HCM CITY — The signing of multiple trade cooperation agreements between Việt Nam and Middle Eastern countries late last year has opened up new opportunities for Vietnamese goods to enter the halal market, creating strong momentum and prospects for Vietnamese businesses, particularly those operating in agriculture.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Phùng Đức Tiến, products entering the halal market — which serves a quarter of the world’s population — must comply with Islamic laws, particularly for items such as food and cosmetics. The growing demand for imported food in Muslim countries presents significant opportunities for Việt Nam’s agricultural and aquatic products as well as its food processing industry.

Local seafood processing and export enterprises are completing required procedures and adopting necessary technologies to bring their products into the halal market.

According to Tô Thị Tường Lan, Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietnamese seafood companies are actively pursuing strategies to expand into new markets to mitigate risks associated with overreliance on one or a few traditional markets.

Among these firms, Minh Phú Group has obtained halal certification and is boosting shrimp exports to the halal market. Other companies, such as Vĩnh Hoàn Corporation and Biển Đông Seafood Co., Ltd., are also expanding their presence in this market in addition to their traditional markets.

Lan said Việt Nam’s production standards, such as VietGAP, GlobalGAP and HACCP, are largely aligned with halal requirements, providing a solid foundation for the halal certification process.

Việt Nam has also strengthened partnerships with halal certification bodies in the member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), she noted, adding that recent agreements between halal management agencies in Việt Nam, Malaysia and Indonesia aim to promote mutual recognition of halal certificates and facilitate smoother market access.

In addition to agricultural producers, many other food companies in Việt Nam have also obtained halal certification and are exporting their products to the halal market. According to the Food and Foodstuff Association of HCM City, major food enterprises such as Vinamilk, Bibica and Cholimex Food JSC have been exporting to Muslim markets for several years. Notably, Vinamilk has successfully won over consumers in the Middle East with high-quality halal-certified products that fully meet the region's stringent standards and requirements.

According to Lê Châu Hải Vũ, a consultant and improvement specialist at the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), halal certification is a mandatory “entry pass” that food processing and export businesses must obtain in order to access markets in Muslim countries. He said that once certified, halal products gain key advantages such as meeting the regulatory requirements for export to Muslim countries and earning the trust of Muslim consumers.

Given the potential of the halal market, many Vietnamese agricultural exporters see it as both a driving force and a challenge in their strategy to penetrate new markets and boost the country’s export revenue.

General Director of Vietnam Agriculture Joint Stock Company Nguyễn Văn Hà said that the halal market is indeed a highly promising one for the future. To successfully tap into it, businesses must work together to establish a closed value chain model, ranging from product procurement and quality standardisation to the application of traceability technology, exports and market development.

According to Hà, investing in international standard systems such as halal, GlobalGAP or ISO is an essential path for enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnamese agricultural products. — VNS