Elizabeth Morgan | Meeting international and regional agricultural/food standards for export

In an interview on radio recently related to World Food Day, though noting the importance of agriculture and food standards, it was said that Jamaican farmers were facing challenges to exporting their agricultural produce due to such standards in the importing markets. These standards were ever changing.

In his speech on October 13 to the graduates of the Central Jamaica Social Development Initiative’s youth entrepreneurship training programme, the Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator Aubyn Hill, spoke of creating wealth through exporting. It was good to hear a government minister indicating that export should be a priority for the country.

However, exporting in today’s world means being able to comply with international rules and regulations, which include producing goods, particularly agricultural and food products, to international standards. This gives goods exports the seal of approval and builds confidence in international markets.

Agricultural and fisheries exports are required to meet international sanitary and phytosanitiary (SPS) health standards, as well as technical standards which relate to size, labelling and other things. These standards are established at the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Codex Alimentarius Commission linked to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Health Organization, the World Organization on Animal Health (OIE), and organisations associated with the International Convention on Plant Protection.

The members of these organisations, which include nearly all trading nations, including Jamaica and other CARICOM members, have rules and regulations governing the importation of agricultural and food products (fresh agricultural produce, meats, fish, processed and packaged foods) into their domestic markets, which are administered by the ministries of agriculture, health, and industry and commerce.

At the regional level, CARICOM, under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, established the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA) and the CARICOM Regional Organization for Standards and Quality (CROSQ). With CAHFSA, and through the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED), members sought to develop the regional regime governing intra-regional trade in agricultural and food products.

Changes to SPS requirements made by all trading nations should be notified through the various international organisations for transparency, which includes posting them on relevant websites. Some regions and countries, particularly the European Union (EU), have been criticised for their stringent food and agriculture standards. International supermarket chains also apply private standards which exceed agreed international standards.

From discussions at the WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12), an SPS declaration was adopted titled ‘Responding to Modern SPS Challenges’ establishing “a work programme to further enhance the implementation of the WTO SPS Agreement in an effort to better manage issues related to international trade in food, animals and plants”.

IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURAL HEALTH STANDARDS

Agricultural health standards are vitally important as agricultural/food products can cause illness and wipe out crops. I am sure that you have heard of produce and products being recalled from markets as they were contaminated by bacteria and viruses (pathogens). Plants and fresh produce can spread dangerous pests and diseases.

Today, traceability is also very important as farmers and factories must generate and maintain records which make it possible to trace products from their point of distribution and sale to their point of origin on farms or in factories in countries of origin. There should also be a record of the pesticides and other chemicals used on farms.

Meeting international agricultural standards has been a long-standing problem in Jamaica and, I assume, for other CARICOM countries as well. Bananas used to have a high level of rejection; yams were rejected for chemical treatment; and mangoes have been returned for fruit fly infestation. It took a while to establish and operationalise the treatment facilities for mangoes. Donors, such as the EU and USA, have sought to assist regional governments to install facilities for improving standards compliance.

The private sector, farmers and manufacturers must be engaged in the process of standards setting and application as they are actually engaged in cultivation, production and trade. An ongoing problem is that it takes far too long for policies, procedures and processes to be implemented and for information to reach the producers. These producers also have to be willing to adopt and adapt and to make the financial investment required to modernise practices and facilities. Financial institutions should be willing to support this sector.

Meeting international standards should actually begin in the domestic market where local produce compete with foreign imports and tourism is a major sector of the economy. Have you noticed in local supermarkets how, quite often, ground provisions are covered in dirt? This would not be acceptable in the export market. Thus, it should not be acceptable in local supermarkets. Other products, such as fruit juices and cooked foods, should also meet international/regional standards.

The reality is that agricultural production and trade have advanced and now require more modern scientific, technological and administrative applications.

Jamaican and other CARICOM farmers and manufacturers, if they want to be active participants and benefit (creating wealth) from the agricultural/food sector through increasing exports, have to be utilising modern practices, procedures and processes, which must include producing to international/regional standards.

- Elizabeth Morgan is a specialist in international trade policy and international politics. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com