The Middle East market is very fond of Vietnamese pangasius fish exported according to Halal standards - Photo: THAO THUONG

The world's most populous Muslim countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, South Asia, Pakistan, Bangladesh... use Halal food and are in need of importing many agricultural products from Vietnam in large quantities.

Expanding factories, diversifying products to improve quality, investing in deep processing technology to "please" consumers... are the ways that Vietnamese businesses are implementing to pave the way to enter the Halal market, with strict requirements according to Islamic law.

According to the Global Islamic Economic Report, Halal food spending is estimated to reach 7,700 billion USD in 2025 and is expected to increase to 10,000 billion USD in 2028. Meanwhile, the Muslim population accounts for about 24% of the world's population and is likely to increase by 3% by 2050.

The Halal market opens up great opportunities for Vietnamese businesses but also comes with many challenges. Due to the strict regulations of Halal standards for products of animal origin, Vietnam's Halal export products are mainly agricultural products.

Vietnamese processed agricultural products are popular

With a closed model from animal feed production to poultry farming and producing final products such as eggs, chicken meat and related processed products, Ms. Pham Thi Huan - Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Ba Huan Joint Stock Company - said that the company's products have been on the market for many years, but only chicken eggs have received a "new breeze" because of the Halal standard.

"Ba Huan chicken egg products are present in 5 countries and territories including: the US, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia. In addition to the farm in Binh Duong province, we are building another farm in Ben Luc (Long An province), increasing the total output to 2 million eggs/day to supply the market of Muslim countries. We already have a Halal standard certificate, just waiting for the market to open the code, Vietnamese chicken eggs will be on the table of this market", Ms. Huan said.

Meanwhile, with more than 10 years of exporting aloe vera and coconut jelly products to the Middle East market according to Halal standards, Mr. Nguyen Van Thu - Director of GC Food Company - believes that the opportunities in this market are huge. In 10 years, GC Food's customer base in the Halal product segment has gradually increased. The number of orders has also increased. Selling to this partner will lead to other partners.

"The important thing is that our production process must be standard and guaranteed. Not only the Middle East market, Halal standard products are considered good for health, so processed agricultural products of Vietnam or GC Food in particular are also having a "position" in the Philippines, Malaysia...", Mr. Thu informed.

The most populous Muslim countries in the world such as Indonesia, Malaysia, South Asia, Pakistan, Bangladesh... are in need of importing many agricultural products from Vietnam in large quantities. Therefore, a processed cashew nut exporting enterprise in Dong Nai province has just invested in a system of machinery technology from Japan to improve the quality of cashew nuts for the Halal market.

"If processed according to standards, Vietnamese cashew nuts are very fragrant, delicious, and have a "very Halal" taste, so foreign customers will increase their orders. With raw materials but "high-quality" technology, the products will be upgraded. It is expected that by January 2025, all the machinery that we ordered 3 months in advance will be available at the factory. When we have Halal-standard products, we will boldly sign large contracts and deliver them far away," said the business owner.

Populous Muslim countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh... are in need of importing many Vietnamese agricultural products that meet Halal standards, including coffee - Photo: B.T.M.

Long-term Halal standards must still be quality

Because there are no general regulations on Halal certification, each market has its own requirements. Therefore, according to export enterprises, the important thing is to invest in product quality. According to Mr. Thu, many enterprises find opportunities from the Halal market, but are "mistaken" because they think that having a Halal "passport" means winning big in this market.

"Meeting Halal standards is only a necessary condition, the sufficient condition is still product quality. A big cake, with many enterprises around the world aiming for, means always being highly competitive. In addition to reasonable prices, we only win big when Vietnamese products are of high quality. Improving quality every year so that products can fully satisfy consumers' preferences in this market is sustainable", Mr. Thu analyzed.

A methodical production process, input system of raw materials, cultivation process and even standards for varieties of cultivated products... must also be ensured to complete a sustainable Halal certification. According to a representative of a tra fish exporting enterprise, Vietnam does not have a unified set of Halal standards to apply to all countries, but many agencies and organizations participate in the certification process with different procedures.

