Thai Buddhists ask 7-Eleven stores to separate halal labels

A non-profit organization requested 7-Eleven convenience stores in Thailand to provide a special shelf for products without halal labels. The group said halal labels made goods more expensive.

Yesterday, Thai Buddhists from Buddhism Protection for Peace (BPP) gathered in front of CP Tower on Silom Road in Bangkok to hand over a letter about halal labels to the executive board of the CP All company.

The group’s representative, Praphat Kittiruedeekun, reported that the BPP wants every 7-Eleven convenience store in Thailand to have a separate shelf of products without halal labels.

Praphat said 160,000 halal food products approved by the Central Islamic Council of Thailand were more expensive compared to products without labels.

Praphat underlined the fact that the majority of the Thai population were either Buddhists or Christians, and those people shouldn’t buy products at a higher price because of halal labelling.

Praphat said…

“The rules and policies of Islam take advantage of our Buddhist religion. It’s the duty of Buddhist people to stand their own religion and express that they don’t need products with halal labels. The halal label isn’t important to us, and we shouldn’t pay more for it.”

Some Thai netizens said the protestors should protest against the official department that earns money from launching halal labels, not Muslim people or convenience stores.

To feature a halal label on a product, businesses have to prepare special documents and submit them to the Central Islamic Council of Thailand. Then, the council’s specialists investigate the business and manufacturing process to ensure that the product meets the standard requirement.

After everything is approved, the businesses will be required to pay a fee for the halal labels. Then, businesses will be able to include the halal label on their products.

The process handles each product one by one and businesses have to do it every year.

According to a report on Krua.Co, Thailand has the most diverse halal products in the world. Long Tun Man also reported that Thailand is the No.1 importer of halal food in the ASEAN region and ranks No.12 in the world. The export of halal food generated over one trillion baht before the pandemic in 2020.

SOURCE: The Momentum | Krua.co | Long Tun Man

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