Korea’s National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, also known as Nonghyup, on Tuesday said that 26 types of kimchi produced by its Gyeonggi affiliate have been certified as halal.

The Malaysia’s state-led halal certification agency JAKIM has granted halal status to all of the kimchi products produced at the Gyeonggi Agricultural Cooperative Food Association’s production plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.

Gyeonggi Nonghyup said with the halal certification, it will aim to sell more products where there is demand, such as to commercial airlines.

Every year, some 12 million Muslims visit Korea’s largest international airport, making it an ideal location to sell halal-certified kimchi.

Gyeonggi Nonghyup currently has plans to sell up to $1 million worth of kimchi to airlines that use Incheon International Airport.

“Last year, Nonghyup exported some 12 million won worth of agricultural goods to global halal markets, up by 60 percent from the previous year,” said Lee Sang-wook, president and CEO of the NACF Agribusiness Group.

He added that Nonghyup plans to pursue halal certification for other products, such as rice and ginseng, and also to actively organize marketing events to further expand into halal markets around the world.

To achieve these goals, the federation said it will continue to maintain cooperative ties with JAKIM as well as Malaysia’s National Farmers Association, or NAFAS.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)