Bangladesh: Govt mulls Halal certification law to tap global market

The government plans to enact a halal certification law for local products to tap into the $660 billion global halal food market.

The move comes following requests from many local manufacturers for halal credentials to enter the international markets.

“Demand for halal foods, cosmetics, consumer and pharmaceuticals products is increasing from the Muslim population the world over,” Shamim Mohammad Afzal, director general of Islamic Foundation, told The Daily Star by phone.

The rising demand, he said, is an excellent opportunity for Bangladesh.

The foundation has already prepared a draft of the law and related guideline and forwarded it to the religious affairs ministry for a review.

The ministry will sit with the stakeholders — that include the different ministries, Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution, business bodies and exporters — in December to finalise the law.

“The new law will help exporters to gain more profits and strengthen their positions,” Afzal said.

The draft of the law stipulates a producer to appoint two experts to ensure all processes are conducted under the Islamic guidelines.

The Islamic Foundation upon verification will provide the items with halal logos, and no exporter is allowed to export halal products without the certification from the foundation.

The foundation will also examine the products which enters Bangladesh as halal, further said the draft.