WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/520 
20 October 2004 
 (04-4459) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY (SPS) STANDARDS:  THE WORLD BANK’S 
ANALYTICAL AND SUPPORT PROGRAMME 
 
Communication from the World Bank
 
 
 
 The following communication, dated 18 October 2004, is being circulated at the request of the World Bank.  
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1. The World Bank's increasing work on trade in developing countries emphasizes "behind the 
border" constraints, especially those relating to trad e facilitation and standards.  The Bank is currently 
drawing lessons from its past and current interv entions on SPS management capacity building in 
developing countries.  It is also undertaki ng research to improve our understanding of the SPS 
challenges and opportunities associated with the food and agricultural trade of developing countries.  
2. In the context of the Integrated Framework,  the Bank is assessing the technical assistance 
needs of developing countries so they can bette r integrate into the international economy.  In 
collaboration with various other agencies, includi ng the FAO, WHO, WTO, OIE, IPPC, Codex and 
bilateral donors, the Bank has organized regional wo rkshops for policymakers and the private sector 
on food safety and standards in Central America, West Africa, Southern Africa, and China. 
I. Complying with International Agro-Food Standards 
 
3. Perhaps the most important on-going programme, which is jointly carried out by the Bank's 
Agriculture and Rural Development and Interna tional Trade Departments, focuses on strategies 
employed by the public and private sectors to comp ly with international ag ro-food standards and the 
associated costs of compliance.  To date, the Bank h as carried out industry case studies in nine low- or 
middle-income countries, focusing in particular on high-value food products (i.e., horticulture, fish, 
meat, spices, and nuts).  At the same time, survey s of fresh produce and fish product importers and 
distributors in the United States, Japan, and th e European Union have been carried out.  
4. The main finding is that compliance with SPS standards and market requirements can be an 
important factor for competitiveness of exporte rs, especially for fresh produce.  Strict SPS 
requirements offer opportunities, as well as threat s, and tend to exacerbate existing competitive 
weaknesses.  
5. A second finding is that current developing country support for capacity building for 
managing SPS standards is biased toward "fire-fi ghting".  Needs for pro-active improvement of 
management capacity are insufficiently met. G/SPS/GEN/520 
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 II. Mainstreaming Standards and Trade 
 
6. Another priority focus is mainstreaming trade -related standards and food safety management 
into the Bank's lending operations.  Within this context, two strategic objectives are emphasized: 
(a) To maintain and improve market ac cess and competitiveness by increasing the 
capacity of producers, agro-food processors, food distributors, exporters, and 
government agencies to effectively meet SPS and other standards set by domestic and 
foreign buyers;  and 
(b) To enhance the inclusion of poor producer s in coordinated supply chains as a means 
of meeting SPS and other standards. 
 More specifically the programme aims to:  
• improve the policy framework for managing sanitary and phytosanitary 
standards; 
• enhance the competitiveness of supply ch ains, particularly with regard to 
meeting sanitary, phytosanitary and other standards set by buyers;  and 
• improve the capacity of public agencies to provide cost-effective support to 
the private sector for meeting standards requirements. 
Project activities include: 
 
(a) Support for preparation of participatory national strategies in eight countries to 
increase their capacity to manage sanitary,  phytosanitary, and other standards for 
export and domestic markets.  The strategi es will contain action plans with priorities 
for legal and regulatory reform, budget allo cations, phasing of interventions, etc. 
through participatory processes; 
(b) Support for preparation of components specifically related to capacity building for 
sanitary, phytosanitary, and other standards which would be integrated into Bank 
investments in 12 countries; 
(c) Support for development and implementation of  four pilot projects which focus on 
including small-scale producers and small en terprises in coordinated supply chains; 
(d) Analysis of experiences and good practice from the Bank and elsewhere in relation 
to:  (i) regulatory and policy reform on SPS ma tters;  (ii) developm ent of national and 
industry strategies, including the developmen t of cost-effective systems for domestic 
and export markets;  (iii) the design and implementation of specific SPS capacity-
building interventions,  (iv) use of appropr iate instruments for private sector support 
in this field, and (v) approaches to monitoring and evaluation of interventions in this 
field;  and 
(e) Development of on-line training courses targeted to government and private sector 
staff in developing and transition countries.  G/SPS/GEN/520 
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 III. Standards and Trade Development Facility 
 
7. To meet the increasing demand from developing countries for support in their capacity-
building efforts, the Bank has collaborated with ot her agencies, including FAO, WHO, WTO, OIE, 
IPPC, Codex and bilateral donors, to establish the St andards and Trade Development Facility (STDF).  
The STDF is administered by the WTO and will provide grants to support capacity building for 
managing SPS standards.  For more information on the STDF, visit:  http://www.standardsfacility.org/   
 
 
For additional information on SPS related work in the Bank, contact Cornelis Van der Meer at 
Cvandermeer@worldbank.org or Steven Jaffe e at Sjaffee@worldbank.org, or visit 
http://www.worldbank.org/agricultural-trade   Note on acronyms:  FAO = Food and Agriculture  Organization of the United Nations, IPPC = 
International Plant Protection Convention, OI E = World Organization for Animal Health, 
WHO = World Health Organization, WTO = World Trade Organization 
  
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