Member Alert

Egypt Notifies its Halal Requirements to WTO

On Monday, August 15th, Egypt notified the WTO of an addendum to its prior halal related WTO notification. This notification specified in writing that all dairy products of Chapter 4 are required to comply with Egypt's new halal requirements, which are scheduled to be enforced starting October 1, 2022. Chapter 4 products include:

  • HS 0401: Fluid milk and cream
  • HS 0402: Concentrated milk and cream (i.e., milk powder; evaporated and condensed milk)
  • HS 0403: Yogurt; buttermilk; other acidified and fermented milk and cream
  • HS 0404: Whey and modified whey; other products of natural milk constituents
  • HS 0405: Butter; dairy spreads; other fats and oils derived from milk
  • HS 0406: Cheese

See Volume 1 of the USDEC Export Guide for more information on these tariff codes.

Additionally, there is further information, for the first time in writing officially from the Egyptian government, regarding Egypt's new labeling and halal certificate and registration requirements. The main points of the written labeling and halal certificates is below.

Labeling

  • Product labels must include the IS EG Halal logo and the phase "under supervision of IS EG Halal" in both Arabic and English. This label shall either be printed onto the outer and retail packaging or applied onto the outer and retail packaging via a non-detachable sticker.

Halal Certificate and Registration

  • Dairy facilities need to be certified and registered with IS EG Halal, which can be done on the IS EG Halal website, www.iseghalal.com.The registration process, according to the notification, should take between three and seven business days.
  • After the registration process is finished, IS EG Halal may require the registered facilities be audited by it to ensure compliance with Islamic Sharia law with respect to the requirements to halal.

Information regarding Egypt's halal and labeling requirements can be found in the Egypt section of Volume 2 and Volume 3 of the USDEC Export Guide.

USDEC continues to work closely with FAS and USTR, and we will provide further information and updates once they are obtained. In the meantime, if you have any questions or would be willing to share your experience with the IS EG Halal registration process, please contact Bryan Jacoby at bjacoby@usdec.org.