"Total enterprises with halal certificates from BPJPH, as of September 7 (2021), are 10,205 enterprises, with 139,998 products," BPJPH interim head Mastuki informed while officiating the launch of the free halal certification program, accessed online from Jakarta on Wednesday.
The free halal certification program is aimed at around 13.5 million national MSEs eligible for certification, he said. Currently, the gap between certified enterprises and enterprises eligible for the certification is wide, he informed.
According to Mastuki, domestic demand for halal certification is increasing, particularly among export-oriented entrepreneurs. Besides, with the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia has a huge market potential for the halal industry, he noted.
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"The BPJPH has scheduled events to promote halal certification of enterprises until December this year. Those events include talk shows, (information) dissemination, technical assistance, and other events related to halal products and halal certification," Mastuki informed.
He also reminded the halal certificate is important for entrepreneurs to maintain customer trust and ensure their products conform to the Islamic law and production standards.
Mastuki assured that entrepreneurs will find the application process for halal certification convenient as it will be completely conducted online through the Sihalal application.
"Application for halal certification is wholly online: from registration, product audit, to certificate issuance, (everything) will be performed via the Sihalal application. The online process will be convenient for entrepreneurs as they can simply open the application to see the certification progress," he stated.
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Earlier, Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas had said that halal certification is not only meant to fulfill criteria for a halal product, but to enhance the positive image of halal products.
Consumers around the world have lauded halal products as high-quality and hygienic, hence halal products should be encouraged and halal lifestyle promoted, the minister noted.
"The free halal certification program is aimed at MSEs seeking a halal certificate for their product. We hope the halal certificates could become a key for Indonesian MSE products to access global markets," Minister Qoumas said.
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Translator: Asep F, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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