Northwestern states see more export opportunities with Halal certification

Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora and Sinaloa account for 13% of food exports; with the Halal certification it would increase its export market to Africa, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim .

The Federal Government promotes the Halal certification so that more companies in the agri-food sector can enter markets in North Africa, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim. The most benefited would be the small and medium-scale producers.

This certification in Mexico is carried out by officials of the General Coordination of International Agricultural Affairs (Coordinación General de Asuntos Internacionales de Agricultura, CGAI). The CGAI specified in a statement that the country has more than 800 varieties of agri-food products for national consumption and international trade. Some of them already have Halal certification.

They are mainly concentrated in the northwestern states: Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa and Nayarit. These entities have modernization systems for the production of more than 36 million tons of food, 13% of national production.

For this, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a virtual meeting in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora. Producers from the Northwest region, ambassadors, trade advisers and representatives of the Mexican embassies in countries with a Muslim population met there. Organisms of systems and processes of the Halal seal were the ones who showed the agri-food export opportunities with Halal certification.

What is the Halal certification?

What is the Halal? What is Halal? The Halal certification determines that a product or service complies with what is established by Islamic Law (Sharia) for it to be consumed. This guarantees that agri-food products comply with the set of practices permitted by the Islam.

The drive for the Halal certification, which in Mexico has more than 45 companies, will allow for the export of dairy products, meat, spices, chilies, chicken, tuna, vegetables and frozen fruits. As well as agave, tobacco, coffee, chia and sesame seeds, raspberries and grapes, as well as juices, rooms and prepared foods.

With a high development of protected agriculture, northwestern Mexico stands out in the production of grain corn, sugar cane and wheat. Tomato, potato, green chili, asparagus, grape, chickpea, beef and chicken, as well as fish and shellfish. They have a quality and safety that meet global standards to obtain the Halal seal and export to countries with a Muslim population.

The Mexican ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Aníbal Gómez, pointed out that the country’s interest is to expand its client portfolio. Mainly sheep meat, whose current meat suppliers are Australia, New Zealand and Brazil.

Translated by Paula Villanueva