The statement was made by Abu Bakar Yusof, CEO of the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), and Dr. Sirajuddin bin Suhaimee, Director General of the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM)-Malaysia's Halal certification body, during a press interview in Kuala Lumpur on August 24.

Evaluating business cooperation prospects, Abu Bakar Yusof acknowledged Vietnam's active engagement in the Halal market over the past five years. Although the number of directly participating enterprises remains modest at around 17, the country is actively developing the industry and importing Halal products from Malaysia to offset domestic supply shortages.

The MATRADE CEO emphasized that the agency has established a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City to assist Vietnamese firms in seeking Halal business opportunities with Malaysia and supplying products to the Malaysian market. To facilitate direct linkages, MATRADE maintains its annual International Sourcing Programme (INSP) to connect Vietnamese exporters with local buyers. He invited more Vietnamese companies to join the program to boost two-way trade in the sector.

Regarding management and standard compliance, Dr. Sirajuddin bin Suhaimee affirmed that JAKIM has maintained long-standing cooperation with Vietnamese companies since around 2000. Currently, JAKIM recognizes five Halal certification bodies in Vietnam to support domestic enterprises in applying for certification for export to Malaysia and international markets.

According to Dr. Sirajuddin, Malaysia’s Halal certification is trusted worldwide due to its strict adherence to hygiene, quality, and traceability. The process requires rigorous auditing of every product ingredient, quarterly audits for medium-risk items, and standard updates every five years. To optimize registration, JAKIM revealed it is developing an AI-powered system scheduled for launch next year to automate document verification and facilitate ingredient lookups.

Amid the rapid growth of the global Halal market, projected to reach US$5 trillion by 2030, Vietnam’s proactive efforts to enhance production capacity and comply with strict standards will be key to deeper integration into the global Halal value chain.

Malaysia is preparing for a broad array of international Halal events, including the Global Halal Summit (GHaS 2026) and the 22nd Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS).

At the 22nd MIHAS, Malaysia aims for a breakthrough by raising expected sales targets from US$1.1 billion to US$1.25 billion, building on export recovery momentum that exceeded US$250 billion over the January-July period of 2026.

Featuring 2,400 booths from at least 45 countries, the showcase is expected to facilitate around 4,000 direct B2B matchings between 600 Malaysian enterprises and 300 international buyers, while debuting an AI application for automated buyer-seller matching.

Source: VOV

https://english.vov.vn/en/economy/malaysia-highlights-potential-for-vietnam-malaysia-halal-supply-chain-cooperation-post1326933.vov