standards for sustainable trade: assessing technical ... · final report _____ standards for...

Standards for Sustainable Trade Project ______________________________________________________________________________________

Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

Standards for Sustainable Trade: Assessing Technical Assistance Needs Under the WTO’s Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)

Agreement

A Final Report for Eastern and Southern Africa: Kenya, Namibia, Namibia,

South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe

The African Centre for Technology Studies, Kenya and

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), UK

December 2003


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

2

ACRONYMS ACTS African Centre for Technology Studies CIDA Canadian International Development Agency COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa DKD Deutscher Kalibrierdienst (DKD of Germany EAC East African Community EPC Export Processing Councils EPZ Export Processing Zones IGAD Inter-governmental Authority for Development IISD International Institute for Sustainable Development ISO International Organization of Standardization IT Information Technology NISQO Namibia’s Standards Information and Quality Office NSBs National Standards Bodies QSAC Quality Systems Assessment Committee RING Regional and International Networking Group SA South Africa SABS South Africa Bureau of Standards SADC South Africa Development Community SANAS South African National Accreditation System SMEs Small-Medium size Enterprises SPS Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary Measures SQAM Standards Quality Assurance and Metrology SQMT Standards Quality Metrology and Testing TBT Technical Barriers to Trade TR Technical Regulations TRIPS Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights UKAS United Kingdom Accreditation Service of UK UN United Nations UNBS Uganda National Bureau of Standards UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Ogganization WIPO World International Property Organization WTO World Trade Organization ZINAS Zimbabwe National Accreditation Systems


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

3

Table of Contents I. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 4 II. Project Objectives ........................................................................................................ 4 III. Consultations................................................................................................................. 5 IV. Commodity Sectors ...................................................................................................... 5 V. Issues............................................................................................................................. 5 VI. Standards for Sustainable Trade: Assessing Technical Assistance Needs Under the WTO’s Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement_A Synthesis Paper ...................... 7

A. Standards formulation and development.................................................................... 8 B. Technical regulation (TR) formulation and development process............................. 8 C. Product certification, product testing and inspection. ................................................ 9 D. Accreditation and certification bodies ....................................................................... 9 E. Enquiry Points .......................................................................................................... 10 F. Commodity sectors ................................................................................................... 10

a. Fisheries ................................................................................................................ 11 b. Horticulture and floriculture ................................................................................. 11 c. Beef and beef related products.............................................................................. 12

H. Conclusion and Recommendations.......................................................................... 12 VII. Report of the Regional Workshop on Standards for Sustainable Trade and Market Access in Sub-Saharan Africa Nairobi, Kenya 28-29 May 2003 ..................................... 15

A. Background .............................................................................................................. 15 B. Overview Issues ....................................................................................................... 16 C. Standards Status and Trends in sub-Saharan Africa ................................................ 17 D. Key Sectoral Concerns............................................................................................. 19

a. Fish and fish products ........................................................................................... 19 b. Horticulture and flowers ....................................................................................... 20 c. Beef and beef related products............................................................................. 20

E. Capacity-Building Needs.......................................................................................... 20 a. Inadequate policies on standards and technical regulations.................................. 21 b. Poor infrastructure ................................................................................................ 21 c. Weak human and technological capacity.............................................................. 21 d. Inadequate participation in international standards formulation .......................... 22 e. Exorbitant costs of compliance ............................................................................. 22

F. Way Forward ............................................................................................................ 22 VIII. Lessons Learnt ......................................................................................................... 23 IX: Conclusion and Recommendations ............................................................................ 24

a. Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 24 b. Recommendations..................................................................................................... 26

Annex I: Synthesis Report Annex II: Workshop Report Annex III: Minister's Speech Annex IV: Workshop Programme Annex V: List of Participants


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

4

I. Introduction

1. With increased globalization and implied liberalization, developing countries particularly those in Africa are pursuing an economic growth model, which is export led, with the private sector as the engine of the economy. The overarching medium to long-term policy objective for export growth is broadening of the export base, adding value to commodity export products and pursuing market access through multilateral trading systems including the World Trade Organization (WTO). These policy objectives are incorporated in the national plans and strategies of many a developing country. Recognition is made in all these plans and strategies for the need to develop necessary infrastructures to facilitate market access in a manner described by the Agreements on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Measures (SPS) of the WTO. Such infrastructures include provision for standards formulation processes, testing, certification and accreditation services and availability of information through appropriately placed and facilitated national enquiry and notification points. 2. However, the weakness of the standardization infrastructure (standards, quality, metrology, testing, certification and accreditation) in developing countries and the lack of active participation of those countries in international standardization work put developing countries at a considerable disadvantage when they trade with other countries. This can be a serious impediment to these countries, particularly in Sub Saharan Africa benefiting from global trade and their economic development in general. Despite significant trade liberalization and economic policy reforms, market access remains therefore an issue of concern to Sub-Saharan African countries. 3. Among the market access factors, capacity to implement standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment to access developed country markets and promote sustainable development create the most important difficulty for African exports. With funding from the European Union (EU), The Norwegian Government, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the RING partners in South East Asia, Africa and Latin America implemented the project “Standards for Sustainable Trade: Assessing Technical Assistance Needs Under the WTO’s Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement”. The Sub Saharan African component of the Project co-coordinated by the African Center for Technology Studies (ACTS) Nairobi Kenya was implemented in five selected African countries including Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

II. Project Objectives

4. The intention of this survey was to undertake a comprehensive regional needs- assessment for technical assistance in the areas of trade facilitation and sustainable development.


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

5

III. Consultations 5. A range of key organizations and stakeholders in these countries were contacted and are listed (see synthesis report in Annex I). The views from these stakeholders have been reflected in the country study reports. Our partners involved in the country studies referred to documents and published material to provide background information for the studies. Also, the partners used their professional interpretation of the research results and their understanding of the study subject to develop specific recommendations on capacity requirements at both the regional and national levels.

IV. Commodity Sectors 6. Commodity sectors were also included in the study. These are horticulture and floriculture, fisheries, meat and meat products (see Table 1 below).

