New Halal rules will apply from the middle of this month to Australia's boxed beef trade with Indonesia.
Under Indonesia's Law 33/2014 on Halal Product Assurance and its regulations, which are being phased in over 15 years, every business exporting food to Indonesia, including boxed beef, beverages and processed food and drink, must have its products properly Halal certified from 18 October to enter the market. The rule applies to all exporting countries, not only Australia, and comes after a two-year delay from the original start date of October 2024.
Indonesia is a significant and growing market for Australian beef, taking almost 20,000 tonnes so far this calendar year. The new regulation does not affect Australia's live cattle trade to Indonesia, and the deadlines for some other products, such as pharmaceuticals, fall several years later.
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says the Halal Law greatly widens the range of products and export services that need certification, so a much broader set of Australian businesses must now meet mandatory Halal requirements to keep or gain access to Indonesia. Exporters used to Indonesia's previous certification regime will need to change their practices to stay compliant.
The law created a new authority to run the certification regime, the Halal Product Assurance Organising Agency (BPJPH), which in 2019 took over the certification functions previously handled by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI). It also requires certification of production and export services such as slaughter, processing, storage, packaging, transport, marketing and presentation.
DFAT says the Australian Government is working closely with Indonesia so that exporters have the information they need. Exporters may begin following the new requirements voluntarily before the mandatory date, though DFAT says this is not strictly necessary.
Source: Beef Central
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