Mandatory Halal Certification, BI Boss: Sorry To Be Alone Maybe It's OK, But We Must Think Global

JAKARTA - Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Perry Warjiyo said embedding halal certificates on national products is quite important in winning market challenges in the future. According to him, as the largest Muslim country in the world, Indonesia is considered to be at the forefront of halal product certification matters.

"Sorry, if it's for your own needs and now it's okay because most of our population is Muslim, so almost all of the products produced are halal. But we have to think ahead and also have to think that Indonesia is one of the players in the world and this is what we have to win,” he said during the webinar Opening Ceremony 1st Indonesia International Halal Fair & 2nd Intercontinentalk, Monday, June 21.

Perry added, this strategy is also in line with the paradigm of millennials who tend to be critical of safe products with halal certificate guarantees.

"Young people today are very concerned about halal products, this is what we all need to understand," he said.

Furthermore, the BI boss did not even rule out the possibility that national production could be evicted if he was not able to read the direction of the market.

“They (millennials) really care about halal certification. One example, if there are products that are not labeled as halal while other products have halal certification and come from abroad, it is possible that young people will choose the halal product even though it is from a foreigner," he explained

For this reason, he views that mandatory halal product certification is a must that must be fulfilled by all business actors in the country.

"Please also understand that halal certification is a necessary condition to build a halal chain in Indonesia," he said.

In previous reports, the State Global Islamic Economic Report 2020-2021, as reported by Antara Wednesday, June 9, stated that the consumption level of the world's Muslim community reached 2.02 trillion US dollars in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, fashion, travel and media sectors, to halal recreation. .

The world's Muslim community spending on modest fashion reached 277 billion US dollars, an increase of 4.2 percent from the previous year, and is expected to reach 311 billion US dollars in 2024.

Of course, this is a great opportunity for the development and expansion of the Indonesian fashion market throughout the world. To that end, the Government of Indonesia together with stakeholders are determined to strengthen the promotion and marketing of Indonesian halal products through the use of digital technology-based online markets.