The global sukuk market has undergone significant structural evolution since its modern inception, adapting to investor appetites, regulatory frameworks, and market dynamics while navigating persistent tensions between Shariah authenticity and financial functionality and adapting to the changing needs and dynamics of the global financial market and stakeholder appetites. The following evolutionary depiction, adapted from Yagci, Izhar, and Turkhan Ali (2025), traces this trajectory:

AAOIFI Shariah Standard 62 (SS62) represents a pivotal development in the evolution of the global  sukūk market. At its core, the standard seeks to address a long-standing structural imbalance—namely, the pre-dominance of asset-based sukuk structures that grant investors only beneficial ownership rather than the asset-backed arrangements grounded in genuine ownership and effective risk transfer. While this corrective shift is firmly anchored in classical Shariah principles, its implications for contemporary financial markets are significant and potentially far-reaching.

By requiring substantive ownership and the assumption of risk, SS62 realigns sukuk structures with foundational Shariah maxims such as al-ghunm bi al-ghurm and al-kharāj bi al-ḍamān. The standard also carries important implications for tradability, placing greater emphasis on the actual composition and nature of underlying asset pools rather than relying solely on numerical thresholds or ratios. In doing so, it reinforces the legitimacy of jurisprudential approaches where ownership and risk-bearing are genuine and substantive.

 

In response to these developments, the Islamic Development Bank Institute has conceptualized two complementary institutional mechanisms: the Ṣukūk Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Ṣukūk Enhancement Fund (SEF). The DFC is designed to issue asset-backed sukuk to finance development projects while avoiding the need for governments to transfer strategic public assets. The SEF, in turn, functions as a mutual risk-sharing platform among issuers, strengthening credit quality and improving pricing without reliance on external guarantees.

Together, these mechanisms provide a practical pathway for the gradual transition toward SS62-compliant sukuk structures. While the DFC facilitates the large-scale issuance of asset-backed sukuk for sovereign and development financing, the SEF mitigates systemic risk and expands access to authentic sukuk for smaller issuers, including SMEs. Collectively, they offer scalable institutional solutions capable of supporting the implementation of AAOIFI SS62 while minimizing disruption to existing market dynamics.
 

Muslims comprise just 16% of Singapore’s population, yet halal products and services have become increasingly mainstream across the city-state. From multinational restaurant chains securing certifications to digital halal verification systems, the country is positioning itself as a gateway for the global halal economy.

“Singapore has moved beyond niche market appeal to become a credible, trusted hub,” Dewi Suratty, founder and CEO of Singapore-based halal consultancy Dawn Horizon tells Salaam Gateway. 

Singapore’s food service industry offers perhaps the clearest evidence of the halal sector’s growing appeal – more than 4,000 of Singapore’s 23,600 food establishments are halal-certified, growing at roughly 10% annually.

Major fast-food chains including McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Subway operate halal-certified outlets across the island, while delivery platforms such as GrabFood and Foodpanda offer halal search filters.

In February, Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons and South Korean bakery-café giant Paris Baguette secured halal certification for 17 and 20 Singaporean outlets, respectively. Singapore’s only halal-certified Filipino eatery, Nanay’s Kitchen, opened its fourth outlet in April, while Gyusei Gyukatsu Wagyu-Steakhouse introduced the country’s first halal A5 wagyu katsu earlier this year. 

Meanwhile, local meat importer and processor Lim Traders recently launched a direct-to-consumer platform, The Halal Meat Specialist, further expanding the local halal retail landscape.

Convenience retail is also evolving. In late 2025, 7-Eleven rolled out halal-certified Korean snacks nationwide, while Thai restaurant Pratunam Plus by Soi Thai Soi Nice became halal-certified nearly a decade after first opening. 

For consumers, the change reflects a dramatic expansion of choice. “Halal doesn’t mean just traditional Malay or Indian Muslim food anymore,” says Suratty. 

“We’ve got halal-certified Japanese, Chinese, Western, even fine dining. That diversity has removed a lot of friction from consumer choice. You can access halal food at a hawker for four dollars or at an eighty-dollar fine dining establishment. That’s inclusive access across economic segments.”

Building cross-border trust through regulation

Singapore began developing its halal governance framework in 1978 through the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, also known as MUIS, which oversees halal certification and Muslim affairs under the Administration of Muslim Law Act. 

