THE government is urging micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to take advantage of under-tapped opportunities in the global halal market.

“When you say growing the export, we need to diversify because recent studies show the spread of our exports is very limited. On the broader term, I must say that first in diversifying export, we need to look into new sectors like halal products,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said.

Lopez cited Singapore, which is making halal as part of its domestic mainstreaming.

“They are also empowering their manufacturers to have halal-certified products, making them ready for the export market. That is what we have to do. We have to start locally increasing awareness on the market and the production of halal-certified products to prepare us to export more halal products,” he noted.

Lopez said the halal market, with an estimated value of $3.2 trillion, remains under-tapped.

“Halal connotes purity, cleanliness, a high-quality process and products--positive attributes that will really popularize the use of halal,” he added. (PHILEXPORT NEWS AND FEATURES)