Prodeca takes part in the Vietnam Halal Trade & Muslim Friendly Tourism Conference

Prodeca took part this week in the Vietnam Halal Trade & Muslim Friendly Tourism Conference 2026, held in Nha Trang (Vietnam), one of the main international forums devoted to the development of halal ecosystems in Southeast Asia. Prodeca's participation forms part of its strategy to strengthen the international profile of the Catalan agri-food sector and identify new opportunities for collaboration with emerging markets linked to the halal economy.

Representing Catalonia, Susanna Barquin, head of the meat and halal sector at Prodeca, spoke at the session “Vietnam–Singapore–Europe Halal Trade Connectivity and Sustainable Market Expansion”, focused on opportunities for cooperation between the halal ecosystems of ASEAN and Europe. Her talk highlighted the role of quality, food safety, traceability, sustainability and certification as decisive factors in building trust in international markets.

Vietnam, an emerging player in the halal economy

The conference, promoted by the Government of Khanh Hoa province and Halal Hub Vietnam, brought together institutional officials, certification bodies, logistics operators, companies, experts and international representatives from ASEAN, Europe, the Middle East and other regions, with the aim of establishing Vietnam as a new benchmark player in the global halal economy.

The various sessions addressed issues relating to halal certification, the digitalisation of supply chains, international logistics, traceability, sustainability, technological innovation and the creation of trade corridors to ease access to global markets. The event also included institutional networking spaces, business meetings and the signing of several memoranda of understanding between participating organisations.

Catalonia brings the experience of an established agri-food ecosystem

During her talk, Prodeca shared Catalonia's experience as one of southern Europe's leading exporting agri-food ecosystems, highlighting the contribution of European quality systems, food control mechanisms, traceability and governance to building trust between producers, companies and consumers.

Susanna Barquin's talk also showed that the halal economy is moving towards a model in which certification is only one of the elements determining international competitiveness. Aspects such as process transparency, interoperability between systems, digitalisation, sustainability and food safety carry increasing weight in the decisions of markets and international operators.

In this context, Prodeca set out the opportunities offered by cooperation between European agri-food ecosystems and ASEAN countries to develop halal corridors based on trust, quality and international connectivity.

Institutional cooperation and new opportunities for engagement

Taking part in the conference also made it possible to establish contact with institutional and business representatives from Vietnam, Singapore, India and other countries linked to the development of the halal economy, as well as with organisations specialising in certification, logistics, technology and traceability.

These meetings help identify potential future lines of cooperation between Catalonia and the new Asian halal ecosystems, especially in areas relating to agri-food innovation, certification, the digitalisation of logistics chains and business internationalisation.

Prodeca's presence at forums of this kind reflects its aim of maintaining active dialogue with the main international players shaping the evolution of halal trade, a segment that continues to experience strong growth and that is generating new opportunities for export-oriented agri-food companies.