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Last Updated: Jun 25th, 2007 - 17:07:26 |
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"Nonetheless, the fact is that job-wise, many of our Muslim brethren will benefit from the development of a strong halal food industry as the deeper the country ventures into this business, the more Muslims would be employed as butchers, inspectors, quality control managers and executives."
Philippines' senator Ralph Recto. |
Senator Ralph Recto has urged government to encourage the establishment of companies that would cater to halal food and thus secure a foothold in the booming global market.
The senator said the halal food industry is a $150 billion enterprise that nourishes nearly 1.8 billion people in 112 countries worldwide.
Recto asked government to study the possibility of the Philippines' becoming a major player in this industry through the establishment of a halal authority that would certify the compliance with Islamic practices in food preparation.
He added that the plan of Brunei to establish a halal food processing plant anywhere in Mindanao, Northern Palawan or Masbate should be welcomed and work must be done to cut a deal for this investment. This renders Recto's proposal for a halal authority necessary.
Recto stressed that the halal authority should coordinate with the auditing, assessing and accrediting agencies of halal importing countries.
This is crucial, he added, since local halal certifiers ensure that our food shipments, particularly meat products, would not be rejected.
Recto stressed that Islamic food preparation is governed by strict laws on the slaughter of animals, noting that their rituals include killing animals in one fell swoop, completely draining the animals of blood and ensuring that livestock and poultry are fed well and are not sick before they are slaughtered.
Moreover, only Muslims are permitted to perform the halal ritual, thus generating job opportunities for Filipinos Muslims, whose total number now stands between 7 percent and 10 percent of the total national population.
Recto said that the halal food industry could be a bonanza for the country since the rate of growth of the global Muslim population is 2.9 percent, with Islamic sources saying that there are now 1.757 billion Muslims worldwide, or 26.99 percent of humanity.
In Africa alone, the senator explained, Islamic sources place the total percentage of Muslims at 53.62 percent or 481.07 million based on 2005 figures. In Asia, the Islamic faithful number 30.78 percent, or 1.215 billion.
Last year, the total global Muslim population was placed at 1.793 billion.
Islamic sources estimate the total Muslim population in the Philippines at 10 percent or 8.48 million out of 84.8 million Filipinos. General sources say the Muslims in the Philippines number only 5.936 million.
"Nonetheless, the fact is that job-wise, many of our Muslim brethren will benefit from the development of a strong halal food industry as the deeper the country ventures into this business, the more Muslims would be employed as butchers, inspectors, quality control managers and executives," Recto stressed.
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