepts, as this will involve significant investment and effort to meet the halal standards”, noted.
“Today’s gathering is a crucial platform for knowledge sharing and discussions, to foster the halal economy in Viet Nam as well as assisting and facilitating domestic halal manufacturers and exporters into the halal market”, he added.
The Halal market is considered a potential market and an opportunity for Vietnam to develop the Halal industry. According to an analysis by the Halal Development Corporation Berhad from Malaysia, the global Halal market reached 3,000 billion USD in 2020 and is estimated to reach 5,000 billion USD in 2030.
Vietnam has a great strength in exporting agricultural and aquatic products and a geographical advantage, as it is located near large Halal consuming markets, such as Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. However, the food import and export activities between Vietnamese businesses and the Halal market are just beginning.
Vietnam has been actively exploring partnership on halal with its Muslim counterparts such as Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, in order to tap into the global halal economy, he added.
In the near future, Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality will establish the National Halal Certification Centre to support businesses in accessing accurate information about Halal standards and certification requirements of international markets. This official national certification agency will be assigned the task of providing certifications for products, goods and services according to Halal standards; offering training and coaching activities on Halal standards and requirements for Vietnamese organisations and businesses; and boosting international cooperation activities related to Halal.
Concluding the workshop, the QUACERT’s Director Tran Quoc Dung said the workshop contributed to raising public awareness of the Halal industry, especially the halal ecosystem, with many areas that the parties are interested in.
He also stressed the importance of international cooperation to take advantage of support from other countries through embassies, to promote the implementation of bilateral agreements between Vietnam and other countries on Halal industry.
“We believe that based on the results from the workshop, the cooperation among all sides will be further strengthened to serve the Muslim community and the Halal economy towards meeting the requirements of the Government in developing the Halal industry by 2030”, he said.
The Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality will continue to study and complete a set of national standards for Halal products and services in harmony with standards of the international and regional markets and importers.
At the workshop, the QUACERT and IAMES signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation to develop knowledge and certification standards and services as well as boosting international cooperation on Halal for organisations, businesses, students and various government agencies.
