Halal Expo Philippines 2025 Drives Growth in the Halal Market

Imagine walking into a huge hall in Manila tomorrow morning. The air smells like grilled chicken marinated in coconut and spices. A farmer from Mindanao is shaking hands with a buyer from Dubai. A young woman from Pampanga is showing off her new line of halal skincare made from local virgin coconut oil. And somewhere in the corner, a bank manager is explaining how small business owners can get loans without paying interest. This isn’t a dream. This is Halal Expo Philippines 2025, opening its doors on November 13 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City. And it’s not just another trade fair—it’s the moment the Philippines says, “We’re ready to play big in the global halal game.”

Let’s be honest: most Filipinos don’t wake up thinking about halal. But 14 million of our neighbors do. That’s 12% of the country, mostly in Mindanao, and their number is growing 3% every year. For them, halal isn’t a trend. It’s faith. It’s family. It’s the way they eat, dress, travel, and save money. And now, the government sees it as a way to create 120,000 new jobs and bring in $4 billion in trade and investment over the next five years. That’s not politician talk. That’s the official target from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), written into the national halal strategy launched in January 2024 under Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual. The plan is clear: double the number of halal-certified products from 3,000 to 6,000 by 2028, turn the Philippines into a halal food processing hub for re-export, and make the country a top destination for Muslim travelers.

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So what’s actually happening at this expo? It’s simple on the surface but powerful underneath. Over three days, hundreds of Filipino companies will show what they’ve got: halal chicken nuggets from Davao, modest swimwear from Cebu, prayer-friendly hotel packages from Palawan, and even halal vitamins from small labs in Quezon City. They’re not just selling products. They’re selling trust. Because when a Muslim family in Saudi Arabia or Indonesia buys “Made in Philippines,” they need to know it’s 100% halal—down to the last ingredient, the last machine, the last prayer before shipping. The expo makes that trust possible by bringing certifiers, auditors, and buyers into the same room.

Last year, Filipino companies went to halal expos in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. They came home with PHP 104.5 million in sales. That’s real money. Real jobs. Real hope. One company from General Santos sold 20 tons of frozen halal tuna in one deal. Another from Cotabato signed a contract to supply halal spices to a supermarket chain in Malaysia. And that was just two events. Now, with the home-court advantage, the DTI expects this Manila expo to do even better. They’ve already lined up buyers from Qatar, Egypt, Malaysia, Indonesia, and even Japan. Some are coming to source food. Others want to invest in halal factories. A few just want to see if the Philippines can become the next big halal processing hub for all of Southeast Asia—taking raw materials from neighbors, adding value locally, and shipping finished goods worldwide.

And here’s where it gets exciting for regular people. You don’t need to be Muslim to win from this. Think about it: a fisherman in Tawi-Tawi catches tuna. A factory in General Santos turns it into halal canned tuna. A trader in Manila ships it to Jakarta. That fish feeds a family in Indonesia, pays wages in Mindanao, and puts tax money into Philippine schools. That’s the kind of cycle this expo is trying to start. And it’s already working in small ways. In 2024, the DTI helped 150 MSMEs get halal certification for free. One of them was a coffee roaster in Bukidnon. Six months later, his beans were on shelves in Dubai. Another was a seaweed farmer in Zamboanga. Now her halal-certified snacks are in 7-Eleven stores across Metro Manila.

Related: What Are the Advantages of Learning and Investing in Halal Stock?

The event isn’t just booths and banners. There’s a full conference running alongside it, packed with practical sessions. On Day 1, the DTI will walk business owners through the certification process step by step—no jargon, no hidden fees. On Day 2, banks like Al-Amanah Islamic Bank and international partners will explain how to get Shariah-compliant financing: no interest, just profit-sharing. On Day 3, tourism operators will learn how to make their resorts prayer-friendly without losing their vibe—think alcohol-free minibars, qibla arrows in rooms, and halal breakfast buffets. Even students from local universities like UP Diliman and Ateneo will be there, attending free workshops on halal supply chain management, digital traceability, and export documentation. These aren’t theoretical classes. They’re training for jobs that don’t exist yet—but will, very soon.

Of course, it’s not all smooth sailing. Getting halal certification is still hard for small players. A farmer in Sulu might spend weeks just getting documents together. Transporting goods from far-flung islands to Manila is expensive—sometimes more than the product is worth. And not every country accepts Philippine halal stamps yet. Malaysia’s JAKIM is the gold standard. The Philippines is working on mutual recognition agreements, but they’re not done. That’s exactly why this expo matters. It’s bringing everyone into one room: the farmers, the certifiers, the bankers, the buyers, the government. Problems get solved faster when people talk face-to-face. Last year, a certifier from Malaysia sat down with a Filipino poultry processor and fixed a labeling issue in 20 minutes. That one conversation saved months of back-and-forth emails.

Take Maria, for example. She runs a small spice business in Pampanga. Her adobo mix is legendary in her barangay, but last year, she couldn’t export because she didn’t have the right papers. The certification cost was too high. The forms were confusing. She almost gave up. Then the DTI invited her to a halal workshop in Quezon City. They paid for her audit. They helped her redesign her packaging. And now, she’s coming to the expo with a fresh halal certificate, a DTI grant, and a QR code that lets buyers trace her turmeric from farm to shelf. She’s not dreaming of millions. She just wants to hire two more packers, send her kids to college, and maybe open a second shop in Angeles. That’s the real story behind the big numbers.

The global halal market is already worth $7.7 trillion and growing. That’s bigger than the GDP of Germany and Japan combined. Food alone is worth $2.7 trillion in 2024. Cosmetics? $87 billion last year, heading to $118 billion by 2028. Muslim travel? $217 billion in 2023, on track for $384 billion by 2028. And the Philippines? We’re just getting started. We have the land, the people, the location. We speak English. We’re friendly. We’re right in the middle of the world’s biggest Muslim populations—Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and beyond. All we needed was a spark. And this expo—this three-day event in Pasay City—might just be it.

Diplomacy is playing a role too. Just last month, Qatar’s Ambassador Ahmed Al-Homidi met with expo organizers to talk joint ventures. Egypt’s Ambassador Nader Zaki did the same in May. They’re not just being polite. They see opportunity. Qatar wants to source halal chicken. Egypt wants to sell dates and medicine. And both want to invest in halal parks where raw materials come in, get processed under strict standards, and go out as finished goods. The Philippines could be the factory floor for the entire region.

So if you’re a business owner, go. If you’re a student, go. If you’re just curious, go. Because what happens in that hall from November 13 to 15 could change the way Filipinos eat, work, and dream for generations. This isn’t about religion. It’s about opportunity. It’s about turning faith into jobs, culture into cash, and local pride into global respect.

The future of halal in the Philippines isn’t coming. It’s already here.