Indonesia's Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Teten Masduki, targets Indonesia to be the center of the halal industry by 2024 and a global fashion hub. "This potential must be optimized, not only as the main target market, but also as the world's halal producer center," said Teten in his statement on Wednesday (12/4/2023). At the Coordination Meeting for Accelerating Halal Certification, Business Identification Number (NIB), and SNI for Micro Businesses, the former Chief of Presidential Staff stated that his ministry fully supports the "one million halal certifications for micro and small enterprises" program. Therefore, together with the Indonesian Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH), his ministry continues to synergize efforts to increase halal food and beverage production capacity until halal certification is obtained.
In the same occasion, the Minister of Investment/Head of the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Bahlil Lahadalia, mentioned that the halal certification process needs to be evaluated as there are parties who still charge fees for it. "The issue of halal certification in the field also needs to be evaluated as some still charge fees or are not free. Some people pay up to IDR 6 million. However, we have always advocated for this program to be free for its administration. That is the current condition," said Bahlil. Previously, the Minister of Trade, Zulkifli Hasan, also mentioned that Indonesia has a huge potential in the Muslim market and modest fashion. There are at least two factors that support the belief that Indonesia can play a bigger role in this industry. First, the world's Muslim population accounts for about 25% of the total global population, and by 2060, it is predicted to increase to 30% of the global population. Second, the purchasing power of modest fashion products has increased by 6.1% in the last 4 years and is projected to continue to grow in line with the growth of consumers or the population.