That foundation is becoming more important as Southeast Asian nations seek to strengthen cross-border halal cooperation. A recent report by Indonesia’s halal inspection body highlighted collaboration between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore as a major opportunity to establish ASEAN as a global halal hub.

“When a product carries the MUIS halal stamp, traders in the GCC, Malaysia and Indonesia know exactly what they’re getting,” says Suratty.

Singapore is also modernising its certification systems through digital halal certificates introduced by MUIS last October, enabling consumers to instantly verify certifications via their mobile devices.  

“The amendment grants MUIS robust legal authority to govern its foreign halal certification bodies (FHCB) recognition scheme, enabling it to impose recognition conditions, prosecute certificate forgery, and establish a structured appeals process,” says Muhammad Faizal bin Othman, director of halal development at MUIS.

The move reflects a wider effort to strengthen the integrity of imported halal products, which is critical given Singapore’s reliance on food imports.

Alongside the digital certification rollout, MUIS launched an online portal for its enhanced FHCB recognition framework, streamlining the application and renewal process for overseas certification bodies. To date, the scheme has onboarded 88 recognised FHCBs from across the globe.

MUIS has also introduced the comprehensive halal risk management framework, replacing a one-size-fits-all approach with a more targeted risk-based methodology.

“Establishments are assessed across three dimensions - the nature and scope of certification, the robustness of controls in place, and their compliance track record,” explains Othman.

“Higher-risk establishments are subject to more frequent inspections, while those with strong compliance records qualify for extended certification validity of three to five years.” 

The framework directly links regulatory scrutiny to performance, encouraging businesses to maintain high standards while rewarding strong compliance.

Singapore-based companies are also expanding their halal manufacturing footprint beyond borders to meet growing regional demand. Food manufacturing group OTS Holdings opened a new $9.7 million facility in Malaysia last October that is expected to triple its halal production capacity from 60 tonnes to 200 tonnes per month.

“With two food manufacturing facilities in Singapore and one in Malaysia, we are contributing to the expansion of Singapore’s halal economy through improved efficiency and halal production capacity,” says Ong Shiya, senior manager for group corporate marketing at OTS Holdings. 

For many manufacturers, Singapore’s appeal extends beyond domestic demand.

“A company manufacturing specialty food in Singapore can reach Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and the GCC with confidence that MUIS certification will be recognised,” says Suratty. 

The market outlook remains strong -  Singapore’s halal meat market was valued at more than $6.5 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $7.7 billion by 2027, according to Straits Research. 

Food security drives next phase of growth

While consumer demand remains strong, Suratty believes a more pressing force is shaping the future of halal across the region.

“What’s really accelerating halal sector growth across Asia now is something more pressing: food security imperatives,” explains Suratty. “Covid-19 and recent geopolitical tensions have made supply chain diversification impossible to ignore.”

Innovations such as vertical farming, aquaculture, plant-based proteins, precision fermentation, and cultivated meat are increasingly intersecting with halal standards. “The halal angle makes these innovations market-ready not just locally, but regionally,” she adds.

For decades, the global conversation around the annual Hajj pilgrimage has been around scale. Millions of pilgrims. Vast crowds. Endless logistics. But the most meaningful transformation in recent years has been less about scale and more about the experience. 

Increasingly, the kingdom is redesigning Hajj and Umrah as a unified process that begins long before a pilgrim reaches the holy city of Makkah and continues through every stage of the pilgrim’s worship and movement.

“Saudi Arabia is building a pilgrimage system that is not only bigger, but more organized, more responsive, and more aware of the person moving through it,” says Abdulrahman Alkheraigi, communication advisor at the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.

At its core, this evolution reflects Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 ambition to make Hajj and Umrah journeys more seamless, while preserving the sanctity of the pilgrimage itself.

“If I had to pick the single most meaningful shift, it would be the move away from a fragmented, manual system to a more integrated journey,” Mohammed Binmahfouz, founder and CEO of digital platform Umrahme tells Salaam Gateway. 

“That sounds obvious when you say it, but if you were operating in this space five or six years ago, you would know how far things have come.”

Fragmented to digital

For many pilgrims, the Hajj travel experience once began with uncertainty.

Applications were often handled through layers of intermediaries. Information could be inconsistent. Language barriers complicated planning. Pilgrims frequently relied on informal advice networks to navigate one of the most important journeys of their lives.

Saudi Arabia’s growing digital ecosystem is changing that.

