Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) Indonesia researcher Akhmad Akbar Susamto, Indonesian Food and Beverage Association (GAPMMI) Chairman Adhi S. Lukman, lawmaker Ledia Hanifa Amaliah, and CORE Indonesia Executive Director Mohammad Faisal spoke in discussion at a halal industry conference held by CORE in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 13 June.

Indonesia, despite being the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, has not developed its halal industry in the best way and still has huge market potential, a Center of Reform on Economics researcher said.

'We need to consider a roadmap to develop the halal industry [in Indonesia] that is consistent with the existing national industrial development master plan (RIPIN),' CORE researcher Akhmad Akbar Susamto said on Tuesday.

He also called on the government to formulate detailed regulations as a mandatory provision for the 2014/33 Halal Certification Law. 'According to the law, we should have introduced derivative implementing regulations in 2016, but so far there are still none,' he said.

According to the global potential economic indicators released by Reuters in 2015, Indonesia lags behind other Muslim-majority countries in creating an ecosystem that supports the halal economy.

Among the 73 countries participating in this study, Indonesia ranked tenth with 36 points. Meanwhile, Malaysia topped the list with 121 points, and the UAE and Bahrain ranked in the top three with 86 points and 66 points respectively.

FAQ

What shortcomings does Indonesia have in developing its halal industry?
According to a Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) Indonesia researcher, despite being the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia has not developed its halal industry in the best way and still has huge untapped market potential. He called for a roadmap to develop the halal industry consistent with the existing national industrial development master plan (RIPIN), and for mandatory derivative regulations for the 2014/33 Halal Certification Law (which by law should have been introduced in 2016 but had still not been implemented at the time).
How does Indonesia rank in the global Islamic economy indicators?
According to the global potential economic indicators released by Reuters in 2015, Indonesia lags behind other Muslim-majority countries in creating an ecosystem that supports the halal economy, ranking tenth with 36 points among the 73 countries participating in the study; Malaysia topped the list with 121 points, with the UAE and Bahrain in the top three at 86 and 66 points respectively.