CEBU CITY – An official of the Office on Muslim Affairs (OMA) said Cebu is seen as a potential market for halal-certified products because of the significant number of Muslim residents and tourists in the province.

Sakiran Hajan, OMA 7 Regional Director, said during the first regional halal consultation forum held here recently that the growing number of Muslim settlers and even the increase in Arab tourists and students here underscores the need for halal accreditation of various establishments in Cebu.

“OMA through its regional office is currently working hard with different establishments here specially restaurants for halal accreditation, as this will attract more tourists especially the Arabs,” he said.

Central Visayas has a population of more than 130,000 Muslims and majority of them are in Cebu.

Hajan said a number of food establishments and restaurants in Cebu have already applied for halal accreditation, marking a good start for the industry.

The OMA7 director pointed out that with the implementation of halal programs in the region, the government can also generate more revenues as more Muslim tourists will be lured to visit the country due to the availability of halal products.

He said more Arabs are now interested to visit Cebu.
“In fact for the last quarter of this year we are expecting almost 2,000 Arabs to stay here,” said Hajan.

Datu Tahir Lidasan, director of OMA’s Bureau on External Relations, during the same forum said the halal industry will not only benefit the Muslim sector since producers of halal products are mostly non-Muslims.

According to the Wikipedia, around 70 percent of Muslims worldwide follow the halal food standards and that the global halal market is currently a $580-billion industry.

The OMA7 launched the first halal program implementated in this city early this year.