Government seeks solution to ensure mandatory halal policy does not burden MSMEs

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Maman Abdurrahman said the government was seeking a solution to ensure that mandatory halal certification did not burden MSMEs.

Maman said his ministry was holding discussions with the Halal Product Assurance Organising Agency (BPJPH), the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, MSME associations and business associations to formulate a policy that would not place an excessive burden on MSMEs.

“We agree that we need to implement this law, but we must ensure it does not end up becoming a burden for our MSMEs,” Maman said at a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday.

The government has officially extended the deadline for mandatory halal certification for a number of products and services to October 2028, from the original date of 18 October 2026, taking into account the preparedness of businesses and the national halal ecosystem.

Maman explained that mandatory halal certification is required under Law No. 33/2014 on Halal Product Assurance.

However, many MSMEs are still unable to meet the requirement, partly because of the cost.

According to data presented by Maman, halal certification has covered around 4.43 million business entities, while approximately 16 million products have been certified.

He said these figures remained well short of the target, meaning the government needed to find a formula to expand certification coverage without undermining the viability of MSME businesses.

“The fact is that some MSMEs are currently bearing a fairly significant burden from this halal certification requirement,” he said.

Maman said discussions on the policy formula were still at an early stage, so he could not yet provide details of the technical measures to be introduced.

The mandatory halal certification deadline for micro and small businesses (MSEs) covering food, beverages, slaughtered products and slaughtering services has been extended to 17 October 2028.

The government has also set that date as the start of mandatory halal certification for imported food, beverages, slaughtered products and slaughtering services.