Vietnamese exporters face certification and logistics barriers in global halal markets
Vietnam’s halal exports generate about $900 million annually but remain concentrated in raw agricultural and seafood products. Exporters need market-specific certification, segregated logistics and consistent processing standards to secure larger, sustained orders.
Vietnam targets a growing halal economy
Vietnamese exporters are seeking a larger position in the global halal economy, but fragmented certification systems, limited processing capacity and specialized logistics requirements are restricting access to major Muslim consumer markets. At a September 2026 trade promotion conference organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, officials and business representatives outlined the operational changes needed to convert Vietnam’s agricultural strengths into sustained halal orders.
VnEconomy reported that Vũ Bá Phú, head of the ministry’s Trade Promotion Agency, put the global Muslim population at about 2 billion people across 112 countries, equal to 25% of the world’s population. The largest concentrations are in Asia and the Middle East. The global halal food market was valued at about $2.3 trillion in 2022 and is projected to reach $4 trillion by 2030.
Raw products dominate Vietnamese sales
Vietnam is among the world’s 10 leading agricultural exporters, according to Bá Thị Nguyệt Thu, director of the HalalViet Promotion and Experience Center. She said more than 80% of the country’s purely plant-based agricultural products already meet basic halal conditions because they have natural origins and contain neither alcohol nor prohibited derivatives. Companies would therefore need to adjust and standardize the remaining 20% of their processes to serve halal customers.
Yet Vietnam’s halal export revenue is only about $900 million a year and consists mainly of raw agricultural and seafood products, Thu said. The share of deeply processed products certified for the particular requirements of individual markets remains modest. Among roughly 900 companies considered moderately ready to enter halal markets, only about 0.2% hold halal certification. Hanoi has very few producers of halal goods, making it difficult to connect foreign buyers with suppliers of certified processed products.
Standards differ between destination markets
The central obstacle is the absence of a unified global halal standard. Lê Anh Ngọc, an official at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, said the Gulf Cooperation Council, Indonesia and Malaysia operate separate systems. Certification accepted in one country may therefore be rejected in another. Exporters also face specific requirements in the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Brunei, as well as cultural and religious differences and overlapping regulations.
Compliance extends beyond ingredients and factory procedures. Warehouses, containers and short-distance logistics must also meet halal requirements and prevent cross-contamination. Companies must maintain stable quality between export consignments while absorbing certification, annual renewal and trade-promotion costs. Limited market information and weak recognition of Vietnamese halal brands add to the commercial risk, even for businesses that already possess other demanding international certifications.
Mutual recognition could reduce costs
Vietnamese officials and industry representatives are calling for mutual-recognition agreements with Muslim countries so that certification can cover more than one destination and lower compliance costs, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has also launched a traceability portal covering nearly 100,000 products. Ngọc said quality and food safety should form the foundation of sector development, supported by the legal framework under Decree No. 127/2026/NĐ-CP.
Other proposals include a halal warning and market-information portal, dedicated Vietnamese halal retail spaces abroad and pilot programs for several priority products. Vũ Thị Thanh Huyên, chief executive of the Global Green House Cooperative, identified three core requirements: transparent origins, clean production that prevents cross-contamination, and product safety. For exporters, meeting those conditions consistently across processing, storage and transport will determine whether Vietnam can move beyond raw commodities and win repeat orders for higher-value halal products.