Ahmad Shanizam, Trade Commissioner at the Consulate General of Malaysia in HCMC, discusses the importance of the Halal market and Halal products (*) for helping attract Muslim tourists to Vietnam. The Saigon Times Daily interviewed the commissioner on the sidelines of the Halal Certification-Export Opportunities and Approaches for Vietnamese Entrepreneurs seminar recently organized in HCMC by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. (source)
The Saigon Times Daily: How important is the world’s Halal market?
- Ahmad Shanizam: Being an Islamic country, Malaysia sees the Halal market as one of the most important. Based on the Muslim population and demand for Halal products, the total market value of Halal is US$2.27 trillion, encompassing both food and non-food products.
What about Malaysia’s?
- Around 60% of Malaysians are Muslims, making it very profitable to promote Halal products in Malaysia. All Muslims must consume Halal and even non-Muslims might consume Halal. We have also seen a flock of tourists from the Middle East or Muslim-majority countries come to Malaysia, partly because it is easy to find Halal food there.
You mention the Halal market for tourists in Malaysia. What do you suggest Vietnamese firms active in the tourism industry do to attract Muslim travelers?
- They should provide the tourists with the Halal package, in which names of certified Halal restaurants are provided. As Muslims only consume Halal food, knowing this information will make them feel at ease and comfortable when visiting the country. However, I think not only the restaurants but also the tourism authority must come in and play a role in attracting Muslim travelers.
How can the tourism authority get involved?
- It can help with promoting the Halal restaurants. For example, it can assist the firms in distributing the Halal package in the airports or on the airplanes such as Vietnam Airlines. It is a matter of branding and communicating the information to the tourists so that they know where to find Halal food. This is especially helpful to restaurants that do not have the word ‘Halal’ in their name but actually offer Halal food.
Any other suggestion?
- Vietnam should also open more Halal restaurants. The Halal market in Vietnam is a very lucrative one. As mentioned, Muslims only consume Halal food. However, I can quote only a few Halal restaurants in HCMC offering Halal food, namely Halal@Saigon, Bon Mua and VN.Halal. Whenever Muslim tourists come, they only visit these restaurants. So during lunchtime, these places will be packed. Furthermore, it is now school holiday in Malaysia so a lot of Malaysian Muslim tourists travel to Vietnam; we have to eat lunch in early hours to avoid the crowd.
Halal also includes other products. How can you as an expatriate get them in Vietnam?
- When we talk about Halal, mostly it is about food. But there are other categories such as cosmetics and toiletries like skin care products or toothpaste. As a Muslim, I am very particular about Halal and only use the Halal products that I have brought from Malaysia. When I was posted here, I bought enough Halal products to use for three years. Besides, when my friends or relatives come to Vietnam from Malaysia, I will ask them to buy things that cannot be found here. One thing I often ask them for is Kentucky nugget – my children’s favorites. Since Malaysia is not far from Vietnam, it is relatively easy for me to get the things I need.
However, if Vietnam can offer more Halal goods, I will for sure not buy them from Malaysia. For example, two weeks ago I went to Lotte Mart and saw a pack of candies with HCA (Halal Certification Agency in Vietnam) and bought it straight away without any hesitation. I feel very proud that the Halal community in Vietnam is growing. It is not hard to get a certification as long as the products comply with Halal standards. And the demand for them is going to be huge.
HCA in Vietnam is not yet famous in the world so what should it do to increase its prestige?
- Like any other organization, it will experience some difficulties during the set-up period. I suggest it to involve extensively in the world forum or world gathering to make its existence as an authority of Halal in Vietnam known. Also, it should set aside a budget to invite the media from overseas to show them its procedures of certifying Halal products so that the reporters can write positive articles about the agency and help its branding in the world. Only then can HCA be prominent.
Any cooperation from the Malaysian agency to help the Vietnamese agency?
- The Malaysian agency is more than willing to help. Its responsibility is to help the entire Halal market, not only that of Malaysia. It is part of its work to help HCA. Malaysian Muslims also want to consume authentic Halal products from Vietnam. We want Halal products to be renowned.
Why such thinking? Is it an Islamic value?
- Just and fairness are Islamic core values. We do not compete with each other. We see HCA in Vietnam as our brother and include it in our Malaysia Halal Directory.
There are fake organizations that claim they can certify Halal products. How do you deal with this?
- This is where the government comes in as a regulator. The government must detect the fake ones and shut them down. Besides, there should be one and only one agency that has the authority to certificate. In Malaysia, we have many state authorities such as Kelantan’s and Kedah’s but only Jakim (Department of Islamic Development Malaysia) is able to grant Halal certifications. Vietnam must also bring all the parties together and form one committee. Otherwise, people will be confused and do not know whom to trust.
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