Halal seen as new frontier in Philippine food industry

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has a strong opportunity develop halal foods amid a growing Muslim population.

During a capacity building training conducted by the Department of Agriculture Region 7 (DA-7)-Halal Food Industry Development Program, the agency said halal foods could develop a niche in domestic and foreign markets as supply and demand increase with the growing Muslim population.

Halal is a quoran word which means clean, permissible and lawful.

National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) focal person for Visayas Fateen Aljounara Pangarungan said there is an increasing demand for halal foods not only in the domestic markets but also in foreign markets.

She said the global Muslim population is expected to increase by 70 percent from 1.8 billion in 2015 to around three billion in 2060.

“With the increase of Muslim population, halal foods are needed. Halal foods have now niches in both markets. This is a good opportunity for the development of the local halal industry,” Pangarungan said.

With this opportunity, the NCMF official capacitating both the public and private sectors, as well as those Halal livestock slaughterers, need to know the right process of producing halal foods.

Pangarungan said that having a recorded database of halal companies and manufacturers make things easy for ready references.

With the directive from President Marcos to increase food supply, DA-7 officer-in-charge regional executive director Joel Elumba said this would include the halal food and the halal industry as a whole.

This will provide enough food supply for all, regardless of religious affiliation.