‘Convergence’ of efforts needed to develop halal sector

DAVAO CITY, Philippines - In a bid to push the development and promotion of Mindanao’s halal industry, stakeholders agreed here last week to form a Mindanao Halal Forum. In a round table discussion with the Mindanao Economic Development Council (Medco), halal industry stakeholders agreed to form a Mindanao Halal Forum that will facilitate information exchange and coordination of efforts to develop and promote this specialized sector. The Mindanao forum which will complement the efforts of the National Technical Working Group on Halal, will be composed of representatives from government, private sector and donor agencies. "There is really a need to converge efforts," an official statement quoted Undersecretary Virgilio Leyretana, Medco chairman, as saying. He said the creation of the Mindanao Halal forum runs parallel with President Gloria M. Arroyo’s directive in 2005 to harmonize all government programs related to halal trade in order to ensure compliance with international standards and effective implementation of the Halal Export Development Program. Among the issues and concerns discussed during the consultation was the low appreciation and understanding of suppliers as well as that of the certifiers on halal, as observed by the Muslim Mindanao Halal Certification Board Inc. (MMHCBI) in its series of surveys conducted in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). "Suppliers care to acquire certification only for halal export," the statement quoted MMHCBI Executive Director Marian Daud as saying. She stressed that there are also local consumers who want to buy halal food. ARMM has made halal one of its flagship thrusts. The Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan 2004-2010 identifies the ARMM as the center for halal production and processing. Mindanao is home to about four million Muslims, accounting for 20% of its the entire island’s population. The island also forms part of the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-the Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), which is home to over 50 million Muslims — itself a huge potential market for halal products and services. In the same round table discussion, Zenaida Hadji Raof-Laidan, regional director of the Department of Science and Technology, underscored the vital role of the government, especially amid the proliferation of unrecognized certification entities and unscrupulous suppliers of food products passed off as halal. Ms. Laidan also added that DoST will push the establishment of the Philippine National Science Halal Laboratory which will test products for halal certification. - BusinessWorld