Table 1. Priority Commodity Sectors Country Sector/Sub-sector/product Kenya Fisheries and Horticulture and

floriculture Namibia Fisheries and beef and beef related

products South Africa Automotive and electro technical

industries Uganda Fisheries and Horticulture and

floriculture Zimbabwe Horticulture and floriculture, beef

and beef related products These sectors are those in which perceived real needs and priorities are. Attempts were made to involve the producers/firms/processors from these sectors in the study. For example in the horticulture sector, Home Grown (Kenya) Ltd and Merchants Exporters Ltd-a medium horticulture and floriculture exporting company in Kenya and Flona Commodities Ltd, and Suruma Foods Ltd in Uganda took part in the study. In the fisheries sector, Hwan Sung Ltd and Ngege Ltd in Uganda were involved. The outcome of this project will provide opportunities for establishing necessary infrastructure to enhance the participation of African countries in international trade.

V. Issues

7. This project therefore seeks to address in particular the following issues:

a) What specific technical assistance and capacity building needs are required for implementing the TBT Agreement in each target country in the region?

b) What are the regional overlaps and commonalities in these needs, as well as the possibility of providing for these needs through (a) regional centre(s)?


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

6

c) Are there existing regional frameworks and networks through which regional technical assistance and capacity building initiatives could be directed?

d) What recommendations – both in terms of policy development, capacity building and technical assistance will help to address the identified institutional, organizational, and human capacity needs?

8. A synthesis paper (see section VI for highlights of the paper) presents the outcome of a comprehensive needs assessment for technical assistance and capacity building study in the areas of trade facilitation and sustainable development undertaken in five selected countries of Eastern and Southern Africa. Individual country study reports prepared provided insights into the constraints to the national standards and technical regulation development processes, product certification, testing and inspection, national enquiry points, accreditation and certification. Also provided, is an indication of the technical assistance and capacity needs that are necessary for improvement. 9. A regional workshop (see section VII for highlights of the workshop) was held in Nairobi, Kenya on 28-29, May 2003. This workshop sought to review the study findings, prioritize recommendations and consider a long-term implementation strategy that seeks to promote regional centers of technical and institutional capacity building. The synthesis paper in (7) above was the focus for deliberations in the workshop. The Nairobi workshop brought together scholars, practitioners, policy makers and stakeholders in various government ministries, sub-regional bodies, organizations and private sector in Eastern and Southern Africa. The workshop also helped contribute towards the refinement of the synthesis paper where a number of specific issues and recommendations were raised and given, respectively. 10. The challenge in this study has been to identify problems and make recommendations related to institutional, human and organizational capacity needs for sustainable standards and market access in the selected countries. The country papers lacked specific information on problems and therefore specific recommendations. This is attributed to a number of factors including:

• Lack of understanding of the issues well enough to identify specific recommendations. This was further aggravated by the nature of questions contained n the study questionnaire. Most of the questions were technical, which presupposed that all stakeholders have an appreciable understanding of the study subject.

• The low response rate particularly from the private sector stakeholders-those engaged in the commodity sectors like fisheries, beef and beef related products, and horticulture and floriculture also contributed to failure in this study to identify specific problems and as well as make recommendations.

• Many organizations could not see immediate benefits from the study and therefore did not want to participate. For those organizations, which participated, there was a perception that similar studies have been undertaken in the region in the recent past. And therefore all that was required is to implement the recommendations given in those studies to address the standards and market access problems their respective countries are faced with. Examples of such


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

7

studies include the World Bank’s study on “Standards and Global Trade: A Voice for Africa” undertaken in five selected countries including Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda; “Strengthening Developing Countries’ Capacities to Respond to Health, Sanitary and Environmental Requirements” conducted in Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania; and the WTO survey on TBT-related technical assistance needs to “Assist Developing Country Members Identify and Prioritize their Specific Needs in the TBT Field” in which all the selected countries in this study participated.

• With the exception of the national standard bodies, regulatory agencies and some businesses’ many SME-type industry groups did not have the necessary information and know-how to fill the questionnaire. This limited their ability to identify the issues as well as make specific recommendations.

11. One of the main recommendations coming out from the country studies and the regional workshop is the need for regional cooperation to ensure that the inadequacies at national level with regard to standards and technical regulations development, accreditation, testing and metrology, and enquiry points are provided at regional level. Also, there are a number of initiatives already in place at the sub-regional such as SADC’s SQAM and the EAC’s STQM. However SADC’s SQAM is more developed, while STQM in East Africa is just at its initial stages. However, what both the country studies and the regional workshop did not do was to probe further the strengths and weaknesses of these regional initiatives and what areas need to be strengthened. There is need for an accreditation body, one for each of the sub-regions-SADC and EAC. Since this study has highlighted the issues and given the recommendations that need to be taken into account when providing the institutional, organizational and human capacities at regional level, there is need for a follow-up assessment of the opportunities that exist in COMESA, EAC and SADC and some of the national standards bodies. It would also define the regional coordination mechanism which this study and regional workshop has been unable to capture. Regional coordination mechanism was not captured because the composition of participants at the workshop did not represent all the interest groups particularly the private sector and industry associations who were not adequately represented. Specific assessment areas would include what they provide, their success, weaknesses (weakness for the national standard’s bodies is already captured in this and many other studies) and what support is required to enable them provide standards and market access related services at regional level. VI. Standards for Sustainable Trade: Assessing Technical Assistance Needs

Under the WTO’s Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement_A Synthesis Paper

12. This paper synthesizes1 all the country reports prepared by our partners in the selected countries participating in this study. We therefore summarize the constraints as well as identify specific areas that need intervention in form of capacity enhancement and technical assistance in relation to formulation of technical regulations and standards, 1 For details on the Synthesis Paper, see Annex I


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

8

testing and conformity assessment, metrology and measurement systems, operations of enquiry points and accreditation practices in the region.

A. Standards formulation and development

13. The constraints captured in the country study reports include:

• Institutional weaknesses of the National Standards Bodies arising from capacity in business planning, testing equipment and suitable permanent premises;

• Lack of tools and technical capacities for Technical Committees in standards development process;

• Low level of awareness and access to international standards amongst all sectors including business people, political leaders and the general public;

• Lack of capacity to demonstrate the suitability and necessity of international standards in the national context; and

• Limited participation in international standards formulation process. • Inability to access, analyze and disseminate information on standards

These constraints require capacity enhancement and technical assistance in all study countries with the exception of SA where the standards development process is well developed.

