Vietnam can become a global Halal hub

Experts say the process of standardizing certification and building a specialized workforce will be the key for Vietnamese businesses to open the door to the $2 trillion Halal ecosystem.

Mr. Pham The Cuong, Trade Counselor of the Vietnam Trade Office in Indonesia, spoke at the forum - Photo: TRUONG LINH

Within the framework of the Vietnam International Sourcing 2025 Exhibition (VIS2025) taking place in Ho Chi Minh City, the workshop "Market trends and opportunities for exporting Vietnamese agricultural products and processed foods to Halal markets" recorded many opinions and suggestions from experts in the Halal market, expanding export opportunities and diversifying markets for Vietnamese products.

Halal certification... still difficult

Speaking at the opening of the forum, Ms. Ho Thi Quyen - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) - said that Vietnam currently does not have many Halal certification organizations that are widely recognized at the international level.

Halal certification activities in the country are still scattered and lack effective coordination among relevant agencies and units.

This causes many obstacles for businesses in accessing Halal export markets, especially in the stages of certification verification, quality control and specialized logistics operations according to the strict requirements of Muslim countries.

"It is noteworthy that the lack of a team of experts with comprehensive knowledge of the Halal value chain from production, processing, packaging, logistics to marketing and distribution... is a major barrier in the process of professionalization and deep integration of Vietnam's Halal industry into the global supply chain," Ms. Quyen added.

Exporting Halal Products via E-Commerce

Businesses connect at the Vietnam International Sourcing 2025 Exhibition - Photo: VIS

Mr. Pham The Cuong - Trade Counselor, Vietnam Trade Office in Indonesia - said that small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the field of food and agricultural processing with limited financial capacity, weak management skills, and human resources lacking in-depth knowledge of Halal standards are also a challenge, not proactively participating in and effectively exploiting this potential market.

However, if we can overcome the difficulties in improving quality and meeting market demands, Halal certification can be a golden passport to help Vietnamese products conquer the market of 2 billion Muslim consumers.

Mr. Cuong also said that in Indonesia alone, the trend of online shopping has become popular. Therefore, for Halal-certified products, this can be a potential channel for export activities.

In addition, Mr. Cuong also suggested that businesses use domestic distributors in Halal markets. "This is also the most superior and effective method due to the availability of import licenses, market knowledge, and procedures," he said.

From a Middle Eastern perspective, Mr. Mohammed Alfawaz - Chairman of Saudi Food Industry - said that Vietnam has established a Halal certification organization (HALCERT) and is promoting mutual recognition with international certification bodies.

Saudi Arabia’s Halal market is estimated to be worth around $60 billion by 2024, with 85-95% of its food needs being imported. This creates a huge demand for certified supplies from trusted countries.

Mr. Alfawaz said that Gulf countries are proactively diversifying their supply sources outside of Malaysia, Brazil, and India. In this trend, Vietnam has emerged as a potential additional option, with advantages in competitive costs and abundant agricultural resources.

In the long term, Vietnam can absolutely become a global Halal hub, acting as a trade bridge between Asia and the Middle East.

Figures from the General Department of Customs show that total two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Muslim countries reached 24.7 billion USD, up 5.7% over the same period last year. Of which, exports reached 10.9 billion USD in the first seven months of 2025, only slightly up compared to the same period in 2024.

This figure does not reflect the true potential when placed in the context of the global Halal market estimated to exceed 2,000 billion USD, serving more than 2.2 billion consumers.

Truong Linh

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/viet-nam-co-the-tro-thanh-trung-tam-halal-toan-cau-20250905201633747.htm