UNAIR NEWS – As a country with the largest Muslim population, Indonesia still imports many halal products abroad. Among the other Muslim countries, Indonesia has become the country with the largest number of consumers and the market which drives the global halal products trade. The government is committed to making Indonesia the world’s largest halal product producer and exporter.
The Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) Universitas Airlangga, in partnership with Jawa Pos, Bank Indonesia, and many more media platforms, held Halal Literacy Festival on Wednesday, March 9, 2023, at the FEB campus. Elements of society like academicians, MSME producers, community organizations, and UNAIR students.
The Halal Literacy Festival featured various activities such as sharing sessions and focus group discussions (FGD). Some booths of the MSME, Halal Certification Agency (BPJPH), Bank Indonesia, BRI Insurance (BRINS), and more were available.
“The Halal Literacy Festival is a follow-up program of the Vice-President, KH Ma’ruf Amin’s goals in improving the community’s literacy on halal and sharia, especially to halal products,” the Managing Director of Jawa Pos, Leak Kustiyo said.
In his speech, the Head of the Islamic Economics and Finance Department of Bank Indonesia, Arief Hartawan, stated that Indonesia has become the world’s main target market for halal products. Various efforts are continuously being made, and one of them is issuing Law number 33 of 2014, which regulates the guarantee of halal products. The law regulates the circulation of products in Indonesia to ensure their halal-ness.
Mandatory certification
Since 2019, food, beverages, and goods products are required to have halal certification. Many programs to increase Islamic economic literacy through the implementation of halal lifestyle.
Arief reminded the participants to raise their awareness to maintain Muslim behavior in consuming products and sharia services. It must be implemented on a daily basis.
He named two strategies to improve Islamic economic literacy and strengthen the Islamic economic ecosystem and halal products. First, improving the sharia economic literacy to support a halal lifestyle.
Second, expand partnerships and collaborations by synergizing programs, like halal area, halal human resources, and halal traceability with the National Committee for Islamic Economics and Finance, the BPJPH, and higher education institutions.
Vice Governor’s speech
In his speech, the Vice Governor of East Java, Emil Elestianto Dardak, who attended via video conference, appreciated the Halal Literacy Festival 2023.
“Such festival creates an opportunity for a breakthrough, a push, that hopefully will provide sustainable impacts in spreading sharia economic literacy,” he said.
M. Irfan Sukarna, the Deputy Director of the Department of Islamic Economics and Finance at Bank Indonesia; H Nurhanudin ST M Kom, the Chairman of the BPJPH; Eka Indria Sari, the Vice President of Sharia Business at PT BRI Asuransi Indonesia; and Dr. Tri Siwi Agustina, the Chairperson of the Entrepreneurship and Industry Relations Center at Universitas Airlangga also attended the event.
The four speakers explained Islamic economic literacy, halal certification, certification agents, insurance, and various aspects of the halal ecosystem. The event concluded with an FGD session on “Building Synergy Together to Encourage the Increase of Halal Literacy in East Java.”
Author: Nova Dwi Pamungkas
Editor: Binti Q Masruroh
