The Halal market: an economic opportunity for Thailand
It was in 2001 when Thailand adopted the policy of becoming the “Kitchen of the World” whereas in 2004 Chula’s Halal Science Center was established. Since then, it has played an important role in assuring Muslim consumers all over the world of their food safety.
“Despite the limitation that Thailand isn’t a Muslim country, Muslims all over the world are confident that if the Halal food item is from Thailand, it has gone through stringent measures that meet both scientific and religious standards.” Associate Professor Dr. Winai also went on to disclose the numbers for its economic value “the halal market is enormous since it covers one-fourth of the world’s population or about two billion people. As a country that exports food and agricultural products worth 24 percent of its GDP, Thailand pays much attention to the world halal economy since its total worth is higher than 4.8 trillion USD per year with 1.3 trillion USD alone for food products.”
Realizing its tremendously high market value, the cabinet in 2005, resolved to push forth Thailand’s strategy to the level of Thailand Diamond Halal to ensure that the country’s products and services be more widely accepted. exchange program in thai
Full HAL-Q standards and services
Associate Professor Dr. Winai explained that “Halal refers to items that Muslims can consume safely both physically and spiritually. As such, the item must be free of any haram substances i.e., swine, dogs, carnivorous animals, poisonous animals, reptiles, etc. Animals that can be eaten must also be slaughtered by way of Islamic law and must be healthy, not diseased, and not have suffered before their slaughter. A Muslim has to perform the slaughter in the appropriate ritual manner and use the correct utensils as prescribed. The complicated composition of raw materials and production process make Muslims particularly interested in halal safety standards.
Generally speaking, standards are about principles stipulated in documents whereas putting these standards into practice is known as standardization. There are international stipulations of basic standards like SOP, SSOP, GMP, and HACCP that Chula’s Halal Science Center has developed a method of integrating into the system for example the Halal-GMP/HACCP which later became HAL-Q (Halal Assurance, Liability–Quality System) and was awarded the Best Innovation in Halal Industry from the Prime Minister of Malaysia in 2006.
“HAL-Q is a full-scale management system created to certify and take responsibility for the halal features as well as to integrate halal standards into food safety so that the halal food production conforms with Islamic laws and is clean and safe by international standards.”
According to Associate Professor Dr. Winai, there are now over 770 factories around the country that have become part of the HAL-Q system involving a labor force of more than 200,000.
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