Platforms such as Nusuk and Nusuk Hajj now allow pilgrims to access permits, accommodation, transportation information, and verified packages more directly. The system is still evolving, but the psychological impact is already significant.

“Better access to information, greater transparency, digital permits, and the ability to manage key parts of the journey without going through a chain of intermediaries are all significant,” says Binmahfouz, who has also worked with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah to develop a digitalization roadmap.

“For pilgrims arriving from dozens of countries with different languages and expectations, that is more important than people outside the industry might appreciate.”

Behind the scenes, the improvements go beyond digital convenience. They reflect a broader restructuring of how the pilgrimage sector functions.

“What I find equally notable is how much work has gone into coordinating the ecosystem around the pilgrimage,” he says. “Government entities, transport providers, accommodation, health services, crowd management, and licensed operators are now working within a more joined-up framework.”

That coordination matters because Hajj remains one of the most operationally complex annual gatherings in the world.

“Hajj is unique because it’s not simply about bringing people to Makkah,” explains Binmahfouz. “It’s about safely moving very large numbers of pilgrims through a sequence of time-sensitive rituals.”

“Any improvement in flow, scheduling, medical response, transport allocation, or camp services has a direct impact on safety and comfort.”

The invisible infrastructure of care

Many of the biggest improvements to Hajj and Umrah are intentionally invisible.

Pilgrims may never see the command centers coordinating movement between Mina, Arafat, and Muzdalifah, holy places essential for completing Hajj rituals. They may not notice the predictive systems managing transport flows or the expanded medical preparedness operating in the background.

What they encounter instead is something simpler: shorter waits, clearer directions, and faster support when problems arise.

According to Alkheraigi, the transformation centers on reducing avoidable stress around the pilgrimage experience. “A pilgrim’s journey to Hajj rarely begins in Makkah. For many, it begins months earlier, at a desk or on a phone, with a set of questions that are practical but deeply personal.”

“How do I apply? Which package can I trust? Where will I stay? How will I move between the holy sites? What happens if I get lost, fall ill, or cannot understand the instructions around me?”

“These are not small concerns,” he adds. “For a pilgrim preparing for one of the most important journeys of a lifetime, uncertainty can weigh almost as heavily as the physical demands of Hajj itself.”

Reforms to Hajj increasingly attempt to address that anxiety. Health services, shaded areas, hydration infrastructure, emergency response systems, multilingual guidance, and accessibility measures have all expanded over the past few years. 

At the two Holy mosques located in Makkah and Medinah, new services — including interactive maps, free luggage storage, and childcare centers — are intended to improve comfort and peace of mind.

“I would also highlight the growing attention given to elderly pilgrims and people with disabilities,” says Binmahfouz. “Better accessibility, dedicated support services, wheelchair arrangements, improved mobility planning, and stronger medical readiness are all contributing to a more dignified and inclusive journey.”

One of the latest initiatives involves the deployment of 6,000 wheelchairs and 400 electric carts throughout the Grand Mosque to facilitate the movement of worshippers.

Language access has also become a critical layer of the infrastructure.

“Multilingual guidance, translation tools, and wider access to the Arafat sermon have helped worshippers feel less isolated in the crowd,” says Alkheraigi. “To understand what’s being said, where to go, and what comes next is not merely a practical advantage; it allows a pilgrim to remain calm enough to focus on worship.”

Building a resilient ecosystem

The overhaul of Hajj and Umrah services is closely tied to Saudi Arabia’s larger tourism ambitions.

In 2025, the Kingdom recorded over 122 million domestic and international tourists, a 5% increase year-on-year. The figure included nearly 19.5 million Hajj and Umrah pilgrims arriving from abroad.

That growth is changing how the ecosystem connects to the wider Saudi economy.

“The broader destination picture matters too,” says Binmahfouz. “AlUla, Jeddah, Riyadh, Taif, Asir, the Red Sea, Diriyah, and the Eastern Province are all part of a wider story. Visitors increasingly have reason to experience more of the kingdom.”

Projects led by the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites and the Madinah Region Development Authority are also reshaping how pilgrims experience historic and religious landmarks beyond the core rituals, according to Binmahfouz. 

Among them is the recently rehabilitated 157-kilometer Badr Historical Path west of Madinah, designed to revive sites connected to prophetic history.

Meanwhile, infrastructure projects such as the Haramain High Speed Railway and the Makkah Route Initiative have improved connectivity and reduced congestion.