B. Technical regulation (TR) formulation and development process

14. The common constraints identified in the case studies include: • Inadequate capacity to interpret and translate international technical regulations

because the regulatory agencies lack the capacity to test suitability of international TRs and assessing their applicability at the domestic level. Research organizations and universities are ill equipped to provide credible services since all their laboratories are not accredited;

• Inadequate participation by all stakeholders in the process of setting TRs. Unlike voluntary standards, TRs are derived from a number of enabling laws where the process for stakeholder consultation in some cases is limited. This has tended to create resentment amongst the private sector that bears most of the implementation costs;

• High handedness of the regulatory agencies armed with backup legislation and executive power commonly excised by government agencies;

• Lack of coordination amongst related regulatory agencies: Related regulatory agencies tend to operate independently and hence fail to draw on each other’s synergies. Instead conflicts and ineffective regulations, waste of time and resources is the outcome;

• Institutional weaknesses: weak linkages and limited networking, limited application of IT, testing laboratories and calibration equipment and the failure to service equipment;

• Inadequate funding for TR agencies: regulatory agencies draw the bulk of their resources from government. This is limited and depends on government priorities;


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

9

• The absence of a clear and accessible source of information on technical regulations gives rise to some practical problems in negotiating international trade agreements;

• Lack of transparency in technical regulations hampers local trade and stifles entrepreneurship, especially in the small to medium scale enterprises; and

• Involvement in the development of TRs is not fully developed except for a few cases where the TR agencies have a working charter with the private sector stakeholders.

However, the specific technical assistance requirements for addressing these inadequacies will vary with the depth of the problem in each country.

C. Product certification, product testing and inspection. 15. The NSBs in Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe and South Africa plus Namibia’s NISQO undertake product certification, product testing and inspection. In Kenya and Uganda, regional and international service providers offer accreditation and laboratory services. Also, these regional and international service providers do offer certification, product testing, inspection, accreditation, certification and inspection bodies and laboratories. The specific TA requirements for addressing these inadequacies varies with the depth of the problem in each country, but generally the constraints identified in the studies are:

• Lack of equipment and quality management systems to enable laboratories to be accredited;

• Lack of acceptance of conformity assessment results in export markets attributed to the accreditation bodies not being recognized internationally;

• Lack of testing and calibration laboratories since countries like Uganda, Namibia and Zimbabwe rely on South Africa; and

• Conformity assessment is too expensive for local enterprises especially the SMEs. • Lack of understanding of testing and metrology • Lack of equipment for testing and metrology • Lack of calibration and maintenance • Lack of consistency in implementing ISO 17025 (QM for laboratory) • Cost of calibrating national standards to international reference standards • Lack of awareness for the need to use metrology facilities where they exist

D. Accreditation and certification bodies

16The studies show that with the exception of South Africa; Kenya, Namibia, Uganda and Zimbabwe are unable to undertake laboratory accreditation. They all depend on South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) and other regional and international agencies such as United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) of UK and Deutscher Kalibrierdienst (DKD) of Germany. This has important implications for the competitiveness of export products from the countries participating in this study and Sub-Saharan African countries in general. At the national economy level, efforts to increase exports are undermined by the cost of


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

10

conformity assessment. At the enterprise level, assessment costs increase the costs of compliance and If not checked the products can well become price uncompetitive in the destination markets. Specific issues include: • lack of understanding of the concept of accreditation or need for accreditation by

government • cost in terms of proficiency, testing schemes, reference materials and calibration

E. Enquiry Points

17. Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe have the NSBs as the designated World Trade Organization (WTO) enquiry points. Each NSB runs an Information and Documentation Centre. Kenya and Uganda are being supported with the necessary infrastructure such as Internet connectivity, documentation and resource center by JITAP to effectively provide the services. The Documentation Centres have information on national standards, standards of countries from regional bodies like COMESA, British Standards and International Standards such as ISO and CODEX. The Centres also provide information on standards from other countries to exporters on request as these NSBs are linked to a number of Standards Organizations. The specific TA requirements for addressing these inadequacies varies with the depth of the problem in each country but generally constraints identified in the studies include:

• Lack of cohesiveness in coordination; although the selected countries have put in place the WTO Enquiry Points. Internal mechanisms for coordination and cooperation are still inadequate, though the forum for interaction and consultations with all stakeholders is in place. This lack of coordination slows the flow of information between the various regulatory agencies;

• Inadequate sensitization of all stakeholders about the need for timely communication of changes, or lack of sufficient understanding of the TBT Agreement;

• Inadequate equipments, connectivity and telecommunication infrastructure • Insufficient coordination between national enquiry points and related institutions

for TBT and SPS measures • Unreliability of communication equipment: processing of requests for information

needs fast and reliable communication. Fast and reliable computers and Internet connectivity are inadequate;

• Limited resources to invest in sophisticated databases on national technical regulation, standards and conformity assessment; and

• High costs for maintenance of enquiry points.

F. Commodity sectors 18. The commodity sectors included in the study are fisheries, horticulture and floral culture; and beef and beef related products.


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

11

a. Fisheries 19. Specific constraints in this sector include:

• Lack of awareness about international standards; • Inadequate information on traceability and marketing • Inadequate quality systems such as ice and clean water • Inappropriateness of some of the tests required by the EU such as the “Parasites

Tests” which the fish processors deem as totally in appropriate for the Nile Perch Fish from Lake Victoria. They contend therefore that there is no way that this fish could have parasites embedded in the skin, but need to prove that this is the truth. Currently the sector looses US$ 4,400 per month for operation of the test machine. This is on top of the fixed cost of procuring the test machine.

• Strictness of international standards which affects mostly small enterprises with limited capital and technology to implement them;

• Lack of laboratory facilities on water quality and availability of equipment for production of ice

• Lack of knowledge of market demands and requirements • Facilities for testing parasites, pesticide residues and heavy metals are lacking.

