Transcript Tamanna Chaturvedi, Consultant, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade
SPS Issues for Indian Agricultural Exports
Tamanna Chaturvedi Consultant Indian Institute of Foreign Trade
% 1947 2009
?
Two Way Dilemma
How do you ensure that the country’s consumers are being supplied food safe to eat?
How can you ensure strict health & safety regulations are not being used as an excuse for protecting domestic producers?
WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary Measures WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary Measures
SPS stands for Sanitary & Phytosanitary Measures
The right to protect human, animal or plant life or health Avoiding unnecessary barriers to trade
SPS or TBT ?
SPS Measures
human or animal health from food-borne risks
human health from animal- or plant-carried diseases
animals and plants from pests or diseases
examples:
pesticide residues food additives
TBT Measures
human disease control (unless it’s food safety)
nutritional claims
food packaging and quality examples:
labelling (unless related to food safety) pesticide handling seat belts
food safety
CODEX
Harmonization
Article 3 Standard-setting organizations
animal health
OIE
plant health
IPPC
Codex = Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission OIE = World Organization for Animal Health IPPC = International Plant Protection Convention (FAO)
Member Countries are encouraged to use International standards.
It allows countries to set their own standards On what basis?? To what extent??? Equal Treatment??
Scientific Justification Should be applied only to the extent necessary to protect Non Discrimination
Key Provisions of SPS Agreement
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
1.
2.
Non-discrimination Scientific justification
• • • harmonization risk assessment consistency • least trade-restrictiveness
Equivalence Regionalization Transparency Technical assistance/special treatment Control, inspection and approval procedures
Members shall ensure that any SPS measure is: Scientific justification Article 2.2
based on scientific principles applied only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health (least trade restrictive) not maintained without sufficient scientific evidence except as provided for in Article 5.7
Scientific Justification
Articles 3 & 5 Measures must be based on
OR
Risk assessment International Standards
How is risk assessment done?
•
SPS measures to be based on
assessment of risks to human, animal or plant life or health, taking into account risk assessment techniques developed by international organizations.
available scientific evidences; process and production methods; inspection & sampling methods; prevalence of specified disease or pests; existence of pests/disease-free areas,etc relevant economic factors & cost effectiveness of alternate approaches •
Avoid arbitrary/unjustifiable distinctions in the levels in different situations if these result in disguised restrictions
Exception: Provisional measures Article 5.7
Members may provisionally adopt SPS measures
when relevant scientific information is insufficient
on the basis of available information
In such circumstances, Members shall
seeks to obtain additional information to assess risk
review the measure within a reasonable period of time
Non-discrimination
Article 2.3
No unjustifiable discrimination – between Members with similar conditions – between own territory and other Members SPS permits Members to impose different sanitary and phytosanitary requirements on food, animal or plant products sources from different countries, provided that they "do not arbitrarily or unjustifiably discriminate between countries where identical or similar conditions prevail".
Equivalence
If the exporting country objectively demonstrates that its measures achieve the same ALOP as the importing country
Members shall
Accept SPS measures of other Members as equivalent
Equivalence of Phytosanitary Measures
Examples of Phytosanitary Equivalence
•
Alternative treatments of wood packaging material (ISPM Nº 15)
•
Phytosanitary measures to mitigate risks of fruit flies (pest free areas, area of low pest prevalence, pest free places of production, treatments, risk mitigation systems, inspection)
Disease free areas
Article 6
• Adaptation of SPS measures to regional conditions, including pest- or
disease- free areas, differing climatic conditions & different pest or diseases or food safety conditions so as to lead to the development/imposition of different SPS requirements
• Exporter to demonstrate (reasonable access to be given for inspection/testing)
Transparency
Article 7 & Annex B
Members shall
establish an Enquiry Point AND designate a Notification Authority notify other Members of new or changed SPS regulations when no international standard exists OR the new regulation is different than the international standard AND regulation may have significant effect on trade
When to notify?
Regular measures
When modifications are still possible (draft text) Allow 60 day comment period!!
Emergency measures
IMMEDIATELY!!
Min. 6 months Min. 60 days
Transparency timeline
9. Entry into force of the regulation 8. Publication of the regulation 7. Adoption of the regulation 6. End of comment period 5. Receive & discuss comments 4. Draft text upon request (or website) 3. Notification to other Members 2. Publication of a notice 1. Drafting of the regulation
Special & Differential Treatment and Technical Assistance Articles 9 & 10
Members...
