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DAVAO
CITY—A business group in General Santos City will soon
open a certification body for halal-prepared food in the
region’s bid to strengthen its position to take a share
in the potentially rich market in the Middle East.
The
Muslim Business Forum Inc. (MBF) did not say when it
would launch in General Santos City the Mindanao Halal
Authority (Minha), but said it would be attended by Hajj
Mohamed El-Mouelhy, chairman of the Halal Certification
Authority Australia.
Halal
food refers to those prepared according to
Muslim-accepted practices.
El-Mouelhy
has trained the halal auditors of Minha and would be the
guest of honor and speaker of the launching program,
according to a statement of the Central Mindanao office
of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) posted in
its Internet web site.
The
Minha would be the halal-certifying body in the South
Cotabato-Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-Sarangani -
General
Santos City (Soccsksargen) growth region. The MBF hoped
that the body would “open opportunities for local
companies to access the 1.9 billion potential global
halal markets estimated at $150 billion world trade
annually.”
“Finally, a halal certifying body is born in Region
XII,” it said.
The MBF
chairman, engineer Mohammad Ali K. Suib, said the group
recently completed the halal standards and the
corresponding operations manual, an effort assisted by
competent ulama, or Muslim scholars, in the region.
“With
all this, plus external supports we got from Halal
Certification Authority Australia for developing
technical capabilities, Minha is more than ready to
certify,” Suib said.
Minha is
registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission
as the business arm of MBF in-charge of halal
initiatives.
MBF said
it would expect participants in the still-undated
launching program from prospective clients, government
officials, partners, and supporters of halal initiatives
in Mindanao. Suib said the Minha would conduct
one-on-one consultation with participating companies
“that are ready to apply for halal certification.”
The
Minha would be the fourth of such halal-certifying
bodies. The others have been put up in
Manila, Davao
City
and Zamboanga City. Halal certifiers are engaged in the
inspection, audit, and halal certification of food,
nonfood products, establishments and services.
The MBF
clarified that the Philippine government does not
certify halal products. The MBF said that the Supreme
Court ruled that “halal, being religious matter, is
within the purview of Islamic religious organizations.”
The MBF
is a business organization assisted by the US Aid in
International Development–Growth with Equity in Mindanao
(GEM). It is a member of the Small and Medium Enterprise
Development Council (SMEDC) of General Santos City.
In
Cotabato City, the DTI-Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM) also recently assessed the status of its
move to establish a halal-certified food and livestock
industry.
This
remained its major program since last year that was yet
to take off. Details were not immediately available on
the assessment conducted by the DTI-ARMM during its
Management Committee Meeting and Planning Workshop. |