The Makkah Route has emerged as one of the kingdom’s most consequential reforms. The program allows visitors to complete visa processing, health checks, and baggage coding at airports in their home countries before flying to Saudi Arabia and proceeding to their accommodations without lengthy arrival procedures. Since its launch in 2017, the initiative has served more than 1.2 million pilgrims.

The next phase: Delivering a seamless experience

Despite the progress, industry leaders argue that the next phase of reform will be harder.

The challenge is no longer building infrastructure. It’s connecting the ecosystem so thoroughly that pilgrims barely notice the systems supporting them.

“The biggest opportunity right now is consistency,” Binmahfouz says. “The journey still has uneven patches depending on the arrival point, the operator, transport connectivity, guide quality, and how well services are coordinated on the ground.”

He argues that many operators continue to depend on traditional coordination methods that can create fragmentation during critical stages of the journey.

“Many businesses still rely heavily on manual processes and WhatsApp coordination,” he says. “Giving them proper digital tools for bookings, operations, supplier management, VAT-compliant invoicing, dynamic packaging, and guest support would raise the quality floor of the ecosystem noticeably.”

Artificial intelligence and predictive analytics are expected to play a larger role in the years ahead.

“There’s the longer-term opportunity around data and AI,” Binmahfouz says. “Predictive crowd management, smarter transport allocation, service monitoring, accessibility planning, personalised itinerary building, and real-time guest support will all matter more as the system becomes better connected.”

Still, both industry and government voices insist the future of pilgrimage services cannot be judged solely by technology or infrastructure.

For pilgrims, success is often measured in subtle ways. It’s finding the right bus without panic. Understanding instructions in a familiar language. Reaching the rites safely. Resting in shade. Receiving help before confusion becomes fear.

“The future of Hajj and Umrah services will not be judged only by the scale of infrastructure or the sophistication of technology,” Alkheraigi says.

“For pilgrims, success is felt in smaller, more immediate ways.”

The true test of any thriving society is its impartial treatment of all who call it home and its ability to evolve and adapt over time in line with the needs of its people. Sometimes, these needs can be as mundane as everyday feeding decisions, which, under extreme situations, can require breakthrough solutions. 

In war zones and disaster areas, food can become a serious problem for Muslim soldiers and refugees. The US Military's packaged, ready-to-eat meals (MREs) were a huge success when they were first introduced during the Second World War. They were built to last a long time without going bad.

But as more people of different faiths, specifically Muslims, joined the armed forces, the question of a lack of halal-certified meat or chicken options in the standard MREs became an issue.
 

The US military tried to fix this by offering "pork-free" versions, thinking that would solve the problem. But it didn't because the underlying issues weren't being addressed. Even the vegetarian meals caused issues, because they contained ingredients that Muslims aren't allowed to eat — things like additives made from animals, artificial flavors with questionable sources, and food made in facilities where everything gets mixed together.

For Muslim service members, refugees, and people of faith, every meal became a difficult choice between staying fed and staying true to their beliefs. In the past, Muslims stuck in these tough situations could fall back on an Islamic rule called Darurah, which basically means "extreme necessity." This rule allows a Muslim to eat forbidden food if they are literally in danger of starving. 

But the rule was meant for extreme situations and raised another dilemma: should a soldier or anyone serving their country, or a person fleeing a disaster, really have to break their religious rules just to survive? Or go without food for a long time?

The answer was clearly no. It was obvious that the rule of Darurah wasn't a permanent solution. For a long-term solution, there had to be a way to create a proper, fully certified halal meal that could survive on a battlefield or in a disaster zone. And once that was achieved, then to convince the government to buy and use it.

This was too big a goal for any single entity or individual to achieve on its own. It took a historic team effort between a forward-thinking food entrepreneur, My Own Meals, Inc. (MOM), and a religious and scientific organization, the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA).
 

A bold idea: Mary Anne Jackson and ‘My Own Meals’

Military labs are all about finding quick stop-gap solutions; they don't have the bandwidth or the deep technical knowledge that is required to formulate a solution for a halal MRE. Instead, it was the foresight and enterprise of a regular civilian businesswoman. In the 1980s, Mary Anne Jackson, who had previously worked as a senior food industry executive, started a company called My Own Meals, Inc. (MOM), along with its halal division, J&M Food Products Company.