• ...shall take account of the
special needs of developing countries
• ...should accord
longer time frames for compliance
• ...agree to facilitate provision of Technical Assistance
India’s Concern
Tariff and Non Tariff barriers For Herbal exports Switzerland 0-0 Japan 0-10 USA MFN range NTM% NTM Description 0-6 50% Labelling requirement 8.60% Product ch.requirement to protect human health 60% Authorization to protect plant health
Our target destinations
Code Description 030613 Frozen Shrimps & Prawn 030614 Frozen Crabs 030619 Frozen others 030379 Fish with bones frozen 080132 Shelled Cashewnuts 080121 Brazilnuts in shelled 080450 Gauava & Mango 080300 Banana 160520 Shrimps & Prawn 160540 Other crustaceans 200110 Cucumber & gherkins 200190 Vegetable pp by Vinegar 200310 Mushrooms 200830 Citrus fruit Major Export Destinations United States, Japan, United Kingdom
,Belgium Japan, USA, UK, Spain USA,
Japan, China, Singapore China, Hongkong
,South Korea, Singapore
USA, Netherlands,UK, UAE Spain, UK, Italy UAE
UAE, Nepal, Saudi Arabia
Japan, USA China, UAE USA, Spain UAE, Saudi Arabia USA, Netherlands UK
NTM Coverage and Number of NTMs on Indian Exports 1.
Fish & Fish Preparations Markets with 100% SPS/TBT Markets with less than 50% SPS/TBT Markets with more than 1 SPS/TBT USA, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Japan Thailand, Malaysia, Japan USA, Japan 2.
Fruits & Vegetables Australia, Japan, USA, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Bangladesh, Singapore, Canada, Egypt Australia, Japan, Mexico, USA, Singapore
Analysis…
• Widespread use of SPS/TBT both by developed & developing country
markets.
• In major importing countries of Fruits and marine products, NTM
coverage is 100%.
• Single product faces number of SPS standards in the same market.e.g.
USA& Japan for fish and Australia, Japan, USA, Mexico & Singapore for fruits.
• Single product faces different import standards in different markets. • Countries have different health standards for imports as against domestic
production.
Tariffs and NTMs on Indian Exports (i) Tariffs and NTMs together imposed on Oilseeds in Taiwan Cane Sugar in Bangladesh Bovine meat in Egypt Crustaceans in Thailand Malt extract in USA Bangladesh (ii) Only NTMs Pepper in Canada Rice in Nigeria Oilseeds in USA, Taiwan Cane sugar in Malaysia, Indonesia Fish products in USA Tea in USA
Understanding Technical regulations
Incidence of product withdrawals
Rapid Alert Notifications from EU FOR Indian Products
Complete ban from India Plant Any plant of the following genera: Ananas Citrus Ipomoea Musa Groundnut and any other plant of the genus Arachis Rice and any other plant of the genus Oryza intended for propagation Conditions Every such plant shall be grown in Quarantine until the Director is Satisfied that it is free from plant pests and may be released or that it Is diseased and must be destroyed.
May only be imported as Decorticated seeds.
Every consignment shall on importation be immediately handed to the Director who shall cause the plant to be grown in quarantine For one generation.
Complexities of buyer’s requirement
Maximum levels for Aflatoxins in spices in various developed countries
Comparison of CODEX level with Country standards for Fruits GRAPES
AZINPHOS-METHYL ALPHA-CYPERMETHRIN BENALAXYL CARBARYL CHLOROTHALONIL CHLORPYRIFOS DIMETHOATE DITHIANON ENDOSULFAN FENARIMOL IPRODIONE MALDISON METALAXYL MYCLOBUTANIL PERMETHRIN PROCYMIDONE TRIADIMENOL
CODEX
1.0
0.5
0.2
5.0
0.5
0.5
1.0
3.0
1.0
0.3
10.0
8.0
1.0
1.0
2.0
5.0
2.0
U.S.A.
5.0
10.0
1.0
2.0
0.2
60.0
8.0
2.0
1.0
5.0
1.0
Better off than CODEX
EU
1.0
0.5
0.2
3.0
3.0
0.5
0.02
0.5
0.3
10.0
0.5
1.0
1.0
0.05
5.0
2.0
1.0
5.0
5.0
0.5
JAPAN 2.0
1.0
0.5
1.0
1.0
25.0
8.0
5.0
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
1.0
0.1
5.0
8.0
1.0
1.0
2.0
1.0
0.1
CANADA 5.0
0.5
0.1
AUSTRALIA 2.0
0.05
0.5
5.0
10.0
1.0
5.0
2.0
2.0
0.1
20.0
8.0
1.0
1.0
2.0
0.5
NEW ZEALAND 2.0
0.5
3.0
5.0
1.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
0.1
10.0
8.0
2.0
0.2
0.5
5.0
More stringent than CODEX
Countries varies in their SPS standards-case of Salmonella
Importing Country
Hong Kong Japan China Canada Korea Estonia
Regulations regarding Salmonella
Products may be subjected to lab examination or microbiological contamination & positive testing shipment refused entry Japanese Min of health reserves the right to test shipments No separate Salmonella specific requirements No separate Salmonella specific requirements for raw products No separate Salmonella specific requirements Mechanically deboned meat is tested for salmonella at port of entry Positive testing denied entry Salmonella widely present in domestic supply chains in USA however country claims to have has zero tolerance for the pathogen
Different Operative Procedures for Conformity Requirements for Fruits Importing Country Australia USA EU Regulations regarding Fruits Strict attention to plant health(fumigation only using methyl bromide) Strong official attention to product cleanliness, labeling for allergens & fumigation banned out.
