G/SPS/GEN/2128  
 
13 June 2023 
(23-4023) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
SADC SECRETARIAT REPORT  ON SPS ACTIVITIES  
SADC REPORT TO THE WTO  COMMITTEE ON  SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES  
The follow ing communication, received on 13 June  2023, is being circulated at the request of the  
secretariat of the  Southern African Development Community  (SADC).  
 
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1  BACKGROUND  
1.1.  The Southern African Development Community (SADC) region consists of 16 member States 
namely Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho , 
Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique , Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia 
and Zimbabwe. The region has a population of 345 million people and therefore has a high 
responsibility to meet the international sustainable development goals for the betterment of the lives 
of the people  through safe  intra-SADC and international trade th rough the application of relevant  
international standards.  
1.2.  To reduce the risks associated with the movement food and agro -products without und uly 
restricting regional or international trade, the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Annex to the 
Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Trade allows SADC member States 
to adopt harmoni zed or scientifically justified SPS measures. This  is in line with the implementation 
of the requirements of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on the Application of 
SPS Measures , the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), the World Organi sation for 
Animal Health ( WOAH ) and the Codex A limentarius Commission (CAC).  
2  UPDATES ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SPS ANNEX TO THE SADC PROTOCOL ON 
TRADE  
2.1  SADC SPS Coordinating Committee  
2.1.  The SADC SPS Coordinating Committee is established by Article 14 of the SPS Annex to the 
SADC Protocol on Trade . However , this body has not met physically in the last four years due, in 
part, to the travel restrictions imposed by the COVID -19 pandemic and funding constraints. The 
body is mandated under the SPS Annex to the SADC Trade protocol to report on SPS -related non -
tariff barriers; the imple mentation of the Tripartite Free Trade Area; the African Continental Free 
Trade Area; and the implementation of regional activities of WOAH  and FAO aimed at facilitating 
safe trade.  
2.2  Transparency  
2.2.  The SADC secretariat is in the process of developing a databa se for non –tariff measures 
(NTMs). It is often difficult and costly to find the NTMs of some member States whose trading 
partners might desire to access their market. Thus, the collection and classification of national NTMs 
into a database would provide an  open and systematic source of information for trading partners. 
The database would give information on each SADC member State in terms of the product category, 
associated regulations and conformity assessment requirements. It would also help a member Stat e 
to use this collection of information to formulate important national strategies that will assist them G/SPS/GEN/2128  
 
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  in measuring if they are meeting their obligations under the United Nations' Sustainable 
Development Goals as well as WTO SPS Agreement transparency pr ovisions.  
2.3.  The SADC secretariat is facilitating resolution of online reported NTBs and the establishment 
and capacity development of National Focal Points (NFPs) is being supported as part of the 
development programmes mentioned in 3.1. below.   
(https://www.tradebarriers.org/about ). Currently there are no active SPS -related NTBs.  
3  UPDATES ON SPS-RELATED DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES  
3.1  The SADC -EU Trade Facilitation Programme  (TFP)  
3.1.  The TFP addresses regional implementation issues in the areas of Technical Barriers to Trade 
(TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures; Customs technical assistance support; and 
the EU -SADC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPAs). The Programme sup ports implementation of 
activities under these areas in order to improve free movement of goods within the SADC Free Trade 
Area while at the same time reducing the cost of doing business. It also ensures that goods from 
the SADC region are traded competiti vely in the global market. In the current financial year, the TFP 
has commissioned studies and several activities which include: the development of a regional 
database on TBT and SPS -related non -tariff measures; the prioritization of standards and technica l 
regulation with the associated conformity assessment requirements for regional harmonization in 
the advent of the operationalization of the Africa Free Trade Area; the investigation of the standards 
and conformity assessment needs along key SADC economic  corridors (notably work on Fisheries 
and Aquaculture related standards and regulations); the training of small -scale famers on 
SPS compliance to food safety, plant protections, and animal health related measures; training on 
the identification, monitoring  and resolving of non -tariff barriers to trade (NTBs) and the 
establishment of national focal points and information centres in all SADC member States. Work was 
also well advanced in the development of good regulatory practice with particular focus on 
SPS measures by developing capacity in regulatory impact assessment and developing a common, 
systematic approach to the development of necessary non -tariff measures to achieve regulatory 
objectives and a systematic approach to measuring and monitoring these me asures to prevent them 
from becoming unintended barriers to trade.  
3.2  The SADC Seed Centre  
3.2.  The USAID supported seed centre established a common Harmonised Seed Regulatory System 
(HSRS) providing standards for the registration and certification of seed varieti es in the region; a 
seed certification and quality assurance scheme and common quarantine and phytosanitary 
measures for seed in the region. Through these mechanisms, it is possible to improve plant 
protection against pest infestations, reduce the impact o f fake or sub -standard seed, and improve 
the quality of crops and yields. Eleven of the sixteen SADC member States are members of the 
centre and the remaining five States  are in the process of joining. The SADC Seed Variety Catalogue 
now has 96 improved se ed varieties registered with several seed varieties registered in different 
economically important crops – providing opportunities for cross border trade in safe and reliable 
seed and giving growers options to respond to climatic variability thereby improv ing resilience to the 
threats of climate change and enhancing food security. ( https://www.sadcseedcentre.com ) 
Report by: Dr. Geoff Visser  
SADC Key Expert on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  
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