The global Halal market has a massive scale and great development potential thanks to the 2-billion-strong Muslim community that accounts for nearly 25% of the world’s population. It is forecast to reach about 2.8 billion people by 2050, with a market value expecting to hit 10 trillion USD by 2028.       

Halal food is becoming an important part of the global supply chain. In many countries, the product is not only for Muslims but also chosen by non-Muslim consumers, opening up opportunities for exchange among different ethnicities and religions.  

Halal products refer to not only food but also many other goods such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and even clothing which must comply with strict standards. All materials serving the Halal market must be obtained from legal sources according to Islamic regulations without causing harm to the environment and the community.

All ingredients for producing Halal products must be obtained from legal sources according to Islamic regulations. Illustrative photo. (Photo: VNA)

Halal – a promising market for Vietnam

The Halal market is considered a potential market, especially for countries with abundant advantages in agricultural and aquatic exports like Vietnam.

Vietnam boasts many favourable conditions to become a supplier of the global Halal market thanks to the country’s strengths in high quality agricultural and aquatic products. Vietnam’s import-export structure is complementary to the markets of Islamic countries, while many opportunities from new generation free trade agreements are available for the country.

Experts said Vietnam has a high possibility to turn the Halal industry into an important part of the national economy and penetrate deeply into the global Halal market. This is thanks to three major factors:

• Strengths in production, export and development of agriculture, food, tourism and textile industries.
• A large market with 17 free trade agreements (FTAs), including many new generation, regional and inter-regional FTAs.
• The important shaping policies, strategies, and legal foundation for Halal industry development.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh approved a project to strengthen international cooperation to build and develop Vietnam’s Halal industry until 2030 on February 14, 2023. This is the first project to provide major, strategic, national-level directions on mobilising international resources to build and develop the domestic Halal industry in a systematic, professional, and comprehensive manner, helping the country participate more effectively in the global Halal market.

On April 24, 2024, the Ministry of Science and Technology announced the the establishment of Vietnam Halal Certification Authority (HALCERT), helping to unify state management in the field of Halal certification and facilitate Halal certification activities in Vietnam. These are considered “passports” to help Vietnamese enterprises tap the potential Halal market.

However, achieving Halal certification standards and regulations is still difficult for Vietnamese businesses. In order to access and exploit the Halal market, authorities and many localities across the country have been promoting communications activities on trade policies, culture, and consumption practices of the Muslim market to domestic businesses, while supporting them in trade promotion, approaching and participating in this potential market.

Vietnam – Destination of global Halal product, service supply chain

The conference on promoting international cooperation to develop Vietnam’s Halal industry held in Hanoi on October 22 was the first national-level and largest event on Halal industry in Vietnam. It attracted the participation of leaders of many ministries, sectors and localities as well as 600 in-person and online delegates, including 50 foreign delegations.

The PM pointed to three important foundations that Vietnam has for boosting the industry.

• Firstly, Vietnam has a stable political and social situation with growing economic potential and scale and a rising population, ranking 34th globally in economic scale, and in the world top 20 countries in terms of trade scale. The country is in the golden population stage with 100 million people.
• Secondly, Vietnam has increasingly expanding foreign relations and international economic links, with diplomatic relations with 194 countries in the world, strategic partnerships and comprehensive partnerships with 32 countries. The country is a member of more than 70 important regional and international organisations and share good cooperation with the community of Muslim countries in the world.
• Thirdly, Vietnam has favourable geographical location and natural conditions to participate more deeply in the supply chains of Halal products and services thanks to its experience and contributions to ensuring global food security. Many agricultural products of Vietnam can meet Halal standards. The country also boasts advantages in tourism development, including Halal tourism, with a long coastline and diverse ecosystems.

PM Chinh also sent out three messages of Vietnam in developing the Halal industry.

• Firstly, Vietnam wants to make the development of the Halal market as an important economic cooperation, a new pillar, a new driving force in relations with countries.
• Secondly, Vietnam considers Halal a “golden opportunity” for Vietnamese enterprises to improve production capacity and strengthen cooperation with partners to effectively participate in the Halal market and the global Halal value chain.
• Thirdly, Vietnam advocates developing the Halal industry on the basis of respecting cultural values, especially human culture, the value of peaceful coexistence, demonstrating Vietnam’s contribution and responsibility to jointly build a peaceful, diverse, harmonious and jointly developing world.

At the conference, domestic and international delegates highly valued Vietnam’s potentials, strengths and strategies in actively participating in the global Halal market.

Chairman of Halal India Mohamed Jinna said Vietnam has a “bright future” as it approaches an opening global Halal market where certification will serve as a gateway to access a market that spans various industries such as food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, fashion, and tourism.

For his part, Secretary General of the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC) Ihsan Ovut lauded Vietnam’s dynamic economic development and its potential for developing the Halal tourism, food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals sectors.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Accreditation Centre (GAC) Moteb Al-Mezani perceived that Vietnam’s policy of developing the Halal industry matches the Gulf countries’ interests and orientations for developing cooperative relations.

The conference conveyed the message of a Vietnam ready to “cooperate and develop together”, harmoniously combining “internal resources” from domestic potential and strengths with “external strengths” from promoting effective international cooperation to serve the development of the industry and the building of the Halal ecosystem in a comprehensive and sustainable manner, gradually affirming a solid position on the global Halal map./. VNA