Testing either done in South Africa or Holland • Establishment of traceable systems, which requires batching of consignments

according to fishermen and catches. The type of fishing activity in Kenya and Uganda is that of many artisan and semi artisan fishermen. Batching is near impossible and yet it has to be done.

b. Horticulture and floriculture

20. Horticulture is a diverse sector and comprises of many products. The most significant products are beans and legumes, vanilla, roses and flowers, fruits, vegetables, spices, ornamental plants, herbs and medicinal plants. The constraints include:

• Inadequate capacity for risks assessment and analysis of pesticide residues in the industry;

• Inadequate information on marketing requirements, packaging and transport; • Property rights on flower products from Africa are not defined particularly in

super markets in the EU. Once imported the country of region is not specified; • Inadequate calibration of cold storage facilities at airports; • Lack of mutual recognition of assessment procedures, test methods and

laboratories for pests and pesticides; • Inadequate inspections with focus on organic certification and conforming to SPS

measures; • Inadequate inspectors and auditors in the flower industry; • High costs of investments and compliance both in terms of standards

implementation and conformity assessment.


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

12

c. Beef and beef related products 21. The following are the constraints identified in the beef sector:

• Failure to apply quality systems and codes to control diseases such as foot and mouth disease;

• Problems of drug residues and failure to conform to SPS measures; • Inadequate inspection of meat and meat related products for drug residues such as

antibiotics; • Inadequate information on transport, packaging and marketing requirements; • Failure to give early warning signals to the outbreaks of diseases through the

national enquiry points (notification of animal diseases). • Inadequate guidance on conformity to the traceability scheme for livestock; and

Joint inspections at border posts through merged port health facilities could be the way forward. This could be addressed by the development of shared port health facilities, which will reduce the capital outlay.

H. Conclusion and Recommendations

22. From the fore going, this study identifies four levels at which to respond to challenges of enhancing market access for the selected Sub-Saharan African countries. First, is the enterprise level with respect to use and application of standards and TRs. In the study, this level relates to enterprises involved in commodity or product sectors like fisheries, horticulture and beef industry for export. For specific commodity sectors there is need to:

• Apply quality systems and codes of practice specific to a commodity sector such as the fisheries, beef and beef related products and horticulture;

• Enhance availability of ice water; • Promote calibration of equipment such as transport facilities for the horticultural

industry; and temperature measurement in the fisheries sector. • Promote patenting and geographical labeling for some of the commodity sectors

like horticulture and fisheries. • Enhance access to information on marketing, packaging and transport • Promote technology transfer such as GMP and SOP; • Enhance information collection and dissemination on standards, markets,

transport and packaging. Second, is the national level where there are diverse actors whose core activities are affected by, or affect the development of standards, accreditation, conformity assessment, and promotion of quality. This is a critical level and has the respective NSBs as the nucleus of activity. The starting point for intervention is therefore strengthening capacity of the NSBs and private sector business groups in standards and TR development and formulation. Specific technical support at the national level should include:


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

13

• Need for a competent authority to undertake inspections to ensure conformity to SPS measures and organic certification;

• Need to promote access to information on marketing, packaging and transport; • Establish Mutual Recognition assessment procedures with regard to test methods,

laboratories for pests and pesticides and inspectors and auditors; • Need for calibration of cold storage facilities at airports; • Mechanisms for disease control such as foot and mouth diseases; • Need to undertake risk assessment for HACCP • Need to have a coordinated approach to information dissemination and

marketing; • Need for harmonized standards and regulations to conform to international

standards through review of national and sectoral policies and laws; and • Promote good hygiene and awareness training.

Third, is the regional level with focus on existing frameworks and networks in the region. The study therefore recognizes the need for a regional approach because it offers opportunities for harmonized standards and provision of cost effective conformity assessment infrastructure, testing, accreditation facilities and metrology and measurement systems facilities. Therefore, there is need to (i) set up a regional accreditation system, and regional metrology and measurement systems (calibration) laboratory, as part of the greater effort to enhance market access for sub-Saharan countries in the study; and (ii) establish a centre for research at regional level into appropriateness of international standards and regulations as pre-requisite for their adoption/adaptation. The EAC and SADC blocks with SQMT and SQAM protocols, respectively already in place could be used to address the challenges of technical institutional and organizational capacities in the region. Other recommendations with sectoral focus include:

• Encourage sharing of information and management on cross-cutting commodity sectors like horticulture, beef and fish;

• Promote good hygiene and awareness training; • Promote participation in the development of standards at regional level; • Need for regional effort to build capacity in risk assessment, pesticide residues

and heavy metals assessment; • Build capacity of calibration for testing and metrology; and • Establishment of mutual recognition and assessment procedures

And finally, is the international level, where policies/regulations/plans/activities have a direct linkage/impact to activities at enterprise, national and regional levels. This study recommends the need to:

• develop capacity to lobby and negotiate on international trade standards and technical requirements in ISBs such as ISO, Codex, IOE, etc. Also, there is need for capacity to negotiate in TBT/SPS Agreements as well;

• promote proficiency with regard to accreditation, and testing and metrology; • put in place inspection and quarantine procedures;


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

14

• establishment of mutual recognition and assessment procedures • establish early warning of outbreaks of disease


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

15

VII. Report of the Regional Workshop on Standards for Sustainable Trade and

Market Access in Sub-Saharan Africa Nairobi, Kenya 28-29 May 2003

A. Background 23. The acceleration of trade resulting from efforts to liberalize markets is producing tangible benefits for global economic growth, including significant benefits to developing countries. In response, sub-Saharan African countries have begun to reform their economic policies and strategies with a view to tapping the benefits flowing from liberalized markets. The move is towards an export-led economic growth with the private sector as its cogwheel, broadening of the export base, value addition to commodity products and more aggressive pursuit of market access through the multilateral trading systems, especially the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its relevant agreements on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Measures (SPS). 24. Yet save for South Africa, the rest of sub-Saharan Africa continues to perform below the rest of the developing world in terms of export performance – an issue largely attributed to technical measures that constrain access to and competitiveness of the region’s good in global markets. The key market access challenges facing these countries are capacity to implement standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment to access developed country markets and promote sustainable development. 25. This has led many countries of sub-Saharan Africa to be unreceptive to the requirements of these agreements, even as few bother to analyze and weigh the benefits of compliance. The overall effect is a dearth of information on the capacity needs of these countries to fully take advantage of these multilateral agreements and to harness the benefits of trade liberalization. The need to clearly identify and prioritize capacity-building needs in the region cannot be overemphasized. 26. The goal of the workshop2 was to review study findings, prioritize recommendations and consider long-term implementation strategies proposed in the case studies commissioned under the project. The case studies sought to identify:

• Technical assistance and capacity building needed to implement the TBT Agreement for the region; • Regional overlaps and commonalities in these needs, as well as the possibility of

providing for these needs through (a) regional centre(s); • Existence of regional frameworks and networks through which regional technical

assistance and capacity building initiatives could be directed; • Recommendations in terms of policy development, capacity building and technical

assistance needed to address the identified institutional, organizational, and human capacity needs.