In contrast Fumigation is already banned in EU v v Spain Germany Importance to testing on pesticide residue Hardly any consignment tested v UK Most pesticide residue testing is undertaken for products at retail level Customers of South Europe prefer large sizes of tropical fruits (pineapples, papayas & mango) whereas customers in North Europe prefer small fruits.
Traceability Requirements
Different Marketing Standards between countries • Health control: food law, hygiene, microbiological criteria, contaminants, pesticides • Plant Health: phytosanitary control • Marketing Standards: generic or specific • Other: food additives, food contact material, food irradiation, novel foods, GMOs, labeling & organic products
Imports prohibited on the basis of Risk Assessment
Incompatible SPS Standards: case of Milk Production in India
Strict Packaging requirement
Strict Certification & Import Procedures: example of China • Many regulations and requirements are updated frequently and often without
prior notice.
• Possibility of variation in the documentation required for various products in
various Chinese ports.
• A new and original phytosanitary certificate must accompany each
consignment of fresh fruits, vegetables, or tree nuts.
• A tamper-resistant, bilingual label should be on the outside of each carton. • The establishment number should be printed on the inner poly liner, poly bag,
or vacuum bag
.
• Although pre-approval is not mandatory, China’s General Administration of
Customs (GAC) can require pre-import analysis if warranted.
Strict Labeling Requirements
• A large amount of information has to be provided on the label in both English & Chinese.
• The establishment number should be printed on the inner poly liner, poly bag, or vacuum bag.
• In the case of Alcohol & Pre-packaged food – Labeling should be in Chinese. – Specific font sizes have to be maintained. • In the case of milk & milk products – Labeling should be in Chinese. – Specific background colors have also been mentioned.
Few examples….
Let’s see what Pakistan has to ask for?
Food quality and safety control
Code of practice EUREP-GAP quality control by packing Temperature and humidity check Control of compliance with code of practices Control of compliance with BRC Produce Packing station Exporter Point of departure Transport Point of entry Importer Retailer Quality control selection packagin g HACCP Governme ntal SPS / Vet control quality control temp check Governme ntal SPS / Vet control quality control MRL control Private specifications / protocols Private specifications / protocols
Micro costs of EurepGap compliance
Main Products Affected
31 (+ 2) disputes have invoked the SPS Agreement
Agreed Solution (7 ) 21% Report(s) Adopted (9) 27% Consultations - Pending (13) Panel Established (4) 12% 40%
Equivalence Agreements status of India India is seeking equivalence agreements with the health authorities of major trading partners.
• The EIC has already been designated a competent authority
by the European Commission (EC) for marine products and basmati rice and by the U.S. for black pepper.
• Similar recognition awaited from the EC for egg, milk, and
poultry products.
• Equivalence agreements with Australia for marine products • SriLanka for 86 items. • It is negotiating an agreement in various sectors with
Singapore and will soon have an agreement with Italy.
http://www.fao.org/es/esn/food/foodandfood_fruits_en.stm
www.ipfsaph.org
1. 2.
General
Policies which have no or minimal production or trade distortion effects Should not involve transfers from consumers or provide price support to producers.
Government service programmes
research pest and disease control training services extension and advisory services inspection services
3.
Environmental programmes
Related to fulfillment of specific conditions including production methods or inputs under government programmes. Payment limited to increased costs or income loss due to compliance with the programme
4.
Regional assistance
Producers must be in disadvantaged regions Compensate for loss of income or extra costs in undertaking production
Contract Farming examples: • Tomato cultivation in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, Mushrooms in Haryana, Sunflower in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, Gherkins in Karnataka Fruits and vegetables in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
Other efforts • • • • • Amul & NDDB for milk procurement Sugarcane cooperatives in Maharashtra, Green leaf satellite out growers to the South Indian tea manufacturing industry, Prawn aqua culture farmers of AP & Poultry projects in West Bengal, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh & Punjab.
Tamanna Chaturvedi [email protected]
+91-11-26967558