PH to boost presence in Middle East halal market

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The Philippines is strengthening its participation in the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) halal market in partnership with a certification body that has been duly recognized in the region to handle the authentication process.

"We are already there, the halal GCC's market. We are now actually entering stronger with the support and help from organizations like Prime [Group] and a whole-of-Philippine-government approach towards the promotion of halal products," said Trade Commissioner Vichael Angelo Roaring.

Prime Group, which is run by a Filipino, chief operating officer Dr. Mary Jane Alvero–Al Mahdi, has been providing the certification process in UAE and Saudi Arabia. 

The company is accredited by the GCC Standardization Organization (GSO), which unifies safety standards for goods entering the markets.

Philippine Agrarian Reform Undersecretary for Mindanao Affairs Amihilda Sangcopan highlighted the importance of participating in halal discussions during her speech at a recent stakeholders recognition event.

For one, Sangcopan noted that despite the country having 12 million Muslim Filipinos, halal products are nowhere to be found in grocery stores.

Equally important, she told GMA News Online, "the halal global market will… reach $7.7 trillion by 2030, and we haven't made a dent," which is why, she said, the Philippines is "positioning" itself on the burgeoning industry.

A change in mindset away from subsistence farming can help, she said.

"If you have a product and you want it to be halal-certified and your partner as certifier is Prime, you somehow have that guarantee that you not only domestically be acceptable as halal in the Philippines, but can also enter and penetrate the global market here at UAE and probably the entire GCC," Sangcopan said.

Halal, which means lawful or permitted, refers to adherence to Islamic rules in preparing food.

The six GCC member-countries are the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.

The stakeholders' recognition day, organized by the Prime Group, was attended by nearly 20 Philippine-based companies which had received their halal certification.

Al Mahdi is an engineering alumna of Adamson University in Manila.

Movie star Joel Torre's JT's Manukan Grille, which last year opened a branch in Deira City Center, north of Dubai, and recently at another mall, was among attendees, a Prime Group client for facility management. — VDV, GMA Integrated News