KUALA LUMPUR: Halal Development Corp (HDC) is almost ready to introduce a halal certification standard for biological products, which includes vaccines, as soon as next year.
This is in light of the Muslim community's concern over the possibility of making the Covid-19 vaccine halal-certified.
HDC chief executive officer Hairol Ariffein Sahari said the company is working together with the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) and the Department of Standards Malaysia (JSM) towards this goal.
He said while Malaysia has halal standards on pharmaceutical and medical devices products, as well as hospitality and medical services, it still does not have the halal standard on biological products.
"We do have a holistic framework when it comes to halal healthcare services in Malaysia.
"However, there is a missing element of the halal standard on biological products, which we are currently working on, together with Jakim and JSM.
"I do not think it will take long (to develop the standard) because the last time I checked, it was 50-70 per cent ready and we will make the necessary announcement soon," he told a press conference at the World Halal Conference (WHC) 2020 here today.
Meanwhile, HDC remains cautiously optimistic on halal export value for 2020, amid the challenging market environment.
HDC chairman Datuk Mahmud Abbas said Malaysia would not be able to match the last year's halal products export value of RM40.2 billion.
This was due to a three-month halt in trade activities between March and June this year, as part of the global movement restrictions to combat the spread of Covid-19.
In March 2019, HDC said it was optimistic to achieve the target of RM50 billion worth of halal products exports for 2020.
Mahmud said the ongoing global pandemic has actually created a new set of challenges for the industry to overcome, as well as new opportunities to explore.
"Issues of governance, geopolitics, technology, trade and connectivity, as well as employment, are all valid concerns within the post-Covid-19 worlds.
"For Malaysia, as custodians of the MS2424 Halal Pharmaceutical General Guidelines, the first of such standard in the world, it is incumbent upon us to act fast to address this incoming demand for halal-certified vaccines," he said.