2 See Annex II for the Workshop Report


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

16

27. Background papers, including a synthesis paper consolidating the findings of the five country case studies and an opening speech by Kenya’s Minister for Trade and Industry, facilitated the fruitful and insightful discussions at the workshop.3 Focused group and plenary discussions were organized to provide better insights into some thematic issues and to supplement the open and lively workshop discussions.4 Workshop participants5 were drawn from a wide range of key stakeholders, including:

• Government Ministries and Departments either directly or indirectly responsible for facilitation of production and trade promotion

• Government statutory bodies for trade promotion and facilitation particularly the Export Promotion Councils and Zones (EPC and EPZ, respectively).

• National Standards Bodies as reference agencies for standardization and quality assurance

• Private sector organizations and firms • Industry advocacy groups particularly the apex business associations • Academic and research institutions • Sector/sub-sector/product/services

B. Overview Issues

28. From the outset, participants noted that sub-Saharan Africa is hindered from fuller participation in the global economy by a "standards divide"—a combination of inadequate capacity to meet world trade standards for goods and limited opportunities to help shape these standards to ensure that they are consistent and fair. This is more so in light of the changing system of rights and obligations under the WTO regime. Noting the increasing expansion of trade concerns beyond the traditional trade measures such as quantitative restrictions or tariffs, participants underscored the need to take concrete capacity-building measures to secure sub-Saharan Africa’s stakes under the WTO trade measures agreements, especially the agreements on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Measures (SPS). 29. Participants observed that the need for capacity building is even more important in light of efforts by sub-Saharan African countries to change the pattern of trade away from raw materials and commodity exports to valued added and manufactured exports. In this endeavor, these countries must develop capacities necessary to confront the challenges associated with meeting international standards, as well as related mandatory conformity assessment requirements for market access referenced in the Uruguay Round. 30. In terms of international standards, participants were of the view that there is not only limited capacity to engage in standards development but also the poor infrastructure necessary to base technical requirements. Moreover, the costs of modernization and infrastructure upgrading to meet access commitments in the WTO agreement (which 3 For the Minister’s speech, see Annex III. 4 For the workshop programme, see Annex IV. 5 For list participants, see Annex V.


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

17

would necessarily include related programmes to facilitate access to information on international standards) exceed the development budget in many of these countries. 31. Noting the potential obstacles that conformity assessment procedures pose to sub-Saharan African exporters (especially new exporters) serving international markets, participants underscored the fact that WTO TBT Agreement discourages strict application of conformity assessment procedures in a manner that it creates unnecessary restrictions on trade. They noted that contrary to practice of ensuring very strict requirements by some WTO members, these procedures for testing, certification and other conformity requirements should only be applied to the extent that they afford the importing country the confidence that the products conform to the regulatory requirements so that they do not act as trade barriers. 32. Participants also considered development aspects of trade obligations under the TBT Agreement. Issues raised included whether it is necessary to have accredited laboratory among all countries in the region, or emphasize regional cooperation and shared infrastructure to support conformity assessment. While the development of the countries involved should not be ignored, the workshop was of the opinion that regional cooperation and shared infrastructure is a better way of accelerating progress in both development needs and trade. 33. Finally, with regard to general issues, the workshop emphasized the importance of product labeling as a means for both trade expansion in the context of valuable information to consumers, as well as potential barriers to trade when applied in a discriminatory manner. Its importance was seen in light of the fact that the TBT Agreement addresses both final products and process and production methods (PPMs) that are often linked to the rationale of labels. Thus, participants highlighted the need to address labeling questions by assessing the circumstances under which they facilitate or promote trade for the region.

C. Standards Status and Trends in sub-Saharan Africa

34. It was noted that most sub-Saharan African countries have established national standards bodies (NSBs). Of the five study countries, for example, only Namibia has not established a full-fledged national standards body. These are, the Kenya Bureau for Standards (KBS), South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) and Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAB). However, there is Namibia’s Standards Information and Quality Office (NISQO), which for all intents and purposes is an embryo body of the soon to be developed National Standards Body of Namibia. Thus Namibia qualifies to be a correspondent body member of the International Organization of Standardization (ISO). 35. It was noted that these NSBs also serve as the enquiry points with established information documentation centres. Indeed, South Africa has established a National


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

18

Notification System, housed in the SABS information section, to perform all the notification requirements outlined in the WTO/TBT Agreement. 36. But the enquiry points are confronted with a number of challenges, including poor coordination, unreliability of communication equipment and information, and limited resources to hire well-trained and skilled staff as well as purchase and maintain state-of-the-art equipment. 37. Further, participants noted that these standards bodies generally tend to adopt international or foreign standards except where there are specific reasons to warrant development of indigenous standards. In some cases, the regional tier for standards binds the countries. This is the case within the East African Community where parties are bound by the Protocol on Standards Development, Quality Management, Testing and Metrology (SQMT). However, a similar protocol exists among the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. 38. The key problems identified by participants in respect of standards formulation in sub-Saharan Africa were: institutional weaknesses of the NSBs arising from inadequate infrastructure and capacities in business planning; inadequate technical know-how in standards development processes; little awareness and access to international standards among relevant stakeholders and; limited participation in international standards formulation processes. 39. Apart from the standards, participants noted that sub-Saharan African countries have developed a wide range of technical regulations driven mainly by export (demand) and health concerns of the importing countries such as those in Europe and North America. These regulations are enforced by regulatory agencies (comprising ministries and/or specialized agencies created by the Acts of parliament) responsible for technical oversight within the relevant sectors. It was observed that a system of stakeholder consultation has evolved in the formulation and enforcement of these technical regulations in the region. 40. Like with standards formulation, full operation of technical regulations continues to be hampered by a number of constraints, including: inadequate capacities to interpret and translate international technical regulations; limited participation in formulation of technical regulations; poor coordination among agencies responsible for the development and implementation of technical regulations; inadequate funding; and inadequate stakeholder participation in formulation of technical regulations. 41. The workshop also discussed issues pertaining to conformity assessment and metrology. It was observed that unlike in most developed countries where independently accredited firms normally provide third party assessment services outside the NSBs, most sub-Saharan African countries largely rely on NSBs for third party tests. Thus all the NSBs of the study countries undertake product certification, product testing and inspection. But in Kenya and Uganda, regional and international service providers have started offering accreditation certification and laboratory services. In Kenya, for example,


