The Government has issued Decree No. 127/2026/ND-CP on quality management and policies for the development of Halal products and services, creating a legal framework to encourage investment, promote production and business, and enhance the competitiveness of Viet Nam’s Halal industry.

Raising standards across the board

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hang, Marketing Director of the Viet Nam Halal Certification Office, said that under Law No. 33/2014 on Halal Product Assurance, Government Regulation No. 39/2021 and Regulation No. 42/2024, Indonesia applies a mandatory Halal management regime to all products circulated in its market, under which imported goods must fully meet certification requirements. For imported food products, the latest deadline for compliance is October 17, 2026. After that date, products without valid Halal certification will not be allowed to circulate in the Indonesian market and may face legal sanctions.

Halal certification management and licensing in Indonesia are handled by the Halal Product Assurance Organising Agency (BPJPH) under the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs. The agency also serves as the focal point for managing the entire national Halal system, including the recognition of foreign certification bodies and the issuance of Halal code numbers for imported products. To fully meet these requirements, Vietnamese businesses need to ensure coordinated implementation at every stage, from certification in Viet Nam to registration in Indonesia.

First, enterprises must obtain Halal certification from a body recognised by BPJPH under the mutual recognition agreement (MRA) mechanism, ensuring compliance with Indonesia’s Halal programme. Then, the importer or legal representative in Indonesia must register on the SIHALAL system in order to obtain a foreign Halal certification code. This process includes document submission, verification, payment and BPJPH approval before the product can be legally marketed. In addition, products placed on the market must be labelled in accordance with regulations, using the Indonesian Halal logo together with the certification code.

In reality, many Vietnamese enterprises are facing difficulties in implementation because they have chosen certification bodies not recognised by Indonesia, or because their registration dossiers on the SIHALAL system are incomplete or non-compliant, leading to rejection or forcing them to restart the entire process, thereby increasing costs and affecting delivery schedules.

Meanwhile, the Halal market in the Middle East is also entering a phase of more comprehensive upgrading of standards. Truong Xuan Trung, head of the Viet Nam Trade Office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said that while Halal was previously understood mainly as a religious standard applied to food, the concept has now expanded into many sectors and is increasingly associated with organic standards, non-genetically modified products and absolute food safety. New standards are becoming more closely tied to the concept of green Halal, including biodegradable packaging, low-carbon products, plant-based foods and greater attention to product localisation.

At the same time, traceability requirements are becoming more stringent through the use of digital technologies such as QR codes and blockchain in supply chain monitoring. Packaging design is also required to use bilingual labelling in English and Arabic, with images appropriate to Islamic customs. With e-commerce expanding, and more than 80% of Halal consumer goods transactions taking place through super-apps, the UAE is also rolling out electronic invoicing systems and reporting mechanisms to ensure full transparency throughout the supply chain. This is creating a new benchmark in the Middle East that requires businesses to adapt quickly.

Enhancing capacity to access the market

Against the backdrop of continuously updated and expanded standards, Le Viet Anh, Secretary General of the Viet Nam Pepper and Spice Association, recommended that businesses exporting to Indonesia should proactively review their compliance with all requirements before October 17, 2026, choose the right Halal certification body recognised by Indonesia, coordinate closely with import partners throughout the registration process, and prepare full documentation, production procedures and related conditions to ensure compliance with regulations.

According to the Viet Nam Business Council in the UAE, Vietnamese enterprises have yet to access the Middle Eastern Halal market effectively. Some have attempted to enter the market without valid Halal certification, while many have miscalculated pricing structures and logistics costs, weakening the competitiveness of their products.

Another major constraint is the lack of reliable local distribution partners, which has disrupted market access efforts. Notably, the expectation of making quick sales is also an unsuitable approach, as the Middle Eastern market requires time to build trust and establish a stable distribution network.

To improve adaptability to market conditions, Ta Xuan Hien, Vice Chairman of the Viet Nam Business Council in the UAE, said that because customers in the Halal supply chain are mainly intermediary partners such as importers, distributors, retail systems, or service-sector buyers such as hotels and restaurants, businesses must build relationships with distribution networks from the outset rather than focusing only on the product, in order to optimise costs and improve competitiveness.

“The first step is to complete Halal certification and select suitable products. This should be followed by sending samples and taking part in trade promotion activities to test the market. From there, the focus should shift to identifying potential distributors and moving towards signing contracts for the first orders. If the market proves stable, businesses can then expand their scale and strengthen their presence in the region,” Hien stressed.