50 Pertamina Fostered MSMEs Ready for Halal Certification Assessment
Jakarta, May 14, 2023 - PT Pertamina (Persero) provides facilities to 50 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) under Pertamina's assistance and the Proudly Made in Indonesia Movement (GBBI) MSME Champion from the North Maluku region in a preparing for halal certification assessment program.
This program is part of the MSME development initiative aimed at enhancing local products’ quality to make them more competitive, facilitating their entry into the supply chain, and expanding their market access, including in the global trade network.
The biggest challenge faced by MSME players is competing with halal products from around the world.
Halal certification is necessary for products intended to be marketed locally and internationally to ensure and assure the public that the produced goods are genuinely halal for consumption.
"In supporting the MSMEs' progress, a synergistic program and collaborative spirit from all parties, including the government, state-owned enterprises, private sector, and the community, are required to assist in enhancing MSMEs' literacy in halal product management. Pertamina consistently accompanies its assisted MSMEs, including the GBBI MSMEs in North Maluku, by facilitating halal certification acquisition," said Syahrul, Director of Promotion and Marketing of Superior Village, Underdeveloped Regions, and Transmigration Products, who represents the Ministry that oversees the GBBI SME Champions in North Maluku.
One of the beneficiaries of the halal certification program, Irmawati A Husen, hopes that obtaining the halal certificate will help her Ifamoy Home Industry business continue to grow and expand its market reach.
"Alhamdulillah, we are allowed to receive assistance for halal certification for one of our food products, Hopefully, this experience will guide us in following the procedure to obtain halal certification for other products. I hope more MSMEs can receive similar facilities like us," said Irmawati.
Fadjar Djoko Santoso, VP of Corporate Communication of Pertamina, revealed that Indonesia is one of the countries with the largest Muslim population, making it potentially the center of halal products worldwide. Thus, Pertamina consistently facilitates its assisted MSMEs in managing the halal certification process to increase added value for business players.
This halal certification initiative represents Pertamina's commitment to supporting MSME growth in Indonesia. It aligns with the support for achieving SDGs Goal 8, which aims to promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth by strengthening SMEs’ competitiveness in Indonesia.
"After MSMEs obtain halal certification and apply the halal logo to their products, it is expected to provide legal certainty for both producers and consumers regarding the products’ halal status being marketed or consumed," explained Fadjar.
Fadjar added that Pertamina's provision of Halal Certification facilities for MSMEs is carried out in collaboration with Sucofindo, where different types of SMEs will be grouped to obtain halal certification following the Minister of Religious Affairs Regulation No. 748 of 2021 concerning the Halal Product Certification Guidelines.
Juli Permana, Head of Halal Services Operations at Sucofindo, supports Pertamina's collaboration with Sucofindo in the halal certification program for MSMEs. He believes that this program will enhance the competitiveness of national products.
"With the categorization of MSME types, Sucofindo, as a certification company, hopes to provide more specific halal certification services that are tailored to each MSME product type’s needs. We are confident that with halal certification, MSMEs can enhance their products’ competitiveness and instill confidence in Muslim consumers to choose products that align with halal principles," explained Juli.
As it is known, based on the Halal Product Assurance Law, all products entering, circulating, and being traded in Indonesia are required to obtain halal certification. The goal is to provide comfort, security, safety, and certainty of halal product availability for the community in consuming and using the products.**