Indonesia to run halal industry data collection app in Jan 2024

Indonesia's industry ministry aims to start operating its halal industry data collection information system this month. 

The collection information system, commonly known as Saliha, will be the main requirement in applying for free halal certification at the ministry's halal inspection institute going forward. 

"We continue to develop and strengthen support services for free halal certification for industry owners through Saliha, which we plan to launch in January 2024," Indonesia news agency Antara reported industry minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita as saying. 

According to DinarStandard's State of the Global Islamic Economy (SGIE) Report 2023/24, Indonesia stood third in the 2022 Global Islamic Economy Indicator Ranking, up one rank from the previous year.

Kartasasmita saw this indicator as an encouragement to continue to develop halal products, such as halal food and beverages, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and fashion in Indonesia.

Imports from Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) members across the halal food and beverage sector reached $265.1 billion in 2022. It is estimated to increase to $368.3 billion in the next two years.

"Therefore, we plan to encourage the growth of halal products in Indonesia to be able to accommodate the global market and also the domestic market," he remarked.

He expressed hope that textile products would also be produced by Indonesia, where inherently is a Muslim-majority country. 

"It would be a shame if we did not provide ourselves with the products needed by our consumers, the halal market in Indonesia."