Indonesia Accepts Jakim Halal Certification - Minister

By Ahmad Fuad Yahya JAKARTA, July 11 (Bernama) -- The Indonesian government has accepted the halal logo and certificate issued by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), said International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed. He said the development brought relief to producers of Malaysian halal products who are facing difficulties penetrating the Indonesian market due to halal certification. He said the matter was confirmed at an informal meeting of the ministers for religious affairs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (MABIMS) in May. "Previously, entrepreneurs had to go through a complicated process but everything has been resolved. "We are very thankful to the Indonesian government for allowing Jakim's halal logo and certificate to be accepted in the republic," he told Malaysian reporters here Tuesday. The meeting paved the way for halal logos and certification by Jakim and the Indonesian Council of Ulamas (MUI) to be accepted and used in Malaysia and Indonesia. The recognition will give opportunities to market Malaysian halal products in Indonesia, which has the world's largest Muslim population. Mustapa said Malaysia's total world trade volume for halal products last year was RM1.8 billion (US$564.993 million). "This news is still new and not all Malaysian producers of halal products are aware of it. The ministry will launch various programmes to spread the news in order to encourage Malaysian entrepreneurs to export their halal products to Indonesia," he said. Mustapa on Tuesday chaired the Malaysia-Indonesia Halal Business Roundtable session organised by the Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC). The session, organised jointly by HDC, MUI and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) was participated by 30 Malaysian and 60 Indonesian entreprenuers. During the session, Mustapa invited the Indonesian entrepreneurs to grab opportunities to build manufacturing plants at several halal parks in Malaysia, in its states of Melaka, Johor and Kelantan. "We want Indonesian companies to build their plants in halal parks provided in our country, and help to promote their products in Asean countries as well as all over the world," he said. -- BERNAMA