Jackson was ahead of her time. She adopted technology used by the US military — a process in which food is sealed in flexible foil pouches and cooked under high pressure so it lasts for years without needing a fridge — and applied it to create everyday meals for consumers. Over time, she added foil pouches and individual plastic meal trays to her product range. This type of long-lasting, no-fridge-needed meal didn't yet exist in regular American stores, so Jackson had to work hard to convince people that this new packaging was safe to eat.

As conflicts and wars began to escalate in the early 1990s, the US Defense Logistics Agency — the part of the military that handles supplies — was struggling to find enough meals that met religious dietary requirements. Instead of waiting around for the military to lower its standards or force Muslim soldiers to compromise, Jackson decided to act.

She had the vision to understand that real halal food couldn't just be a label slapped on a package — it had to be truly and completely halal, from top to bottom. 

To make something that Muslim soldiers and refugees could eat with full confidence in their faith, she knew she needed expert religious guidance. So she reached out to IFANCA.

The hard part: Making a meal that's both long-lasting and truly halal

While all the pieces were now in place, the partnership between J&M Food Products and IFANCA still faced a massive challenge. Making a halal MRE meant going through every single part of the meal-making process and checking it against Islamic food rules — right down to the tiniest ingredients.

To make a meal that could last five years in extreme conditions like deserts or war zones, IFANCA and Jackson's team had to solve several big problems:

• Getting rid of questionable ingredients: The high-heat cooking process used to preserve MREs destroys many plant-based ingredients, which normally forces manufacturers to use additives derived from animals — such as certain fats, gels, and enzymes. All of these had to be carefully swapped out for plant-based versions or thoroughly checked against synthetic alternatives that could survive the intense heat without breaking down.
   
• Keeping the equipment clean and separate: MREs are made in huge factories that run nonstop. IFANCA, being well aware of the sensitive nature of the task at hand, put strict rules in place to make sure the giant pressure cookers and sealing machines used for halal meals were completely separated from the machines used for non-halal meals. This was to make sure there was zero chance — not even a tiny amount — of cross-contamination or mixing between halal and non-halal food.
   
• Checking everything in the package: IFANCA didn't cut corners or focus only on the big picture by looking at the main meal alone. They checked every single item inside the sealed MRE bag — the drink powders, the small accessory packets, and even the industrial oils used on the packaging machines — to ensure everything met Islamic standards.

A historic achievement

Thanks to Jackson's careful engineering and IFANCA's deep knowledge of Islamic law applied to modern food science, the final result was a historic achievement that cannot be overstated. J&M Food Products successfully created meat-based combat meals that met strict halal slaughter standards, as well as vegetarian meals that earned a rare double certification — both fully halal (certified by IFANCA) and fully kosher at the same time.

This breakthrough changed military food supply worldwide. The US military now had proper, long-lasting halal MREs for Muslim soldiers serving abroad. And beyond the military, these meals set the standard for disaster relief too — whenever a natural disaster or conflict forces Muslim communities from their homes, these fully certified meals can be sent in right away, giving people both the food they need to survive and the peace of mind that comes from knowing their faith is respected.
 

A legacy that goes beyond emergency rules

The story of the halal MRE shows what can happen when a bold business leader and a knowledgeable religious organization work together with purpose. Mary Anne Jackson understood the power of faith and how properly prepared meals can nourish and feed people, bring people together, and make a nation stronger and more united.

So, to achieve her goal, she actively sought out the religious expertise needed to make it something Muslims could truly trust.

Together, MOM and IFANCA proved that Islamic food laws don't have to be a roadblock to modern technology. By cracking the challenge of long-lasting food preservation, they made sure that even in the toughest places on Earth, a Muslim soldier or refugee never has to choose between staying alive and staying true to their faith.

Even though it is a predominantly Catholic country of approximately 113 million, of which Muslim households made up around 6.4%, the Philippine government has intensified its policy and institutional support for the global halal market since 2024.

Two major initiatives represent a shift from ambition to organized execution: the Philippine Halal Industry Development Strategic Plan 2024–2028 and the National Halal Industry and Development Office (NHIDO).

The policy framework
The strategic plan, unveiled in 2024, sets targets to double the number of halal-certified products and services from around 3,000 to 6,000, create 120,000 jobs, and attract P230 billion (roughly $4 billion) in investment across the four-year plan period to 2028. 
 

To ensure that halal development is treated as a cross-cutting economic project rather than a single ministry's brief, a nine-agency task force oversees it, with NHIDO serving as the implementation body.

