HDC Receives 380 Applications For Halal Certification

Bernama -- Halal Industry Development Corp (HDC) has received about 380 applications for domestic halal certification since taking over the role as the issuer of halal certificates from Department of Islamic Development, Malaysia (Jakim) last April.

Its chief executive, Datuk Jamil Bidin, said to-date 85 percent of the applications were received through HDC's portal, the e-Halal.

"More than 90 percent of the applications were received from the small and medium enterprise (SME) players, a dominant force in the local halal industry," he told reporters after briefing state Islamic affairs departments on the role of HDC here today.

Jamil said less than 20 percent of local SME players had successfully penetrated the international market such as the US and Europe.

"Most of our players failed to do so as they do not have the international quality standard certification such as the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)," he said.

He said the HDC would collaborate with the Small and Medium Industries Development Corp to help the SMEs improve their quality to compete globally," he said.

Jamil said the winner of the Malaysian Halal Champions programme would get HDC's help to obtain the GMP and HACCP certification as well to export their products globally.

He said besides the lack of quality, poor branding would also affect the ability of SMEs to compete internationally.

The programme, which was started last year, has named Prima Agri-Product Sdn Bhd the champion for the year.