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View all search resultsBusinesses ‘not ready’ as halal deadline nears, push delays
The law requires products or restaurants without the certification in October to declare they do not comply with Islamic law, a step that could hit sales. In the absence of compliance, such products could be pulled from the market.
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A halal logo is displayed on Feb. 23 at a health and beauty retail store inside a shopping mall on Jl. Jend. Basuki Rachmat in East Jakarta. (JP/Iqro Rinaldi)
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usinesses are pushing back against next month’s deadline for mandatory halal certification, saying many are ‘not ready’ as complex procedures, gaps in the certification system threaten to disrupt supply chains and raise costs.
Halal certification will become mandatory on Oct. 18 for a wide range of products, expanding a requirement that is currently voluntary, to include food and beverages, cosmetics, certain medicines, chemicals and various consumer goods, both domestically sourced and imported.
Industry groups are calling for more time and a simpler process, while the government remains adamant on keeping the deadline.
Dewi Meisari, head of the small and medium enterprise (SME) center at the University of Indonesia, said the policy appeared to take a “one-size-fits-all” approach to almost all goods, treating businesses with vastly different resources and levels of readiness in much the same way.
“Most small and medium businesses are just selling things, doing whatever they can because they can’t find jobs. They’re doing it to survive,” Dewi told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. “A policy like this shows the government doesn’t understand the reality people live in.”
Halal certification, once pursued largely as a way to expand their businesses, is now becoming another mandatory licensing requirement, she said, adding to the growing number of certifications businesses must obtain.
“Now it’s being treated like a permit,” she said, adding that cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food ingredients and personal-care products are among the harder categories to certify because of its supply chain's complexities.
