The Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH) in collaboration with Shipper Indonesia conducted a series of socialization and education to customers and the Shipper Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (UMKM) partner community spread throughout Indonesia. Based on the mandate of the Halal Product Guarantee (JPH) regulation after the issuance of Law 11/2020 concerning Job Creation and PP 39/2021 regarding the implementation of the JPH Sector, the implementation of halal certification in Indonesia is demanded to be faster than before. As is known, based on the JPH Law, by October 17, 2024, all products entering, circulating, and traded in Indonesia must be certified halal.
"The purpose of implementing halal product guarantees is to provide comfort, security, safety, and certainty of the availability of halal products for the public in consuming and using the product. Also, to increase added value for business actors to produce and sell halal products," said Ahmad Sukandar, Coordinator for Halal Registration of BPJH, in a Webinar event initiated by BPJPH and Shipper in Jakarta, quoted on Tuesday. The government through the Ministry of Religion has recently launched a Free Halal Certification program or SEHATI which is intended for Micro and Small Enterprises (UMK). Most MSEs do not yet have halal certification. Through this free halal certification, it is hoped that more MSEs can penetrate the global halal market.
The government is very serious in implementing JPH because Indonesia is ranked fifth in the world out of 75 halal product producing countries in 2019-2020, an increase from 10th in the previous year. Indonesia is a Muslim country with the largest shopping for halal products in the world, which is 214 billion US dollars per year. President Joko Widodo has even expressed a strong determination to make the halal industry in Indonesia a motor of economic growth, a field of creativity, and productivity of the younger generation so that they can become a source of people's welfare. This is a reminder that the government is really serious in advancing the development of halal products, especially in the MSE (Micro and Small Business) sector. As a business sector that is rooted in the community, MSEs do have a big role in Indonesia.
"With this series of socialization and educational activities, it is hoped that MSME actors will be able to better understand the provisions and requirements regarding the implementation of halal certification that must be passed by MSMEs based on Law no. 11/2020 and PP No. 39/2021," said Wilson Andrew, Senior External Affairs Manager for Shipper Indonesia in his statement on Tuesday. The socialization and education program is one of a series of events under the umbrella of the Halal Industry MSME Acceleration Synergy program which was officially launched on August 25, 2021 by the National Committee for Islamic Economy and Finance (KNEKS) which is chaired directly by the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Ma'ruf Amin.
The objectives of the program include encouraging the strengthening of competitive, profitable and sustainable MSME Industries as well as synergizing various initiatives to strengthen MSMEs in the Halal Industry to be more effective and efficient. In recent times, the increasing demand for halal products that include food, beverage and cosmetic products has greatly encouraged the need for a halal logistics ecosystem. In an effort to meet these needs, Shipper currently operates five warehouses that have met the halal criteria in Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi. The operational activities of these warehouses have referred to halal standards where the completeness and cleanliness of the facilities are carefully considered.
