Indonesians pose in front of a kimchi experience exhibit at the K-Food Fair in Jakarta on Saturday. Photo courtesy of the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation.
Go Dong Hwan
South Korea held a halal food trade fair in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country last week to promote Korean products in Indonesia’s halal food market, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agricultural and Fisheries Trade Corporation (aT) said in a statement on Tuesday.
The event in Jakarta came as the Indonesian government is expected to require halal certification for all imported food from October, after previously requiring certification only for meat and leaving it optional for other imported foods.
The K-Food Fair, held from Thursday to Sunday, saw 32 Korean halal food exporters meet with 106 buyers from Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. A total of 526 meetings were held over the first two days, with deals worth a total of $53 million discussed. 23 memoranda of understanding and business agreements worth a total of $6.7 million were signed for beverages, home meal replacements and sauce products.
Indonesia’s top halal certification body, the Body for Halal Product Assurance (BPJPH), held a seminar during the event to share Indonesia’s latest halal trade statistics with Korean exporters and buyers.
The Korean Muslim League, a Seoul-based Muslim religious platform that has a mutual recognition agreement for halal certification with the Indonesian government, also briefed participants on the procedures to obtain halal certification.
According to aT, the event broadened overseas participants’ awareness of Korean halal food, which has previously lacked global appeal. A purchasing executive at an Indonesian retail chain company who attended the K-Food Fair said she saw that Korean food companies are actively preparing for Indonesia’s upcoming halal certification mandate. She added that she looks forward to seeing more Korean halal products distributed and sold in the Indonesian market.
Another participant at the event said there was a greater variety of halal products in Korea than she had expected, adding that she would start buying more Korean food in Indonesia.
“Indonesia, with a population of over 280 million, has limitless potential and will serve as a cornerstone for Korea to target the global halal market,” said Kwon Oh-yup, executive vice president of aT’s trade and food industry division.
“This year marks the first year that halal certification will be mandatory in Indonesia, and the Korean government will step up its promotion of K-halal foods.”
South Korea exported food products worth $135 million to Indonesia in the first half of this year, up 6.4 percent from a year ago, with main items including instant coffee, beverages and instant noodles.
