MANILA: The Philippines aims to tap into the global halal market, the Department of Trade and Industry said on Friday, as it seeks to create 120,000 new jobs in the next five years.
The predominantly Catholic Philippines has been lately looking to expand the market presence of its halal-certified products not only in the Middle East, but also in neighboring Muslim-majority Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.
With the world’s Muslim population at about 1.8 billion people, the global halal market is estimated to be worth more than $7 trillion. A third of it is contributed by the halal food and beverage industry, but the market also covers recreation, travel, financial services, fashion, and many other sectors.
The DTI announced the Philippine Halal Development Plan in April, in accordance with the Halal Export Development and Promotion Act passed in 2016.
The strategy will aim at making micro, small and medium Filipino enterprises a part of the global halal ecosystem by the end of this year, and over the next five years “achieve 230 billion ($4 billion) Philippine pesos halal trade and investments, and generate 120,000 jobs,” the DTI said in a statement on Thursday evening.
“We are just now implementing it,” DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual told Arab News.
“There are already halal producers in the Philippines but now we want to be able to go global and be able to tap the more than $7 trillion halal market globally.”
The department is going to lead an inter-agency task force to position the Philippines as the “most halal-friendly trade and investment hub in Asia Pacific.”
The task force will include representatives from the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, the Philippine central bank, and the departments of agriculture, tourism, health, science and technology, and foreign affairs.
It will also involve the Mindanao Development Authority — the state agency promoting the welfare and development of the Mindanao region, which is one of the country’s poorest areas and home to the majority of about 7 million Philippine Muslims.
Pascual said that with the new strategy, the Philippines will be able to make the halal sector a major player and tap into foreign markets, making local enterprises “able to participate in the industry and contribute to the economic development of the country, particularly in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.”
Philippines aims to create 120,000 new jobs in halal industry
https://arab.news/gdsje
Philippines aims to create 120,000 new jobs in halal industry
- Manila eyes $4bn investment into the sector in the next 5 years
- Strategy aims at making Filipino enterprises part of the global halal ecosystem
Death toll in Karachi shopping plaza fire rises to 10 as search continues for dozens missing
- Mayor Murtaza Wahab said on Monday that four more bodies were recovered overnight, raising the death toll to at least 10
- The fire broke out late Saturday. According to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, families reported about 60 people missing
KARACHI: The death toll from a massive fire at a shopping plaza in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, rose to at least 10 after rescuers recovered four more bodies from the badly damaged building during an overnight search for dozens of people reported missing, officials said Monday.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze at the multistory Gul Plaza late Sunday nearly 24 hours after it erupted, allowing rescue teams to enter the building to rescue those trapped there. Mayor Murtaza Wahab said four more bodies were recovered overnight, raising the death toll to at least 10.
Local media reported that at least 14 people died in the blaze.
The fire broke out late Saturday and spread quickly through shops storing cosmetics, garments and plastic goods, said Dr. Abid Jalal Sheikh, the city’s chief rescue officer.
On Sunday night, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said families had reported about 60 people missing, prompting authorities to launch the search operation. Relatives of the missing gathered outside the heavily damaged building Monday, many in tears, witnesses said.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Police said an investigation was underway.
Karachi, the capital of Sindh province, has a history of deadly fires, often blamed on poor safety standards and illegal construction. In November 2023, a fire at a shopping mall in the city killed 10 people and injured 22 others.
A massive fire at a garments factory in Karachi in 2012 killed 260 people.
