The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry is asking the government to quickly address food inflation if it wants the country to become a major supplier of Halal food.

PCCI president George Barcelon said enabling cheaper food through sound government efforts should be the top goal of the Marcos administration next year.

Barcelon said public officials must find ways to balance benefits to consumers and farmers through an adequate budget for farm mechanization and farmers' subsidies.

Through these measures, Barcelon said farmers will be forced to boost production, resulting in lower consumer prices of food, including Halal.

Halal refers to food items or diets permitted by Islamic laws.

"The government must carry out high-impact projects for farmers," Barcelon told the Daily Tribune over a phone call.

Big market

"The government says Halal food has a big market but these are being served by other countries with progressive agriculture," he added.

Since the Agricultural and Fisheries Mechanization Law of 2013 became effective, the Philippines increased its mechanization level to just 2.679 horsepower per hectare (hp/ha) this year from 2.31 hp/ha, the Department of Agriculture reported.

Most Halal foods are also those usually consumed by the general public except animal blood, pork and desserts made of alcoholic beverages, pure and artificial vanilla extract and animal shortening.

Competitive prices for rice and sugar

"Rice and sugar should be sold at competitive prices. Most of our goods are imported and other countries have cheaper prices of agricultural goods. So how can we compete in Halal exports?" Barcelon said.

The business leader, for example, pointed out that  local sugar sells almost double the price of the international price.

Sugar prices reached 5.6 percent inflation in October before declining to 4.9 percent in November, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Meanwhile, rice and other cereal products were the top driver of food inflation last month.

Barcelon said the government must review its importation policies to ensure lower prices are sustainable and prevent untoward market behaviors caused by price controls.

"One of the factors is the importation limitations as protection given to local farmers. But it is not rationalized," he stressed.

Controlled

"The prices go up because they are controlled. You cannot import sugar without permission from the Sugar Regulatory Administration," Barcelon continued.

He said the government should strengthen transparency on decisions to import agricultural goods and intensify anti-hoarding measures.

"The bottomline is how can you make food prices affordable but also help the industry manufacture food for exports," Barcelon said.

Fazil Irwan, chief executive officer of Penang Halal International, said small and medium enterprises can tap a big pool of Muslim consumers which are projected to increase from 1.8 billion to 3 billion by 2060.

In 2018, the Philippines shipped Halal products worth $560 million. The Department of Trade and Industry reported that these products' global market value could grow up to $3.3 trillion.

Irwan shared the top exporters of Halal products are Brazil, Australia, India, France and China.