Philippines poised to become Asia’s Halalhub to join $3.5 trln market

The administration building of ZamboangaCity Special Economic Zone and Freeport Authority, the agency. (Supplied

Believing in the potential trade relationsbetween the Philippines and the Muslim market in the global community, theDuterte administration approved a new law called the Philippine Halal ExportDevelopment and Promotion Act to develop and apply halal agricultural andmanufacturing standards and practices in the Philippines.

Grooming the Philippines to be Asia’s nextHalal export hub, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said that there is a growingdemand of the Halal industry because of the growing Muslim and non-Muslimmarkets both in the Asian and global community.

While there are 2 billion Muslim populationas of 2014 with a growth rate of 1.8% a year, the trade executive said that theindustry is expected to hit $3.5 trillion by 2021 from $2 trillion in 2015.

With this development,  Philippines is poised to take a bigger rolein the global halal industry. To sustain this, the Philippines is now a memberof the International Halal Accreditation Forum, a 27-member independent bodyand network of accreditation entities mandated to enforce halal standards intheir countries and territories.

Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone andFreeport Authority Chairman Christopher Arnuco. (Supplied)

In the domestic community, Lopez alsocalled on the municipal governments and Halal exporters to expand the coverageand category of halal system and strengthen more local laws for the industry’sdevelopment. He also encouraged the academe to get into the picture tofacilitate research and development so Halal-related subjects can eventually beintegrated in the academe so the private sector will eventually increase itsinterest in the industry.

Another Halal player rises

To support the halal industry, anotherplayer involved in the globalization of the Halal industry is rising in theSouthern Philippines. Located in Mindanao region, the Zamboanga Ecozone andFreeport Authority, will soon be the center of Halal global investors.

The Philippine government through theZamboanga Special Economic Zone and Freeport Authority has allocated a100-hectare complex to attract Halal processing and manufacturing foreigninvestors to invest in the Asian Halal Center in Zamboanga City, one of thePhilippine’s oldest cities.

Zamboanga City is the second most populatedCity in Mindanao (second to Davao) with over 800,000 residents. Out of this,35% of the population are Muslims and the city is known for the peacefulco-existence of different faiths and religions.

While the Philippines was named as one ofthe world’s most attractive investment destinations by independent bodies, theZamboanga City Special Economic Zone and Freeport Authority, took advantage ofthe Philippine’s growing economy by developing new incentives for investors whowill set up a Halal manufacturing and processing facilities in the zone.

Among the incentives include 100% ownershipof the business inside the zone and grant of working visas to foreignexecutives and technicians that are renewable every two years.

Furthermore, another incentive offered toinvestors is if the capital investment is maintained at not less than $150,000,a permanent residency status within the Zamboecozone will also be granted toHalal investors along with their spouses, dependents and unmarried childrenbelow 21 years of age.

Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone andFreeport Authority Chairman and Administrator Christopher Arnuco said that theAsian Halal Centre in Zamboanga is training its sight to capture the $1.38trillion halal market in Southeast Asia as the 100-hectare food processingcomplex has the capacity of housing prospective manufacturers of Food and FoodGrade products that targets to garner 30% of the market share of 15.9 billionin potential business.

The Zamboanga City Special Economic ZoneAuthority and Freeport otherwise known as ZAMBOECOZONE was established to be avital economic hub to promote job generation and adequate investments. Theagency supports the over all efforts to attract investments to Mindanao byproviding a favourable location and environment; ready access to markets,manpower and other resources and value-adding services, thereby contributing toregional and national development.

With this development, the revival of theHalal industry in the Philippines is expected to provide new employmentopportunities and improve trade relations with countries importing halalproducts.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/business/economy/2018/11/27/Philippines-groomed-to-be-Asia-s-Halal-Centre-to-join-3-5-trln-market.html