From 17 October 2026, for food producers exporting to Indonesia, Halal certification is no longer a competitive advantage but an entry requirement. The news that US food companies are rushing to obtain IFANCA certification to meet this deadline reveals a broader trend: Halal certification is steadily shifting from a marketing tool to a regulatory precondition in more and more markets. An Italian agri-food company that wants to export to the Islamic world needs to understand what is changing — and act accordingly.
Until a few years ago, Halal certification was a commercial choice for many Western companies: a way to broaden the customer base, stand out from competitors and access growing market niches. That logic is not wrong today, but it is incomplete. The news reported by Halal Times on 21 September 2026 is clear: US food producers are rushing to obtain certification from IFANCA because, for exports to Indonesia, the 17 October 2026 deadline has made Halal certification a condition for entering the market, not a marketing decision.
This is exactly the regulatory model that the BPJPH system (Badan Penyelenggara Jaminan Produk Halal) has built in recent years: making Halal certification mandatory for ever-wider product categories, with phased deadlines. Indonesia — 277 million inhabitants and one of the largest Islamic markets in the world — is not an isolated case. It is an indicator of where regulation is heading globally.
US companies now have to obtain, at short notice, a certification that would have taken months of orderly work had it been planned in advance. The result is what always happens when a regulatory deadline is chased rather than anticipated: pressure, higher costs, risk of documentation errors and, in the worst cases, supply disruption.
For an Italian agri-food company the lesson is direct. Indonesia is not the only market moving in this direction. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Singapore and other Gulf countries have long had systems for recognising certification bodies that make Halal certification a prerequisite for sale. Not being certified by a body recognised by SASO, SFDA, GAC, EIAC, JAKIM or BPJPH simply means not being able to sell — regardless of product quality.
The starting point is to understand which markets you want to, or could, export to. Not all Islamic markets have the same requirements, and not all certification bodies are recognised everywhere. This is a fundamental operational distinction.
A company that relies on a certification body not recognised by the destination country obtains a document that is useless for export purposes. Before even starting the certification process, it is therefore necessary to check that the chosen body is recognised for the target markets.
The answer depends on the complexity of the product, the supply chain and the level of documentation already available in the company. In general terms, a company starting from scratch — no ingredient mapping, no internal control procedures, no relationships with certified suppliers — should expect a process measured in months, not weeks. This is what makes waiting a losing strategy.
Companies that started the process early, on the other hand, reach regulatory deadlines with the certificate in hand and often with a real competitive advantage: while competitors scramble, they are already selling. This is exactly what is emerging from the comparison between US producers who moved late and those who planned ahead.
HQC Italia has been operating from its Rome office since 1983. Its active recognitions cover the main outlet markets for Italian exports: SASO and SFDA for Saudi Arabia, GAC and EIAC for the Emirates and the Gulf, JAKIM for Malaysia, MUI and BPJPH for Indonesia, MUIS for Singapore and CICOT for Thailand. This means that a certificate issued by HQC Italia is recognised in the markets that matter — it is not a document for internal use, but an operational tool for export.
The difference between a recognised and an unrecognised certificate is not technical, it is commercial: the first opens doors, the second is of no use.
If your company exports or wants to export to Muslim-majority markets, the right time to start the certification process is not when the regulatory deadline arrives — it is now. HQC Italia offers a free quote within 24 hours: the quickest way to find out what is needed in your specific case, which markets you can reach and in what timeframe.
Tell us about your product and target markets: the quote is free and you will receive it within 24 hours.