ApexBrasil and the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce developed a project to boost the entry of Brazilian food and beverages into Muslim countries
To export food and beverages to Muslim countries, Brazilian companies must comply with the cultural and religious norms of Islam. Therefore, products must contain the halal seal, which certifies that production was carried out within what is permitted by the Islamic religion.
With the aim of expanding access for Brazilian companies to this market, the ApexBrasil (Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency) and the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce created the Brazil Halal projectwhich promotes improvement, training, certification and commercial promotion actions in the halal segment.
“The project is very complete because it ranges from awareness raising, training, certification and commercial promotion. We take the company by the hand, show its full potential and take actions to do the business.”says the ApexBrasil analyst Deborah Rossoni to the Entrepreneurial Power.
Halal is an Arabic word that means lawful, permitted. The halal seal certifies that the product was made in accordance with the rules of Islam and is suitable for Muslim consumption. Due to the high standards of demand in this market, halal certification is also considered synonymous with quality.
The project has 83 participating companies. Of this number, 28 already have halal certification, 10 are in the certification process and 1 achieved the halal seal through the project. The initiative offers financial support of up to 50% of the certification value to participating companies, limited to a ceiling of R$12,000.
Companies in the food and beverage segments interested in exporting to Muslim countries can participate in the halal project. There are no restrictions on size, according to the Apex analyst.
The selection notice for Brazilian companies to obtain the first halal license through the Halal do Brasil project establishes the following criteria:
- be a company supported by the Halal do Brasil project;
- does not have Halal certification;
- has a product compatible with Halal certification and with the project’s target markets (22 Arab League countries, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Africa);
- companies that have been exporting for at least 2 years;
- who work in the agribusiness or food and beverage sector.
Here’s the complete of the notice (269 kB).
According to ApexBrasil, Muslims prioritize food produced from fresh, certified ingredients that have packaging with clear information.
“Islamic markets are very demanding in terms of quality standards. When you have halal certification, it corresponds to a seal of safety and quality for any other country in the world”says Deborah Rossoni.
Halal certification
Halal certification analyzes and tracks the entire production chain, including suppliers, to ensure that the entire process follows the rules and norms of Islam, says Fernanda Dantashead of international projects at CCAB (Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce). Among the criteria adopted by the halal market is the prohibition of ingredients of porcine or alcoholic origin.
“Halal involves a much bigger issue than just the ban on these 2 ingredients. Halal is concerned with the entire chain. Don’t just look at the final product. If you buy from a supplier that uses slave labor, your product cannot be halal”Fernanda told Entrepreneurial Power.
Due to this concern for the entire production chain, the halal seal is seen as a certification of quality and food safety, explains the Arab Brazilian Chamber specialist. The certificate is valid for 3 years and must be renewed by the entrepreneur if he is interested in continuing in the halal market.
“There is all this concern about the environment, about society. The product needs to be sustainable as a whole. Halal is closely linked to ESG issues [sigla em inglês para as palavras governança ambiental, social e corporativa]. This is largely why today halal certification, especially for mature countries like Europe, is seen as a certification of quality and food safety”says Fernanda.
Production cost
ApexBrasil analyst Deborah Rossoni says that the cost of the halal certificate changes according to each company’s production chain, but that the average price can reach R$24,000. The cost of implementing a halal production chain also varies for each company and its purpose.
“The entrepreneur will have to make adjustments to his production, such as buying a machine, changing the structure of his production to meet halal requirements, sometimes he will have to change ingredients in his products, he will have to carry out a new study, sometimes it is necessary to change the packaging. He [empresário] You have to be aware that you will have to make some investments to get started”said Deborah.
According to Fernanda Dantas, cost variation is related to several factors, such as the type of company, the type of product, and the number of production stages. The value of the investment also varies according to the quantity of ingredients used in the process, as the entire production chain and suppliers are also tracked.
The company Mel Barrufi, for example, invested R$2.5 million to transform its entire industrial plant into halal. The expected return on investment is 8 to 9 years. The honey brand is associated with the Halal do Brasil project. All of its production is halal certified.
“In this first certification, you do not need to certify all products. The entrepreneur can certify, for example, only 3 products in the line. Then, in the future, when the factory is enabled, including new products in the certification is simpler and cheaper”says Fernanda.
Halal market
Brazilian food exports to Muslim countries totaled US$23 billion in 2023. According to ApexBrasil, Brazil is the world’s largest producer and exporter of halal protein.
Saudi Arabia is the country that imported the most food from Brazil last year. Data from ApexBrasil show that 11% of the country’s imports are Brazilian products.
The data includes halal and non-halal products. As the majority of the population of the countries considered is Islamic, it can be deduced that the imported products are halal, according to the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
“There is no measurement in the export of anything that differentiates what is halal and what is not. We cannot measure this number. We can measure what food and drinks were imported to Islamic countries”said Fernanda.
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