Development Guidelines for OTOP Products of Entrepreneurs in the Area of Thai-Cambodian in Order to Request the Halal Certification for Export to the ASEAN Market DOI:

Abstract

         The objectives of this mixed-method research were to assess OTOP products of entrepreneurs along the Thai-Cambodian border and to provide a guideline for the development of OTOP products for Halal certification to export to the ASEAN market. The quantitative data was collected from 13 OTOP entrepreneurs who produce 13 food products in Kap Choeng district, Surin province through a questionnaire and an assessment form. Statistics used for data analysis were frequency and percentage. According to a qualitative study, a focused-group discussion of 48 participants comprise of OTOP entrepreneurs, experts from Community Development Office, experts from the Central Islamic Council of Thailand, and lecturers of Surindra Rajabhat University to provide development guidelines for OTOP products. The results of focused-group discussion were prepared as a proposed policy to develop OTOP products for Halal certification to export to the ASEAN market of entrepreneurs along the Thai-Cambodian border.  

         The assessment results of OTOP products according to the regulations of the Central Islamic Council of Thailand regarding the management of Halal business B.E. 2558 (2015), in Section 2, regarding auditing for Halal certification, in terms of  business establishment, raw materials, product components and storage, production process, entrepreneurs and employees, product storage and transportation, and distribution the study showed that products that have passed the inspection standards for Halal certification can be sorted in descending order as follows; pickled fish, organic rice, Thong Muan (a kind of sweetmeats), lotus tea, crispy banana of Ban Koke Sa-ard, and curry paste. Sections that did not pass the criteria were brought to the focused-group discussion to find ways to develop in order to prepare a proposed policy for Halal certification for exporting to the ASEAN market. 1) Establishment development – the establishments must be separated to avoid contamination and to control cleanliness. Therefore, the area should be allocated for a production at the house of any member. In addition, funds must be raised within the group to build a house to be used as a production place to meet the Halal standards. 2) Equipment – the equipment must not be used in conjunction with other food production and things that are prohibited according to Islamic principles. Therefore, entrepreneurs need to raise funds to procure equipment for the production of group products. There should be only one entrepreneur. In addition, there must be money management in order to have the capital to purchase equipment. Moreover, relevant agencies must promote and support equipment for entrepreneurs. 3) Knowledge of Halal standards – Relevant agencies should promote and support the recruitment of trainers to educate Halal standards through the training process for members of the OTOP entrepreneurs and manufacturers involved in order to managing and controlling the production process to be in accordance with Halal standards.