KUCHING, Nov 10 — Halal certification can provide impetus for the products of small and medium enterprise (SME) entrepreneurs to dominate the local market and further penetrate the global market, said Halal Development Corporation (HDC) chief executive officer Hairol Ariffein Sahari.
He said that since the Halal Tour programme was organised in conjunction with the 2022 Budget Initiative, 70 per cent of the more than 1,000 entrepreneurs who participated in it have succeeded in boosting company sales.
“We obtained this figure from the research we have done after the tour was held in Terengganu, Pahang and Sabah, where a total of 70 per cent of participants obtained a halal certificate within 30 working days.
“Therefore, it is important for SME entrepreneurs or communities in Sarawak to realise how important halal certification is because it provides added value to their companies in terms of exports and to enter local markets such as hypermarkets and retail shops throughout Malaysia,” he told Bernama here today.
The Halal Tour is organised by HDC in collaboration with the Ministry of International Trade, Industry and Investment Sarawak (MINTRED).
Running for three days from Nov 8, the tour, which aims at helping local entrepreneurs to find business opportunities in the halal market, achieved its target with 450 participants.
Meanwhile, Anas Popcorn founder, Kawi Li said he became aware about how important halal certification was when he wanted to carve a niche for his products in the local market but initially faced incompatibility in the food industry for lack of a halal certificate.
“From there on, I pursued the certification, it wasn’t easy but the end result was a boom in sales for SME entrepreneurs like me, which allowed my company’s products to penetrate the market locally and abroad.
“For me, this halal tour is a very helpful platform because it involves various related agencies to help entrepreneurs (obtain halal certification and) market their products,” he said.
From its humble origin as a roadside business in 2015, Anas Popcorn has now dominated the local market such as at petrol stations and supermarkets, whereupon Kawi envisions that the product will soon penetrate the market in Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
The founder of Aroma Terapi Shaluxury, Shamsiah Yaman, 35, said she yearned for halal certification of her product so that it could be marketed to London through Halal Street UK, the largest online market platform for Malaysian halal products in the United Kingdom.
For Siti Faizah Morni, 33, the owner of Syarikat Kasu which is selling nut products, it is her fervent hope to expand the family business to the global level.
“For a long time, I have been searching for a platform that can help me to add input on obtaining halal certification such as this programme organised by HDC, to an extent it has deepened my understanding on the process to obtain halal certification,” added Siti Faizah, who is also a recipient of the state government’s Bantuan Sarawakku Sayang (BKKS), Prihatin Special Grant and Digital Pioneer Entrepreneur Programme. — Bernama
