Indonesia and Thailand join Saudi-led Global Halal Mark alliance

Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council are pursuing closer alignment of halal requirements in a market characterised by separate national rules, competing certification bodies and differing religious interpretations. The Saudi Halal Center says its framework is intended to simplify international trade and help businesses expand exports. The commercial market extends well beyond food: the American Halal Foundation, citing analysts’ reports, puts the global halal market’s current value above $7 trillion and expects it to reach $10 trillion by 2030. The Global Halal Certifiers Directory lists 192 certification bodies across 73 countries, operating under a variety of national regulations, religious interpretations and accreditation requirements.

Miran Ismael, lead auditor at the European Certification Center for Halal, expects Gulf harmonisation efforts to have little effect on the worldwide halal-food market, which he describes as substantially larger than the Middle Eastern market alone. Each Gulf state retains its own halal standard as part of its regulatory and economic framework, he says, making regional agreement difficult. Nandini Roy Choudhury, a senior analyst at Future Market Insights, describes the existing system as expensive and administratively complicated for manufacturers: approval in one destination may still leave a product needing further certification, inspections or paperwork elsewhere. In her assessment, even Gulf-only alignment could eliminate repeated audits, accelerate market entry and give Saudi Arabia a greater role as an entry point for halal goods serving the wider Middle East. She nevertheless expects differences in religious interpretation, slaughter requirements, accreditation and domestic regulation to persist.

Disagreements concern, among other things, animal stunning, slaughter procedures and certification conditions. Ismael says European rules place strong emphasis on animal welfare, including strict requirements governing stunning and slaughter. Major European retailers increasingly demand high welfare standards for poultry, while veterinary regulations can make simultaneous compliance with different halal standards difficult. Recognition also involves religious and political authority. Ismael notes that Indonesia and Malaysia regard themselves as leading authorities in global halal certification; he considers political agreement between major halal markets necessary before substantial technical harmonisation can proceed. Other analysts cited in the article also identify potential recognition difficulties where certification is overseen by religious authorities different from those underpinning the Saudi system.

Azmi Anees, chief of staff at the American Halal Foundation, expects the Saudi Halal Mark to affect American businesses. He says most halal food and supplement production intended for Saudi Arabia and the Middle East takes place in the United States. A requirement for all Saudi-bound exports to carry a standardised logo could therefore create additional regulatory and labelling tasks for American manufacturers, he says. Exporters already tend to choose certifiers according to their intended destinations and those markets’ requirements. Anees identifies beef and poultry as areas with particularly pronounced differences. Only a small number of North American certifiers meet the beef and poultry standards of Malaysia’s JAKIM, which he describes as one of the longest-established halal authorities. Some international halal standards prohibit stunning in beef production, whereas other certification bodies approve facilities using more permissive interpretations. Exporters consequently need a certifier recognised in the Muslim-majority markets they plan to supply.

The Saudi initiative also incorporates environmental, social and governance principles into halal certification. Choudhury says certification has traditionally concentrated on ingredients, processing, slaughter and preventing contact with prohibited substances. She describes the emerging approach through the concept of halal and tayyib, encompassing products that are permissible, healthy, safe, responsibly produced and ethically managed. Industry observers believe ESG provisions could increase the Saudi mark’s appeal to international exporters. Choudhury cautions, however, that unclear auditing and disclosure could make compliance more complicated or prompt concerns about greenwashing. Her assessment links the broader certification approach to sustainability requirements as well as access to export markets.

Analysts cited in the article expect scope for closer alignment as trading relationships deepen, recognition spreads and exporters seek simpler certification procedures. Anees argues that a widely accepted system would require regulators and certifiers to devise requirements acceptable to all major groups of halal consumers. He believes such a system will eventually emerge, but expects the process to take time. Choudhury considers a layered arrangement more realistic: internationally referenced technical standards would coexist with regional frameworks, including those used in the Gulf, while national authorities would retain responsibility for recognising certificates and granting market access. Governments may treat halal accreditation as an expression of religious authority, food regulation and national sovereignty, she says. Ismael, by contrast, regards a single worldwide standard as unlikely in the near term because of substantial theological and jurisprudential differences within Muslim communities. He compares the situation with kosher certification, where one religious certification system does not satisfy every consumer group.

Choudhury identifies several practical tests for harmonisation: agreement among regulators on core technical conditions; mutual recognition of certification bodies by major importing countries; digital verification of certificates and supply-chain records; and demonstrable cost savings for manufacturers. Consumer confidence would be another requirement. In her view, Muslim consumers would need to believe that a common mark had improved consistency while preserving religious requirements. Observers also identify Saudi Arabia’s willingness to commit political capital, funding and diplomatic effort to securing international backing as a factor in the initiative’s prospects.