Halal industry has strong potential here

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu is believed to have potentials for a successful halal industry. This, as the province, declared the number one tourist destination in the country, gains more popularity from tourists coming from Muslim countries, according to the Office on Muslim Affairs.

Series of stakeholders’ forums and consultations are being conducted this time to discuss about the halal industry and earn more support for its advancement.

These are government initiatives to be part of the 150-billion US dollars global halal food industry.

OMA-Visayas regional director Sakiran Hajan said that the promotion of the halal industry is very timely for Cebu since more tourists from the Middle East and other Muslim countries are expected to arrive here by the end of the year.

“Look at Manila now, it has been devastated by (tropical storm) Ondoy and (typhoon) Pepeng, it is hard for them to handle tourists. It will take time, probably about six months, for them to rehabilitate the city. Muslim tourists will likely come to Cebu instead,” Hajan said.

He added that in fact, based on the initial report from one major hotel here, thousands of tourists from Arab countries are expected to arrive until the end of the year. There are already around 4,000 students likewise from Arab countries are currently studying in Cebu, Hajan said.

When OMA started the public and stakeholders’ consultations fours months ago, they have started receiving applications from restaurants to be halal accredited.

So far, OMA-Visayas has approved the Asian Gourmet while other applicants like Crown Regency and Montebello are in the process of completing the requirements.

Datu Tahir Lindasan Jr, director IV of the Bureau of External Relations and head of the Halal Technical and Advocacy Unit said that halal industry is not limited to serving Muslim tourists coming in the country.

If it will be successful, the market to be served includes the around 805 million Muslims in Asia, 300 million in Africa, 250 million in Middle East, 18 million in Europe and so on.

Lindasan said that they are tapping the whole country to support the industry because of its many benefits especially to the non-Muslim producers. “Successful producers of halal products are not even Muslim countries like Europe, Malaysia and Indonesia,” Lindasan said.

Halal is an Arabic word which means lawful, permitted or acceptable. “It can refer to food, things, manners and actions allowed by God for mankind and enjoined upon the believers of Islam,” said Lindasan.

According to the ASEAN general guidelines, halal foods are those which ingredients do not contain any components or products of animals that are unlawful as food to Muslims or even if it is lawful animal but not slaughtered in accordance to the Shariah Law.

These are also foods not containing any ingredient that is considered as “najis” – things that are themselves filthy, and cannot be cleaned or cleansed such as pork, blood, and carrion.

During its preparation, processing, or transportation, the food must be fully separated from any other foods that do not meet the requirements.

OMA will be providing trainings for restaurants and hotels wishing to be halal accredited.

Hajan said that they must accredit restaurants or hotels so Muslim visitors will gain confidence that what they eat are only those permitted by their religion.

“Because one of the challenges identified is that Muslim tourists have no confidence in our restaurants. By accrediting more restaurants, we are teaching our brothers to live an honest and religious life at the same time helping the Philippine economy,” Hajan added. — Jessica Ann R. Pareja/MEEV   (FREEMAN NEWS)