"Vietnam's agricultural products meet food hygiene and safety standards in accordance with Halal certification, such as VietGAP, GobalGAP, organic certification, HACCP, ISO... and are favored by Muslims. Not to mention that Vietnamese agricultural products can conquer a market worth thousands of billions of USD thanks to deep international economic integration with countries from Free Trade Agreements (FTA)... But looking back, there is no unified set of Halal standards, it is a big barrier for products wanting to penetrate this market", he said.

According to a leader of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Middle Eastern countries have a demand for food imports of up to 80%, equivalent to 40 billion USD per year. In particular, the demand for imported food and the structure of imported goods of this market are similar to Vietnam's strengths. Not to mention, the import tax is very low, only from 0 - 5%, creating great opportunities for businesses.

"There are many opportunities but there are still many challenges that businesses have to face when exporting. The important issue is to still build a methodical market penetration strategy. From there, it will be the foundation for producing export products with appropriate quality, specifications, and designs...", he emphasized.

Middle East market increases import of Vietnamese seafood

According to Mr. Truong Dinh Hoe - General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), thanks to the attention and support of the Government and leaders of relevant departments, Vietnamese seafood products have become known to many Middle Eastern markets and are increasingly imported.

"The quality of exported seafood products is also increasingly improved due to compliance with strict standards. In particular, tuna and pangasius are two products that account for a large proportion in the Middle East, and are expected to have large sales in the coming time. There is a great opportunity, so wherever there is Halal, there are... our businesses," said Mr. Hoe.

According to Mr. Hoe, in the first 11 months of 2024, the Middle East region has emerged as a potential market for seafood exports (with a growth rate of 18%), accounting for nearly 4% of the total seafood export value of the country. This market is for the first time in the top 2 seafood import markets with the strongest growth (after China) thanks to a strong "hit" on Halal standard products.

"Middle Eastern consumers (Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar) prefer canned tuna, pangasius fillets, cut pieces and frozen whole fish... with Halal standards. In fact, Vietnamese enterprises have exported about 70% of canned tuna to Israel (the largest seafood importer in the region). Pangasius with Halal standards in the UAE market alone increased by 28%", Mr. Hoe informed.

Businesses worry about broken supply chains

Although affirming the great potential of the Halal market, not only tuna and pangasius but also some other freshwater fish, Mr. Pham Quang Thuan, representative of a seafood export enterprise in Nha Trang City, said that when bringing goods to the Halal market, enterprises will have to improve product quality, strictly comply with regulations to meet market requirements.

However, according to Mr. Thuan, the biggest challenge when exploiting this market is that political fluctuations and conflicts in the Middle East region will certainly affect the export activities of Vietnamese enterprises, causing disruptions in the supply chain. "Enterprises are very afraid of this risk, so in addition to the great opportunity, each enterprise must calculate and build its own solution, to avoid "breaking down" if unfortunately encountering risks", Mr. Thuan said.

Countries step up exploitation of Halal market

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam has nearly 1,000 Halal-certified enterprises. However, Vietnam has not yet formed a Halal ecosystem while large, experienced suppliers are dominating the market share such as Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Brazil, etc.

Appearing in 1994, Korea's Halal industry has overcome difficulties, producing many Halal-certified products from instant noodles to kimchi, functional foods, shampoos and expanding to logistics, accommodation services, etc.

The solution that Korea has proposed is to learn from the experience and cooperate with Muslim-majority countries; establish the Halal Industry Research Institute (KIHI) to conduct in-depth research, train and advise businesses in the Korean Halal industry.

Meanwhile, although the proportion of agriculture in GDP is very low, only self-sufficient in about 10% of food demand, the remaining 90% is imported, but processed food is one of Singapore's major export items, with an export turnover of about 9 billion USD/year. Of which, up to 70% of the export value with about 50,000 items are Halal certified items.

According to businesses, the reason is that Singapore has a very good Halal certification system, recognized by Muslim countries; has an international logistics and trade infrastructure system; the Halal product distribution system is widely distributed in many supermarket chains and large stores...

Source: VASEP