@Halal April 2019 | Page 9

09 april-may. 2019 | @Halal Indonesia has passed Law No. 33/2014 on halal product assurance in October 2014, which requires all products to be certified halal in 2019. Key Halal Muslim Markets — 652 million Algeria Iran Lebanon Qatar Turkey Bahrain Malaysia United Arab Emirates Iraq Saudi Arabia Egypt Jordan Morocco Syria Indonesia Kuwait Oman Yemen Tunisia Indonesia streamlines halal certification through agency World Muslim Population (Millions Continent World Population in 2006 Africa West Asia Muslim Population in 2006 923.2 Muslim Percentage 442.88 47.97 3970.5 1060.65 Europe 731.7 26.71 50.7 6.93 North America 331.7 7.13 2.15 South America 566.05 3.08 0.54 Oceania 33.54 Total 6313.78 0.60 1.79 1565.28 24.79 Sources: Statistica.com, Salaam Gateway, Mihas Report Purchasing Power of the Muslim Countries   Muslim Population (Million, 2005) Per capita food expenditure (p/a US$) Halal Food Market (Millions US$) Africa 461.77 250 115,443 West Asia 195.00 570 111,150 South Central Asia 584.80 300 175,440 Southeast Asia 266.37 350 93,230 China 39.10 Europe (incl Russia) 51.19 1,250 63,988 North America 8.26 1,750 14,455 South America 1.64 500 820 Oceania 0.35 1,500 525 Total 1,565.00 175 5,865 – 580,915 Source: http://www.islamicpopulation.com establishments across 50 countries. The growth has been attributed to the digital boom and increasing discretionary income of young Muslims. One of the findings from the Crescent Rating report shows that 46% of Muslim millennials travel two to five times a year for the length of four to six days per trip. Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Spain and South Africa are some of the countries that are trying to be attractive to the Muslim segment as it is projected that 156 million Muslim travellers will be in the market by 2020. Gaining interest in halal products Currently, the global halal market has gained its attention from the trade merchant world. Many Halal Expos had been held around the world, for example in Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey, Dubai-UAE and Iran. E-commerce and online business portal had been proved to be one of the best e-business solutions to penetrate the emerg- ing market. However, not much e-commerce portal either by government or private sector focusing on the halal market has being seen in the halal trade market. Currently, the most well-known and largest halal business portal in the world supported by the Malaysian government is DagangHalal.com. The platform is currently taking on the mission to propagate Malaysia as the ‘Global Halal Hub’ and integrating the manufacturers, importers, exporters, distributors and halal service providers into the global halal industry.  The halal industry is growing steadily, and Malaysia is one of the most suitable example of halal certifications granted to not just food products. Cosmetics and pharmaceutical products are among that looks for halal certification." it is gaining traction among industry players worldwide. The inclusiveness of the industry which can be integrated into all sectors makes opportunities virtually endless, and makes for an attractive niche for companies to invest in. Moving forward, the halal industry is expected to continue on this path as it garners more attention and exposure. There are 1.8 billion Muslims around the world, amounting to around 27 percent of the global population. The Muslim population around the world collectively supports halal product market, which is currently valued at more than US$2.3 trillion according to the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA). Indonesia has passed Law No. 33/2014 on halal product assurance in October 2014, which requires all products to be certified halal in 2019. This law also created the Halal Certification Agency (BPJPH) to oversee the process and provide ongoing certification for products. This means that even non-halal products have to go through the rigorous process. BPJPH has a number of legal rights to take administrative actions, including registration, testing, and certifica- tion process. The actions are conducted in order to certify that the traded products, whether they are imported or produced locally, are halal. The agency’s main authority is to develop and establish detailed policies regarding Halal Product Assurance. These include criteria and standards of halal assurance, the guiding principles of the halal audit, and the procedures of the halal label and certificate registration. The agency In Indonesian, BPJPH stands for Badan Penanggulangan Jaminan Produk Halal (Halal Product Assurance Organizing Agency). Since October 2017, it has been enacted by the Indonesian Government to conduct and authorize halal certification registration and process under the Law number 33 of 2014 about Halal Product Assurance. Although BPJPH acquires its own authority to deal with halal prod- ucts certification in Indonesia, the halal provisions of this agency still refer to the written fatwa of MUI. Due to the fact that Muslims are the majority in Indonesia, the establishment of BPJPH is aimed to increase safety and certainty among them, specifically in regards to halal products which are traded within the country. When a certain product has passed the certification process administered by the agency, the product’s halal state is officially guaranteed, thus, given the right and permission to be used by Muslim citizens. BPJPH’s vision and mission is to increase consumer awareness of halal products. The agency wants to give consumers a guarantee of whether products are Halal. For products that are 100 percent halal, they will be labelled halal. If they are not halal, then BPJPH will want to make sure that people know it by having a non-halal label. It is impossible to certify all products to be halal so the ones that are clearly non-halal (such as pork) will also be labelled non-halal. One noticeable benefit of the BPJPH Law is that it can be accepted by international law due to the agency’s authority as registered under the cooperation with foreign institutions. The broad scope of BPJPH certification is obviously an advantage for the companies as they do not need to repeat the certification process for products which are exported to the international market. The same applies to all The same rule also applies to foreign products which are traded and distributed in Indonesia. If the particular products have obtained halal certification from legal and trusted halal assurance agency in other countries, they only need to be registered as imported products without having the obligation to conduct testing and inspection process. Another advantage of the new halal assurance is its validity period. Different from the previous law that gives the certified prod- ucts a two-year period, the products that are registered to BPJPH has a longer validity period, that is, four years after the certification is published. Therefore, the companies can save their time and budget when they want to extend the certification. The BPJPH Law, in conclusion, brings a new hope for halal guar- antee and assurance in Indonesia. Through the well-administered process, the agency will provide a legal certification for halal prod- ucts so they can be consumed safely by Muslims.