The Philippines can start exporting next year halal-accredited meat to selected markets abroad, including the Middle East (ME) and Brunei Darussalam.
Beata Humilda Obsioma, officer in charge of the Department of Agriculture’s National Meat Inspection Service, said the country already has its first halal slaughterhouse accredited as an “AA” abattoir in Cotabato City.
“By next year, we will upgrade the accreditation from double A to triple A, meaning that slaughterhouse can export [starting] next year,” she said.
Obsioma stressed that meat of halal animals, such as cattle, goats and sheep, can be exported.
She said the Philippine government shall conduct negotiations with governments of target markets. It is then up for local businesses to export. “These [markets] depend on business-to-business negotiations. What we target are our neighboring countries, like Brunei. We already exported before to Brunei; we can revive that. Then in the Middle East, there are many opportunities there so those are possible markets for halal,” she added in an interview.
Apart from meat, Obsioma said certified halal livestock products in Mindanao also offer huge potential for exports.
“Mindanao is the center of corn production. For our livestock and poultry, the production and processing should be there and then we export,” she said.