September 17, 2021. In 2019, the global Halal market amounted to 2.6 trillion USD and is projected to continue to grow in the succeeding years according to Secretary Ramon Lopez of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Food and beverages are the main halal products that greatly contribute to the global Halal market. Halal tourism is also one of the contributors in the increasing global Halal market (Philippine News Agency, 2019). In 2020, Secretary Lopez stated that many Muslim tourists skip visiting the Philippines because only few places offer Halal food and products. By having Halal certified products from the agriculture and fishery sector, the Philippines can increase Halal tourism. Consistent with its mandate provided by Republic Act No. 10817 (Philippine Halal Export Development and Promotion Act of 2016), the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (BAFS) endeavored to develop the Philippine National Standard (PNS) for the Production of Halal Raw Milk.
In 2018, the National Dairy Authority (NDA) proposed the development of PNS for the Production of Halal Raw Milk – Code of Practice (COP) with the objective to incorporate the Halal principles in the production of raw milk intended for further processing. The proposal was immediately subjected to pre-assessment and later on included in the priority list for standardization. The initial consultation was conducted in October 2019 to gather technical and commercial information as reference for the improvement of the initial draft PNS. Furthermore, a series of Technical Working Group (TWG) meetings were conducted in 2021.
On September 7, 2021, the BAFS together with the TWG conducted the online final stakeholder consultation to further validate the provisions specified in the working draft PNS as a result of TWG meetings conducted. The activity was participated by 27 relevant stakeholders representing the government agencies, academe/research institutions, and private sectors. The discussion of the working draft PNS was facilitated by the Livestock Section Head, Dr. Gari Pellinor U. Hernandez together with Project Manager, Mr. Aljon S. Reyes.
A finalization meeting will be conducted in October 2021 to deliberate the comments and suggestions gathered from the stakeholder consultation in order to come up with a final draft standard. The PNS COP for Production of Raw Milk is expected to be endorsed and approved by the DA Secretary for subsequent endorsement to the DTI – Bureau of Philippine Standard for repository by November this year. ###
Figure 1. Group picture of the participants on the final stakeholder consultation
for the development of PNS for the Production of Halal Raw Milk - COP.
References:
Cover Photo Source: https://cheesemaking.com/blogs/learn/the-evolution-of-milk-for-cheese-making
Philippines News Agency. (2019). DTI sees bigger PH share of $2.6-T global halal market. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1074084
Canivel, R.S. (2020). DTI woos Muslim tourists, plans growth of halal industry, Philippine Daily Inquirer. https://business.inquirer.net/286680/dti-woos-muslim-tourists-plans-growth-of-halal-industry