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

19

national and multinational accreditation agencies such as the Quality Systems Assessment Committee (QSAC) and United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) conduct accreditation and inspection, respectively. 42. Specific handicaps identified to be hampering the regions in the area of conformity assessments are mainly poor testing infrastructure and the associated high costs. Thus most countries in the region rely on South Africa. 43. These problems, it was noted, are exacerbated by the fact that only South Africa has its own national accreditation of testing facilities. The rest of the countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Namibia and Zimbabwe depend on South African Accreditation System (SANAS) and other foreign agencies. These have adverse implications for these countries’ exports to international markets. Yet a number of these economies seem to be ill prepared to support national accreditation bodies. While Kenya is proposing to expand the activities of QSAC for registration of personnel, testing and calibration laboratories and certification bodies as Zimbabwe prepares to form the Zimbabwe National Accreditation System (ZINAS), participants underscored the benefit that regional recognition schemes.

D. Key Sectoral Concerns 44. To ensure greater relevance and better focus, workshop participants took time to reflect on and discuss issues affecting specific industries where standards are of growing importance in the sub-region. The discussions focused on the challenges of compliance with international technical regulations, as well as product and process standards facing firms and farmers in the particular project focus countries. The sectors covered included fisheries, horticulture and floriculture and meat and meat products. They represent areas where participants perceived real needs and priorities.

a. Fish and fish products 45. Participants discussed the implications of standards for fish and fish products of Namibia, Kenya and Uganda whose main market is the European Union, together with other smaller markets – Australia, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Singapore. The EU, a typical demand driven market comprising mandatory and voluntary standards was noted to present enormous challenges for fish exports from the region, in terms of infrastructure, hygiene, processing and the national requirements of the importing countries. 46. The key problems identified include lack of awareness about and access to international standards, very high and restrictive standards, high costs of compliance and failure of the fisheries to establish proper means of batching systems. 47. The workshop identified specific capacity needs to include installation of proper testing equipment, provision of appropriate technologies and infrastructure to counter


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

20

downstream post-harvest loses, and capacity building measures to equip the relevant stakeholders, including the fish and exporters associations, with information and knowledge about standards.

b. Horticulture and flowers 48. Taking note of the emerging and increasing importance of horticultural and flower products to the economies of Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe, the workshop discussed this sector as another priority area with great potential for increased exports as well as numerous challenges for sub-Saharan African countries. 49. The key problems identified by participants are inadequate capacity for risks assessment and analysis of pesticide residues in the horticulture industry, poor adoption of standards as result of inadequate incentives for the industry to adopt international standards as well as high costs of investments, and high costs of compliance both in terms of standards implementation and conformity assessment. 50. Thus, participants proposed the main technical assistance requirements to be training and capacity building in risk assessment and analysis of residues, better networking and information sharing among stakeholders, information and data collection on ethical trading requirements.

c. Beef and beef related products 51. The importance of the beef industries in Namibia and Zimbabwe and the standards requirements affecting them did not escape the attention of the workshop participants. While Namibia mainly exports beef to South Africa, Zimbabwe’s main market for beef is the EU. 52. But like other priority sectors, participants noted that technical requirements for beef, especially in the EU, pose major constraints to effective participation of small holder producers and hence the majority of the farmers in the region to export beef and beef products. 53. Thus, the workshop proposed a number of capacity building concerns such as technical guidance on conformity to the traceability scheme for livestock as well as development of the right infrastructure for hygienic transportation and storage of beef and beef products.

E. Capacity-Building Needs 54. As an important part of its mission, the workshop identified and discussed existing gaps in the standards formulation, compliance and enforcement capacity in sub-Saharan Africa. The main capacity building challenges and priorities identified were as follows:


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

21

a. Inadequate policies on standards and technical regulations 55. Despite commendable headways in standards policies in the region, there remain numerous gaps in the national standards, metrology systems, and quality laws. Many national standards need to be updated to conform to international norms. Attention should be paid to helping the countries of the region to update their standards, policies and regulations. This would involve reviewing national laws and updating them, and designing policies that create incentives and influence private sector investment in compliance. A case in point here is Uganda where The Plant Protection Act Cap 244 of 1962 and its attendant regulations “The Seventh Non-Legal draft of The Plant Protection (Importation) Order” prepared by the East African standing technical committee on plant import and export, July 1972 has been reviewed and revised. The aim of the review was to harmonize the provisions of the law and regulations in conformity with the demands of international trade to which Uganda as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and signatory to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC/FAO) subscribes. However, the absence of regulations and pest schedules (Quarantine pest list) leaves the phytosanitary decisions at the discretion of individual officers and the issuing country.

b. Poor infrastructure 56. In addition, the sub-region’s enquiry points have poor information management infrastructure for coordinating local standards-related activities and interest groups with their national counterparts. The mechanisms for consultations among national SPS/food safety authorities and other stakeholders, both internationally and nationally are inadequate, slow and sometimes inaccurate. There is thus need to establish information management and reporting tools that can be shared among trade development organizations, their membership and clients, and international counterparts. ICTs and ICT-based projects have great potential to of enhancing communication between stakeholders involved in making, monitoring, enforcing and adopting standards in the sub-region. Also, at the enterprise/firm level, most enterprises particularly the SMEs lack the capacity to capacity to receive information and use it. Though enterprises recognize the significance of quality at all levels of the production chain, the cost of industry associations empowering their members as well as the lack of resource persons capacity building is a major constraint.

