Halal certification is one of the attractions and benchmarks for products to consumers, including Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). This has been felt by businessmen who have reaped success after obtaining a halal certificate.
This was conveyed by the Head of MSMEs in the Food and Beverage Sector of Bekasi City, Afif Ridwan, at the National Webinar “Increasing Profits and Selling Value of MSMEs with Halal Certificates” some time ago.
Afif emphasized several points of excellence regarding halal certification. Some of them are: halal certification is the responsibility of the producer, halal certification is a value-added product, gathering in the business community makes it easier for businessmen to get information, business is growing after obtaining a halal certificate, businessmen have increased confidence in marketing their products, and halal certificates have become an alternative media cheap promotions.
“Halal certificate is a benchmark for consumers. Almost all of my prospective resellers ask about the halal certification of my products. In my opinion, it is natural because what we know is that most consumers are Muslim. And clearly, halal is a necessity of life, “said Afif.
More than that, he admits that his business, namely the Bandeng Rorod product, has grown rapidly after obtaining a halal certificate. “After I got the halal certification for my product, the sales increased. Most importantly, the confidence of businessmen will be greater when selling their products,” said Afif.
This is a special value because the Muslim community is already critical. Even supermarkets already require products to have halal certification and other business licenses, such as BPOM and PIRT. Afif asked other MSMEs entrepreneurs to carry out halal certification for their products. He said that currently, almost all local governments have a MSMEs halal certification program free of charge.
“For MSMEs, there are many facilities from the central government through the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises of the Republic of Indonesia, BPOM, or the Ministry of Religion. For a provincial or city scale, it is usually held by the agencies. In fact, businessmen will also receive counseling regarding the halal certification process, “said Afif.
In terms of requirements, he continued, there was nothing complicated. However, sometimes MSMES lacks information to access halal certification facilities. Therefore, it is important for businessmen to be proactive in seeking information. One of them is by joining the business community. This is because generally halal facilities are informed through communities of MSMES actors.
“Actually, the cost is not a problem. For example, this year around 130 MSMEs in Bekasi have been certified halal. The government has indeed budgeted it in its APBN, “said Afif.
Assembling or joining a halal certificate will provide many advantages. Deputy Director of LPPOM MUI Ir. Muti Arintawati, M.Si., explained that the halal certification process for MSMEs products that are members of an association or community will be easier.
“Being in the association will be easier. Then there are third parties who help, usually financing from the department. Because that is often the case, MSMES buys ingredients in retail quantities. Especially when it comes to meat, it’s very vulnerable, “said Muti.
If through an association or community, he said further, businessmen can buy in large quantities and then use them by businessmen who are members of the association. The same goes for meat grinders.
If business operators use public mills, it will be difficult to ascertain what meat has been ground, so it is vulnerable to contamination. Meanwhile, if you use a joint meat mill, the meat that uses the grinder also comes from the same association. (YN)
