The commerce and finance ministries have issued regulations on the production of halal food and the supply of halal public services. The new rules introduce standards that will improve hygiene and trust among Muslim consumers.
The measures and pricing were announced after officials from the two ministries concluded a series of talks and prepared a series of inter-ministerial prakas.
Phan Oun, head of the Consumer Protection, Competition and Fraud Repression Directorate-General (CCF), told The Post that there were three inter-ministerial parkas.
“One governs the provision of public services, one addresses the supply of halal food products, and one lists the requirements for halal cosmetic products. They have four, 14 and 13 articles respectively,” he said.
“Once these prakas are implemented, factories, enterprises, handicrafts and halal product manufacturing sites must adhere to technical production and packaging standards. If they fail to comply, legal action will ensue,” he added.
Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak signed the prakas on food and cosmetics on February24. Published earlier this month, the prakas aim to guarantee the quality of the Kingdom’s halal products, not just in the domestic market but also for export.
The inter-ministerial prakas on the provision of public services, co-signed by Minister of Economy and Finance Aun Pornmoniroth, details strict requirements that the providers of these services must adhere to.
In 2016, the government established the Cambodian Halal Product Review Committee to promote halal products as a specialist team of the CCF.
As stated in a sub-decree, the committee has a duty to administer all aspects of halal work in Cambodia.
Mann Rasita, a Cambodian Muslim from Phnom Penh, said the new regulations would increase Muslims’ trust in Cambodian-made halal products.
She believed the new regulations could also attract new investors to the Kingdom.
“This is also an opportunity to attract both investors and visitors from Muslim countries, especially in the food industry. When Muslims visit a country, the first thing they do is make sure they will be able to find high-quality halal products, and this will help them do that,” she said.