c. Weak human and technological capacity 57. Participants also identified weakness of human and technological capacities as a major impediment to compliance with standards in sub-Saharan Africa. Essential facilities such


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

22

as testing laboratories are poorly staffed in many countries of the region. In some cases, there is undue duplication of roles. Thus the workshop prioritized the need to build capacity in relevant areas necessary to meet the regulatory and technical needs across national and regional standards agencies. For example, the need to strengthen national and regional capacity to conduct risk analysis and other scientific and policy research issues relating to standards was emphasized. In the same vain, the need to streamline roles, responsibilities and competencies of relevant standards monitoring, certification and enforcement agencies was also highlighted.

d. Inadequate participation in international standards formulation 58. Further, the workshop observed that the sub-region’s participation in international meetings and standards formulation has been limited due to inadequate funds. But even when representatives of key standards institutions attend these meetings, the lack of capacity and infrastructure to develop scientific evidence to support negotiations at these meetings hinders them from making any significant contributions to the outcome. There is need to develop mechanisms and programmes to support the sub-region’s participation in international standards fora.

f. Exorbitant costs of compliance 59. Finally, participants decried the exorbitant and prohibitive costs of compliance for the sub-region. Indeed, it was pointed that the costs of modernization and infrastructure upgrading to meet access commitments in the WTO agreement (which would necessarily include related programmes to facilitate access to information on international standards) exceeds the development budget in many of these countries. Thus the workshop underscored the need to support projects that target better certification, accreditation schemes, and enforcement capacity. It was noted that there was value, in terms of reducing costs and delays in product shipment, in using local service providers as this reduces monitoring costs. In addition, participants underlined the need to improve infrastructure and other shared facilities to help reduce costs of supply chain management and logistics and ensure quality export products.

F. Way Forward 60. The workshop concluded that increased attention to standards by African governments and firms, together with international efforts to design standards that protect consumers without imposing unfair burdens on low-income producers, would greatly increase Africa’s exports, help create jobs and speed poverty reduction. But it was also noted that sub-Saharan African firms must upgrade their facilities to meet global standards, for example, by investing in better processing, cooling and storage. This in turn would require that African governments continue to improve the climate for investment, for example, by reducing corruption, cutting red tape, and ensuring the provision of critical infrastructure, such as power, telecommunications and farm-to-market roads.


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

23

61. They identified the key capacity needs outlined above, and categorized them into three broad areas for action, that is enhancing production practices and access to information, improving quality assurance, and better monitoring, evaluation, product testing and packing to respond to market demands and trading partners’ changing technical requirements. 62. It was emphasized that in light of the challenges facing the region in terms of compliance, public-private cooperation to improve compliance with trade standards can improve and demonstrate the value and quality of goods, making sub-Saharan African countries more competitive. Because improved compliance with trade standards will require public as well as private investment, continued African efforts to improve the investment climate are critical.

VIII. Lessons Learnt

63. The country studies reveal a series of lessons learned with regard to improving quality assurance and responding to changing technical requirements of trading partners and institutional reforms, investment in human capital and infrastructure improvement in laboratories and enquiry points. These include: 64. A strategic process is required to enhance access of sub Saharan African products to export markets in Europe, North America and others. This should involve analysis of the link between standards, access to foreign markets and development; and supporting these countries to improve their domestic capacity, both technical and human to meet production and quality standards required in international markets. 65. Non –compliance with international standards deprives African firms and producers access to key international markets and may lead to a further reduction in global market share especially in commodity sectors. Such sectors include horticulture, fisheries, beef and beef related products and automotive and electro technical industries as is the case with South Africa. Thus, if African countries are to partake of international market opportunities, market access and international standards compliance issues need to be addressed. Also, there is now an urgent need to focus on the SMEs, but draw lessons from all experiences. 67. The main determinant of uptake of standards for market access by firms, producers, processors and manufacturers is the cost of compliance. Although the importance of international standards, especially in the process of exports is well appreciated, there is compliance cost implications at enterprise or firm level. This includes the high cost of inspections, technology changes and the need to retrain staff. Also, these enterprises lack testing facilities and receive inadequate support from the NSBs and government ministries and departments responsible for technical regulation formulation and development. For example in Uganda the Fish Exporters and Processors Association have recognized that quality at all levels of the production chain requires that all operators are sensitized and


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

24

knowledgeable about the requirements. The association has been involved in organizing training workshops for both the technical staff in factories and transporters and fishermen. This is an expensive venture, which requires assistance in form of resource persons. 68. Partnerships between and among diverse stakeholders in production, processing and manufacturing are essential if the challenges of standards and market access to foreign markets are to be addressed. The capacity of these enterprises to respond successfully to this opportunity is limited without partnership with the NSBs. Specific areas for partnership development include participation in standards and technical regulations formulation and development, and identification of key areas for human, organizational and institutional capacity building needs at all levels including enterprise, national and regional level. 69. Much, still needs to be done to improve the enabling policy and regulatory environment for standards and market access in Africa. The policy environment should foster the participation of stakeholders in planning, formulation and development and implementation/enforcement of standards, through improved participation in international standards formulation; addressing the gaps by reviewing national laws and updating them; and designing policies that create incentives and influence the private sector investment in compliance to standards and technical regulations. 70. Since most of the African countries’ economies are commodity sector based save for South Africa with a large manufacturing base, there are opportunities for enhancing the compliance of sectors like fisheries, horticulture and flowers and beef and beef related products through formation of common networks and information sharing, building scientific skills to assess relevance and appropriateness of technical regulations and standards, conducting risk analysis and other scientific and policy related research issues on standards and market access. 71. There is a positive trend towards providing some of the human and technical capacity needs at the regional level. The country studies show that a trend does exist as exemplified by the functional integration or trading blocks such as COMESA, EAC and SADC. For instance SADC and EAC do have protocols on SQAM and SQMT, respectively. Such initiatives can be building blocks for enhancing human, institutional and organizational capacity for quality institutions at national and regional level.

