Indonesia to Enforce Mandatory Halal Certification From October 2026

JAKARTA — Indonesia's certification body BPJPH says the country will enforce mandatory certification for all halal products from October 2026 in order to strengthen its competitiveness in the global market. Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country and Southeast Asia's largest economy, is seeking to strengthen its position in the growing global market for halal products. According to the latest State of the Global Islamic Economy Report, that market was worth about US$2.43 trillion in 2023. Most of Indonesia's consumer goods and food-and-beverage sector, including imported products, must carry a halal label by October 17, 2026. The rule applies to all types of businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises, and covers food and beverages, herbal and health supplements, cosmetics and a range of other everyday goods. "Halal certification should be positioned as a competitive advantage, a pillar of consumer protection, and a driver of inclusive and sustainable economic growth," Ahmad Haikal, head of the halal certification body BPJPH, said in a statement this week. "Halal means customer satisfaction. Halal represents the hygiene, health, safety and quality of a product. Therefore, halal is now seen as a market requirement, not merely a regulation." Indonesia's first-phase halal certification requirement took effect in October 2024, initially applying only to large enterprises, including major global food producers such as Unilever and Nestlé. Under the law passed in 2014, mandatory halal certification will expand to more categories of medicines over the coming years, while products or restaurants without halal certification must declare that they do not comply with halal rules. Halal rules prohibit the consumption of intoxicants such as pork and alcohol, and meat may be consumed only from animals slaughtered according to prescribed methods. According to BPJPH data, as of last October 9.6 million products in Indonesia had obtained halal certification. Haikal said the halal certification body has been working with foreign counterparts, including in Russia, the United States and China, to promote exports of Indonesian products and strengthen the global halal ecosystem. "The ultimate goal is to make Indonesia's halal products more competitive in the global market and to position Indonesia as a world halal hub."