The Office of Trade Policy and Strategy (OTPS) has revealed that Indonesia is upgrading and expanding the scope of its halal measures for food and beverage products under the Halal Product Assurance law (Law No. 33/2014) and the implementing regulations of the Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH), which will take effect from 17 October 2026 onwards after a two-year grace period. Primary-sector goods, fresh vegetables and fresh fruit are still exempt, but seafood and processed or flavoured foods must obtain halal certification. Thai exporters are advised to comply with the rules in order to gain a competitive edge in trade.
Mr Nanthaphong Jiralertpong, Director of the Office of Trade Policy and Strategy (OTPS), Ministry of Commerce, revealed that Indonesia has upgraded and expanded the scope of its halal measures for food and beverage products under the Halal Product Assurance law (Law No. 33/2014) and the implementing regulations of the Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH), which will take effect from 17 October 2026 following a two-year grace period. Once the law is fully enforced, all food and beverage products sold in Indonesia will be required to obtain halal certification.
Under the said law, the Indonesian government has issued announcements and guidelines clearly classifying the groups of products that must hold halal certificates and the groups that are exempt (the Halal Positive List), with particular focus on primary agricultural produce, seafood, and processed food products — all of which are important categories for Thai exports. The key substance of the measures is that products that have been processed and contain multiple ingredients or additives must obtain halal certification from Indonesia or from a foreign halal certification body recognised by BPJPH before being imported into the country. Meanwhile, certain categories of agricultural products that are exempt must be naturally halal, free from the addition of any ingredients or additives during the processing stage, and must be supported by empirical evidence to assure the transparency of the production process and supply chain, confirming that there is no contamination by substances prohibited under Islamic religious principles.
In addition, Indonesia classifies processed or prepared seafood — whether seasoned, added with sauce, spices, or oil — as well as dried fruit that has had ingredients added or been coated with various substances, as products that must go through the formal halal certification process and cannot benefit from the Positive List exemption, particularly in cases where additives have been introduced or a processing stage has been applied. Examples of products likely to fall under this category include frozen fruit with additional ingredients, dried longan, or fresh fruit coated with wax or beeswax to preserve freshness, which will be interpreted as having undergone processing and containing additives and will therefore require halal certification. Products containing genetically modified organism (GMO) ingredients must also obtain halal certification.
Beyond upgrading product standards, Indonesia is also moving towards extending its halal measures to cover the level of the halal logistics system. Guidelines are currently being drafted to cover the entire process from transportation and storage to the handling of goods in warehouses and containers, in order to ensure that halal-certified products are not contaminated with haram goods. As a result, operators and logistics service providers involved in food products will need to prepare themselves systematically, covering the separation of storage areas, cold chain management, the labelling of goods to indicate their halal status, and the establishment of a traceability system at the supply chain level.
Mr Nanthaphong stated that Indonesia's measures will affect Thai operators to varying degrees depending on the type of product. Primary agricultural goods that are truly unprocessed — such as fresh vegetables and fruit without surface coating — will still benefit from the Positive List exemption and will therefore be subject to lower certification cost impacts, but will still need to establish production systems and supporting documentation to demonstrate supply chain transparency. Meanwhile, seafood, dried fruit, wax-coated fruit, ready-to-eat food, snacks, functional beverages, health food, and processed agricultural products with added ingredients or additives are the groups that must carefully manage halal costs and procedures from the source at the factory all the way to the end market in Indonesia. Thai operators can use the services of halal certification bodies in Thailand that have been recognised by BPJPH to apply for halal certificates for products exported to Indonesia.
"This direction reflects that competition in the halal food market is no longer limited to reducing production costs, but has shifted to competition in standards, certification systems, and end-to-end supply chain management. Operators must study the regulations of trading partner countries as part of their export planning, as well as assess the cost impact and the competitiveness of their products, alongside developing value-added food product innovations and international food safety standards. This is because Indonesia's increasingly stringent halal measures will accelerate the upgrading of standards across the Thai food industry, and Thai operators must turn these challenges into strategic advantages. If they can adapt quickly to these requirements while simultaneously developing food innovations that respond to global trends, Thailand will rise to become a strong production base and sourcing hub for halal food products, both within the ASEAN region and in the global Muslim market going forward," Mr Nanthaphong said.
At present, Indonesia is an important export market for Thailand. In 2025, exports from Thailand to Indonesia were valued at 9,336.1 million US dollars (306,529 million baht). Looking specifically at agricultural and agro-industrial products, Thailand exported as much as 1,415.2 million US dollars (46,867 million baht). Food and beverage products are a key driver of these exports, including sugar, cassava products, fresh, chilled, frozen, and dried fruit, pet food, rice, wheat products, ready-to-eat food, and beverages.