IX: Conclusion and Recommendations

72. The principal concerns and recommendations expressed and given in the synthesis paper, respectively and the Nairobi workshop in the areas of standards for sustainable trade and market access in the East and Southern Africa region are highlighted below.

a. Conclusions

• Sub-Saharan Africa is hindered from fuller participation in the global economy by a "standards divide"—a combination of inadequate capacity to meet world


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

25

trade standards for goods and limited opportunities to help shape these standards to ensure that they are consistent and fair;

• Product labeling was perceived as a means for both trade expansion in the context of valuable information to consumers, as well as a potential barrier to trade when applied in a discriminatory manner. Its importance was seen in the fact that the TBT Agreement addresses both final products and process and production methods that are often linked to the rationale of labels. Thus, the need to address labeling questions by assessing the circumstances under which they facilitate or promote trade for the region.

• Only South Africa has accreditation of testing and certification facilities. The rest of the countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Namibia and Zimbabwe are dependent on South African Accreditation System (SANAS) and other international agencies. These have adverse implications for these countries’ exports to international markets.

• The main capacity building challenges and priorities identified were as follows:

a) Inadequate policies on standards and technical regulations in the region as numerous gaps in the national standards, metrology systems, quality laws, and codes of practices still remain. In some cases there is undue duplication of roles

b) Poor infrastructure. The sub-region’s enquiry points are constrained by

poor information management infrastructure for coordinating local standards-related activities and interest groups with their national counterparts. The mechanisms for consultations among national SPS/food safety authorities and other stakeholders, both internationally and nationally are inadequate, slow and sometimes inaccurate.

c) Weak human and technological capacities are a major impediment to

compliance with standards in sub-Saharan Africa. Essential facilities such as testing laboratories are poorly staffed in many countries of the region. In some cases, there is undue duplication of roles

d) Inadequate participation in international standards formulation and

development ascribed to inadequate funds. But even when representatives of key standards institutions attend these meetings, the lack of capacity and infrastructure to develop scientific evidence to support negotiations at these meetings hinders them from making any significant contributions to the outcomes.

e) Exorbitant costs of compliance with regard to modernization and

infrastructure upgrading to meet access commitments in the WTO agreement (which would necessarily include related programmes to facilitate access to information on international standards) exceeds the development budget in many of these countries.


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

26

b. Recommendations

73. The main recommendations coming out from the country studies and the regional workshop is the need for regional cooperation to ensure that the inadequacies at national level with regard to standards and technical regulations development, accreditation, testing and metrology, and enquiry points are provided at regional level. Therefore within the regional framwork following recommendations, strategies and networks to enhance standards for sustainable trade and market access were proposed.

• Human capacity building: a. Capacity to lobby and negotiate at international fora: Developing capacity to lobby

and negotiate on trade standards and technical requirements. Other than each country striving to develop its own critical mass of negotiators at international fora, there is need for programmes and mechanisms to support the development of such a team regionally;

b. Strengthening the capacity to develop regional standards: (i) Building scientific skills

to assess relevance and appropriateness of technical regulations (TR) and standards, conduct risk analysis and other scientific and policy research issues related to standards and market access in the region; and (ii) training of auditors, inspectors, assessor and trainers who will be effective at national and enterprise levels; and

c. Building technical competency in corporate/management planning.

The strategy for achieving the needs cited in (a) and (b) above includes establishing a regional centre for capacity building (RCCB) and using mentorship and skills training through RCCB.

• Institutional capacity: There is: a. Need for institutional harmonization by streamlining roles and responsibilities and

competences of relevant standards monitoring, certification and enforcement agencies at national and regional levels;

b. Need to facilitate harmonization of standards and technical regulations through existing initiatives such as the trading or regional blocks (e.g. COMESA, EAC and SADC). There is need to review national policies and laws, updating them and designing policies that create incentives and influence the private sector investment in compliance;

c. Need to set up a regional accreditation system, and regional metrology and measurement systems (calibration) laboratory, which would be internationally recognized. This requires premises, provision of equipment, training and capacity building;

d. Need to promote Mutual recognition;


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

27

e. Establish common facilities including setting up regional test reference centres for e.g. parasites, pesticide residues, heavy metals, etc analysis; (strengthening existing facilities); developing and validating test methods, and acquisition of reference materials. This would reduce costs of supply chain management and logistics and ensure quality export products.

f. Promote exchange of information between and among enquiry points in and outside the region by establishing information management and reporting tools that can be shared among industry, producers and private sector in general, their membership and clients, and international counterparts.

g. Establish or strengthen existing regional information centers and getting them connected to national and other regional and international centers

The proposed strategies for enhancing institutional capacity building in the region include:

a. The need to exploit existing opportunities in SADC; EAC; IGAD; COMESA; etc b. Strengthening the SQAM; Southern Africa and STQM of East Africa c. Establishing regional accreditation system and receive Mutual international

recognition for E. Africa e.g. SADC; d. Strengthening of national enquiry points e. Enhanced Internet connectivity, which would enhance communication between

stakeholders in the development and formulation, monitoring, enforcement and adoption of standards in the sub-region

• Building of organizational capacity. The priority areas include: a. Establishing geographical indication for fish, horticulture and beef products from

East and Southern African regions b. Promoting sustainability of resources/products for export markets c. Promoting value addition and product development in the region

The strategies identified include:

a. Establishing uniqueness of products by branding and labeling; b. Seeking recognition through TRIPS with assistance from WIPO; c. Harmonizing TR’s and standards on harvesting, pollution traceability at regional

level using existing regional institutions; and d. Strengthening quality systems in laboratories. e. Strengthening existing regional institutional framework by harmonizing

harvesting methods, data collection, pollution control, etc

• Organizations and Networks: The existing and potential networks, frameworks and organizations through which the priority areas identified above could be achieved include:

a) National Standards Bodies (NSBs) in the region; b) Regional organizations, integration or groupings such as SADC, EAC, and

COMESA;


Final Report ______________________________________________________________________________________

28

c) Universities and Research Centres; d) UNIDO and other related UN agencies; and e) Private sector/industry/chambers of commerce.

standards for sustainable trade: assessing technical ... · final report _____ standards for...

Documents