Thailand

Southeast Asia

Voluntary

Thailand is a top-tier halal production base — 200,000+ CICOT-certified items and around USD 6B in annual halal exports — operating under a voluntary certification regime. Exporters deal directly with CICOT or provincial Islamic committees for certification while meeting Thai FDA licensing underneath.

~4 million

Muslim population

$6B+ (halal product exports)

Market size

Typically several weeks to a few months depending on documentation readiness (confirm with CICOT)

Processing time

2–3 years (scheme-dependent; confirm with CICOT)

Certificate validity

Import Requirements

CICOT halal certificate for any product bearing a halal claim — voluntary by law but commercially expected by most buyers
Thai FDA food licensing underneath: factory licence (Or.2) plus product registration (Or.17/Or.18) for manufactured foods
Thai-language labelling per Thai FDA rules; halal logo use follows CICOT logo-use requirements
No blanket halal import mandate — but halal claims without valid certification risk rejection by buyers and authorities
Meat and poultry: source from approved establishments and confirm slaughter-certification paperwork with the importer

Certification Facts

Standard basis: CICOT Halal Affairs Regulations B.E. 2558 (updated B.E. 2568/2025); Thai Agricultural Standard TAS 8400-2025; broadly aligned with OIC/SMIIC
Estimated cost: Varies by scope — confirm the inspection fee schedule with CICOT before budgeting
Certifying bodies: CICOT

Browse All Certifying Bodies

Key Insights

200,000+ halal items certified by CICOT, per Thailand's Commerce Minister (Dec 2025)
Halal food exports to OIC members reached USD 4.872B in Jan–Oct 2025 (Ministry of Commerce)
2023 halal exports totalled 222B baht (around USD 6B); Thailand ranked 11th globally with ~4% annual growth expected
Government target: top-five global halal exporter and a 'food security hub' for OIC countries
Lab-backed credibility: the Halal Science Center at Chulalongkorn University supports CICOT verification with DNA and analytical testing

Opportunities

Export manufacturing base: rice, canned seafood, poultry, oils and ready-to-eat lines already flow to the Middle East
THAIFEX–ANUGA Asia and HOREC Asia anchor the annual buyer calendar
Capacity-building programs in the five southern border provinces are expanding certified supply
Muslim-friendly tourism and GMHI-standard services open adjacent halal revenue streams

Challenges

Perception gap: buyers sometimes question halal credibility from a Buddhist-majority country — CICOT certification plus lab evidence counters this
Transport costs make price competition with regional suppliers difficult on some lines
Voluntary regime means buyer-by-buyer requirements — confirm whether CICOT alone, or an additional cert, is expected
Check mutual-recognition coverage for each target market before committing packaging and label spend

Thailand

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