Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government will drive the exports of halal products to members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati stated.
"We will boost the exports of halal products by drawing benefits from being a member of the OIC," Indrawati noted during the Sharia Economy and Finance Research Forum (FREKS) of the Association of Indonesian Islamic Economy Experts (IAEI) here on Monday.
Indonesia's halal exports to OIC countries in 2018 stood at US$45 billion, or 12.5 percent of the country's total trade that reached $369 billion.
The minister noted that the country can also boost the exports of halal products to OIC non-member countries, with the vast population of Muslims across the world and the increasing demand for goods and services.
"We can also increase (exports) and penetrate the market of non-OIC countries," Indrawati, concurrently the IAEI chairman, remarked.
The world's Muslim population reached 1.8 billion, or some 24 percent of the total population, with spending for halal products totaling $2.2 trillion.
"This spending has recorded a significant growth at 5.2 percent," Indrawati noted, adding that Indonesia's halal products had a vast international market share.
"With such a fast growing market, sharia economy played an important role in the global economy," she remarked.
Indrawati was optimistic that Indonesia's halal export growth would be maintained despite the potential declining demand owing to the COVID-19-induced crisis.
"COVID-19 has affected the economic performance of countries worldwide. This is not an easy challenge and will undoubtedly affect their capability and demand for Indonesian exported goods," Indrawati pointed out.
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