Halal Certification Helps Indonesian Culinary Known To Be Wider

Minister of Creative Economy Teuku Riefky Harsya at the Indonesia Go Global event organized by HIPMI Culinary Indonesia (HCI) in Jakarta, Wednesday. (ANTARA/Fitra Ashari)

JAKARTA - Halal certification is one of the important factors that can expand Indonesia's culinary reach to the international market.

With this certification, culinary products from MSMEs in Indonesia have a greater chance of being known and accepted in various countries, especially in Muslim-majority areas.

The Minister of Creative Economy, Teuku Riefky Harsya, stated that halal certification in Indonesian MSME products is not an obstacle, but a golden opportunity to penetrate the global market.

"The existence of halal certification should not be considered a burden, but as an added value that can open wider access to countries with large Muslim populations," Riefky said at the Indonesia Go Global event held by HIPMI Culinary Indonesia (HCI) in Jakarta.

According to him, many Indonesian culinary products have succeeded in penetrating the international market because they have halal certification. This shows that this certification can be the main attraction for Muslim consumers around the world.

He also emphasized that the process of obtaining halal certification should not be seen as something that is difficult, but as an investment for business actors so that their products can be more competitive in the global market.

The Main Secretary of the Halal Product Guarantee Administration Agency, Aqil Irham, also added that Indonesia has great potential to expand exports of halal products to various Muslim countries.

Currently, Indonesia is still ranked eighth as an exporting country for halal products to 56 member countries of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), under countries such as France, Russia, India, and China.

"The global Muslim consumers spend about US$3 trillion on halal products, while Indonesia has only received US$13.38 billion from this figure. This means that there is still a very big opportunity for Indonesian halal products to develop in the international market," Aqil explained.

He hopes for further support from the Ministry of Creative Economy in encouraging MSMEs and the creative industry to be more competitive at the global level.