Seizing Opportunity in Global Halal Market

KOMPAS/ALIF ICHWAN

Visitors packed an international-scale exhibition on food, beverages, and catering services, The Global Food Marketplace or Salon Internationalde I\'alimentation (SIAL Interfood), which took place at the Jakarta International Expo Kemayoran, Jakarta, Friday (12/15/2019).

A number of programs have been launched by the government to achieve the ambitious target of becoming the world\'s largest producer of halal products by 2024.

With this target, in the next three years, Indonesia must be able to reverse its position from that just of a market and one of the largest importers to becoming the largest producer.

The potential of the global halal market amid our backwardness—as the largest Muslim-majority country that accounts for 12.7 percent of the world\'s Muslim population—has long been realized. However, almost no significant breakthrough has been made. It was only in 2018 that we launched a national halal industry road map. Better late than never. With this road map and the government\'s strong commitment, it is not impossible that we will be able to cover the gap. One of the reasons why we have been left behind so far is the lack of a strong halal eco system in the country, where research and innovation are an important part of it.

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At present, the development of the halal industry, according to Vice President Ma\'ruf Amin, is one of the priorities in the development of sharia economy and finance in Indonesia.

The short-term target is to meet domestic needs of which 87.2 percent have not been filled by imported products, and in the long term to become a global player. With an estimated Muslim population of 2.2 billion in 2030, the world\'s consumption of halal products is projected to increase from US$2.2 trillion in 2018 to $3.2 trillion in 2024.

SEKRETARIAT WAPRES

Vice President Ma\'ruf Amin chaired a meeting related to the development of the halal industrial area at the Vice President\'s office, Jakarta, Thursday (2/7/2020).

We are behind other countries. Malaysia launched its road map for the halal industry 30 years ago and has even declared itself to be the world\'s halal center. Thailand, with a Muslim population accounting for only 5 percent, is also a big player in Southeast Asia. In halal tourism, we are also far behind Japan and China, which are not Muslim-majority countries. Australia and New Zealand dominate the world halal meat market. Brazil, where the Muslim population only accounts for 0.0002 percent, controls the halal chicken market. South Korea dominates the halal cosmetic market.

The government has, in fact, implemented a number of strategic steps, such as the establishment of a halal industrial area and a halal zone in an existing industrial area. Two industrial zones, namely the Modern Cikande Industrial Estate in Serang and Safe n Lock Halal Industrial Park in Sidoarjo, have been named as halal industrial areas by the Industry Ministry.

This year, the government has also shifted its focus on developing small and medium industries (IKM) to produce halal products (Kompas, 6/4). Various exhibitions have also been held. Complicated issues related to certification, namely product curation, have also been addressed by simplifying the process.

Without the improvement of the ecosystem, it is difficult to realize the dream of becoming a major global player.

According to professor of halal science at the International Islamic University Malaysia, Irwandi Jaswir, there are five key important components in the halal ecosystem: production, services, infrastructure, human resources, and government support. So far, we are weak in almost all the five components. We only focus on certification. Without the improvement of the ecosystem, it is difficult to realize the dream of becoming a major global player. Even in certification, there are still a number of problems such as the tug-of-war between interests and power struggles between institutions.

Kompas/Priyombodo

Illustration: Map of areas with halal tourism potential in the 2019 Indonesia Sharia Economic Festival (ISEF) at the Jakarta Convention Center, Central Jakarta, Wednesday (11/13/2019).

A number of government policy initiatives and the active involvement of the Vice President as mandated d by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in this program are expected to be able to cope with the bottlenecks in the field.

(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi).