Business sector backs Mindanao halal-industry development

ZAMBOANGA CITY—The
country’s halal-food industry is getting a boost as Mindanao’s private
sector takes a more active role in charting the industry’s development.

Businessmen
from Mindanao have proposed the development of a regional-industry plan
that both reflects the national halal-industry framework and addresses
specific business concerns of the region during last week’s Mindanao
Halal Industry Stakeholders Forum held in Davao City. Halal is an
Arabic term for “permissible” and is used when referring to food that
is acceptable for consumption according to Islamic law.

During
the same forum, Chamber of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industries
in Northern Mindanao representative Edwin Andot presented a draft on
Mindanao halal-food industry development framework.

Andot is also the chairman of the Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Council (RAFC) in Region 10.

He
said the plan will cover not just food processing and manufacturing but
also downstream activities, such as branding and promotion.

He
said the Mindanao Economic Development Council (Medco) has agreed to
take the lead in holding workshops in 2009 leading to the formulation
of a three-year Mindanao Halal Food Industry Development Plan to be
jointly implemented by the public and private sectors.

At
present, Andot said, poultry growers’ associations in northern Mindanao
areas were already preparing to pilot the export of halal products to
the Middle East.

The rapidly growing global market for halal-certified food products is currently estimated to be $580 billion.

Mindanao has been identified in the 2004-10 Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan  as the center of the country’s halal-food industry.

Earlier this year the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Bureau of Product Standards  announced the Philippine National Standards on Halal Food  2067 formulated by local Islamic scholars.

Last
week’s forum on halal was organized by Medco, with the support from the
departments of Agriculture, Health, Science and Technology, and
Tourism, aside from the DTI.

The
forum was also supported by the Office of Muslim Affairs, the DTI in
the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and the Growth with Equity in
Mindanao  Program of the US Assistance for International Development.

Other
business support organizations in last week’s forum on halal were the
Mindanao Business Council, Muslim Business Forum, and Muslim Mindanao
Halal Certification Board, as well as individual food manufacturing
firms.

Also present were officials of the National Halal Accreditation Board Inc., a nongovernment organization  created with government support to ensure the integrity of halal certification.