. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/481 
30 March 2004 
 (04-1423) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
 
PRESENTATION QUES TIONNAIRE ON TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 
 
Statement by Antigua and Barbuda at the Meeting of 17-18 March 2004
 
 
 
1. Antigua and Barbuda hereby submits its t echnical assistance requirements based on the 
questionnaire developed by the WTO Secretariat as a r esult of discussions at the 9 July 2001 informal 
meeting of the SPS Committee on technical assistance.  At this meeting the Secretariat was requested 
to circulate a new questionnaire on technical assistance activities that  focused on ascertaining 
developing countries' technical assistance requirement s.  This request for technical assistance also 
complies with Article 9 of the Agreement on the Ap plication of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 
(SPS Agreement). 
2. Antigua and Barbuda is a small island developing state with a popul ation of 70,000 persons.  
The economy is based on tourism with about 0.5 mil lion visitors per annum.  The country is highly 
dependent on imports and is a net importer of vegetables, fruit, meat and processed foods. 
3. As a small economy, capability for inspection, t esting and verification is very limited.  For 
example, we have five (5) part-time meat inspect ors.  The Government operates one poorly outfitted 
testing laboratory with three (3) graduate staff memb ers.  In addition there is only one (1) graduate 
plant protection officer and two (2) government veterinarians. 
4. Antigua and Barbuda has therefore a limited hu man, financial and infrastructural resource 
capacity to enable her to participate fully in th e implementation of the SPS Agreement.  The human 
resource capacity is limited to the extent that th e same technical persons end up serving in multiple 
committees, thereby diminishing their capacity to  participate fully in meaningful dialogue. 
5. Antigua and Barbuda is highly vulnerable to th e entry of plant pests and animal diseases 
being a net importer of goods, having a high volume of m ovement of tourists in and out of the country 
(approximately seven times the resident population) and also due to the current inadequacies of its 
quarantine and other facilities. 
6. In presenting Antigua and Barbuda's technical  assistance request, as noted in document 
G/SPS/GEN/295/Add.35, the delegation wish es to highlight three challenges: 
• Investment in laboratory capacity is urgently n eeded.  We wish to strengthen and develop the 
current laboratory into a multipurpose laboratory capable of serving the areas of plant health, 
animal health and food safety.  Such a laboratory should have the capacity to conduct testing 
in the areas of microbiology, toxicology, pathology , virology and parasitology.  There is also 
scope for some specialized testing to be c onducted at regional refe rence institutions and 
therefore the need arises for the stre ngthening of regional laboratory capacity. 
• The need to strengthen port quarantine and insp ection facilities that are currently non-existent 
or limited to seating space for inspectors. G/SPS/GEN/481 
Page 2  
 
 • Need for formal technical training in risk analys is.  Currently capacity for risk analysis that 
can withstand international scientif ic based scrutiny is non-existent. 
7. I am sure that other small developing economie s have needs parallel to those of Antigua and 
Barbuda.  I hope that with the help of the SPS S ecretariat and friendly donor agencies we would be 
able to resolve these important matters.  
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