The office serves as the central coordinating body for all halal development work across the country, simplifying certification for micro, small, and medium enterprises, building halal trade hubs across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, partnering with local government units on halal-compliant infrastructure, and managing a comprehensive halal industry database. Certification bottlenecks have historically been one of the biggest barriers for small Filipino producers entering the halal market. NHIDO's explicit mandate to tackle this is one of the more practically important elements of the agenda as a whole.

The scope of both initiatives deliberately extends beyond food. Halal-compliant tourism, Islamic finance, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and modest fashion are all named as part of the framework, though the degree of implementation varies across these sectors.

The broader framing is a deliberate policy choice: it repositions halal from a niche of religious compliance into an economy-wide growth sector, driven by international buyers who associate halal certification with safety, hygiene, and ethical production standards.

From strategy to street level
The Manila Halal Festival in March 2026 was a litmus test, illustrating how the policy is beginning to translate into ground-level commercial activity. Around 100 vendors, most specializing in food, snacks, sweets, and supplements, gathered in the capital for a three-day event co-organized by the city government, the Department of Tourism, and the DTI. The exhibitor list included producers of halal pastillas, the Philippines' first certified halal ice cream, beauty products, and food supplies, alongside certification bodies, government agencies, and international pavilions from Indonesia and Canada.

The festival made visible how halal certification is already functioning as a market entry credential for small Filipino producers. Vendors at the event reported gaining new customer segments in the Gulf specifically because of certification, families buying to bring products to Qatar or Saudi Arabia, and export orders to the UAE that began with a single overseas inquiry. The pattern was consistent across food categories: certification opens a door that was previously closed, and Gulf demand is pulling Filipino products through it.

These were small businesses, not export-ready multinationals. But that was precisely the point the 2024–2028 plan is built around: if certification infrastructure is accessible and internationally recognized, SMEs can compete in Gulf markets without the scale that currently makes it difficult. 

"The Philippine halal industry is now aggressively developing its place in a trillion-dollar global industry — building the full halal ecosystem from farm to plate," said Ismail Abaya, Founder and President of 1Halal Global Inc. and Executive Vice President of MASLAHA Halal Certification Board Inc.

The same sentiment was later echoed by Grace Aguilar, Founder and President of Halal Expo Philippines, in an interview with Salaam Gateway. "The Philippines is emerging as one of Southeast Asia's most promising halal markets, driven by strong government support, growing consumer awareness, and increasing interest from both local and international investors. With its strategic location, young population, and commitment to becoming a global halal hub, the country offers tremendous opportunities across food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, tourism, and Islamic finance. Halal Expo Philippines was created to serve as the platform that connects businesses, fosters partnerships, and accelerates the growth of the halal ecosystem in the Philippines and beyond, " she said. 

The sectoral depth
Beyond food, the government is simultaneously building out the halal ecosystem in several directions. The Department of Tourism has accredited over 42 Muslim-friendly accommodation establishments, including major hotel groups and resorts. Infrastructure investments include the Marhaba Boracay Cove, an 800-square-meter beach area designed for Muslim travelers, with similar facilities planned for Bohol and Cebu. A QR-code-based Muslim-friendly travel log is in development to help visitors locate halal food, prayer spaces, and services.

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority is creating dedicated halal economic zones, and the central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, is strengthening the Islamic banking sector to provide the financial infrastructure the wider halal industry requires. A collaboration with Turkey on halal-certified poultry production is also underway, to develop a regional hub that leverages Turkish expertise in animal-byproduct-free feed.

On the trade side, the Philippines has been promoting its halal sector at expos in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Canada, and has reported export deals from its international halal promotion campaigns. However, the exact figures have not been corroborated by a single primary source.

Officials are also pursuing mutual recognition arrangements with Muslim-majority countries to ease market access for Philippine products, a critical step given that international recognition of certification bodies is often the deciding factor in whether export opportunities open up.

The challenge is execution at scale
The policy framework is more coherent than anything the Philippines has attempted in this space before. The combination of a four-year plan, a dedicated coordinating office, MSME support infrastructure, tourism investment, and export promotion is a genuine strategy rather than a collection of disconnected announcements.

The Philippines still has a relatively small certified product base — 3,000 products is modest against regional competitors — and the certification system needs to expand and gain broader international recognition quickly enough to meet the 2028 targets. The domestic Muslim population provides a domestic market foundation, but the harder task is building export supply chains, securing recognition of standards, and developing production capacity to compete internationally.