G/SPS/GEN/2211  
 
19 March  2024 
(24-2390) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
  
COMMON MARKET FOR EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA (COMESA)  
SECRETARIAT REPORT ON SPS ACTIVITIES  
COMESA  REPORT TO THE WTO  COMMITTEE ON  SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES  
The follow ing communication, received on 18 March  2024, is being circulated at the request of the  
secretariat of the  Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa  (COMESA) . 
 
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1  BACKGROUND  
1.1.  The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a Regional Economic 
Community comprising 21 member State s, namely Burundi , Comoros , Democratic Republic of 
Congo , Djibouti , Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, 
Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The region has a 
population of o ver 640 million people, a Gross Domestic Product of $1.0 trillion and a global 
export/import trade in goods worth US$ 383 billion. As such, COMESA forms a major marketplace 
for both internal and external trading.  
2  SPS PROGRAMMES TO FACILITATE IMPLEMENTATION  OF WTO/SPS AGREEMENT  
2.1.  COMESA has been implementing several programmes to facilitate the implementation of the 
COMESA SPS Regulations and WTO/SPS Agreement . 
2.1  COMESA SPS Subcommittee meetings  
2.2.  The COMESA SPS subcommittee meets annually to review, among other issues, progress in 
the implementation of COMESA SPS programmes. The recent one being the 12th SPS subcommittee 
meeting held in November/December 2023 with support from African Union Commission. Alongside 
the subcommittee , were meetings for the Anima l Health (AH), Food Safety (FS) and Plant Health 
(PH) Technical Working Groups (TWGs) which are under the subcommittee . One of the outcomes of 
the meetings was the development of Work Plans for TWGs which included activities to facilitate 
implementation of  harmoni zation risk based SPS measures in the region.  
2.2  Harmoni zation of Food Safety Regulatory Measures  
2.3.  COMESA, in collaboration with FAO with support under the 11th European Development Fund  
(EDF) Programme, supports member  States to harmonise food safety regulatory measures for 
commodities of regional trade importance to facilitate trade within the region. International 
standards set under C odex are the basis for harmoni zation. The harmoni zation has been prioriti zed 
for commodities of regional trade import ance which include maize, groundnuts, milk, and fish. 
The harmonized food safety requirements for the priority commodities will facilitate smooth trade 
among COMESA member  States. A framework for harmoni zation has been drafted which is 
envisaged to be appl ied in the region.  
2.3  Capacity Building in Risk Based Imported Food Control  
2.4.  In collaboration with FAO, with support under the 11 EDF, COMESA is building capacities in risk 
based imported food control piloted in Arabic and French speaking members . The interven tion is G/SPS/GEN/2211  
 
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  aimed at supporting member States to adopt risk -based food import control based on the FAO Risk 
Based Imported Food Control Manual. The adoption of risk -based food import control ensures a 
harmonized approach to food import control thereby facilita ting trade among COMESA 
member  States.  
2.4  Strengthening of COMESA Reference Laboratory System  
2.5.  Currently COMESA has three reference laboratories namely, Central Veterinary Research 
Institute (CVRI) (Zambia) for Animal Health; Food Technology Laboratory (FTL) ( Mauritius) for Food 
Safety ; and Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS)  (Kenya) for Plant Health. 
The reference laboratory system is being strengthened by identifying additional laboratories and 
streamlining their roles to specific areas/parameter s of competence. The intervention also includes 
the development of sustainable operational mechanisms for the system.  
2.5  Strengthening of National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPOs)  
2.6.  In collaboration with FAO/IPPC and support from European Union, COMESA has  developed 
e-learning courses on Pest Risk Analysis, Phytosanitary Export Certification, Phytosanitary 
Inspection, Surveillance and Reporting Obligations ( https://www.ippc.int/en/e -learning/ ) which are 
open to the world. Further, several training courses have been done to build capacities of NPPOs in 
managing pest outbreaks such as Fusarium Tropical Race 4 in Bananas. The capacity building also 
included development of Model Regulations for Electronic Phytosanitary Certification.  
2.6  Implementation of the Voluntary Capacity Building Scheme based on the Global Food 
Safety Initiative (GFSI) Global Markets Programme  
2.7.  This programme is aimed at supporting SMEs to i mplement GSFI Benchmarked Food Safety 
standards. In particular, the intervention is aimed at building SMEs ' capacities to comply with food 
safety market requirements to enhance their participation in regional trade. A total of 151 SMEs 
have been on -boarded  on the programme and a total of nineteen enterprises can successfully 
implement GFSI Certification. This intervention complements the SPS capacity building interventions 
that are targeted at the public sector.  
2.7  Implementation of the Green Pass Initiative  
2.8.  The initiative is being implemented under the 11th EDF funded COMESA Small Scale Cross 
Border Trade Initiative (SSCBTI). It is aimed at simplifying SPS and technical standards 
requirements for small scale cross border traders. It has been piloted on dried f ish originating from 
the Luangwa District of Zambia and traded across several borders, including Democratic Republic of 
Congo through Kasumbalesa border post. It is aimed encouraging small scale cross border traders 
who are mainly Women and Youths to use f ormal routes and enhance their participation in regional 
trade. Capacity building in self-regulation and risk -based regulation has been conducted targeting 
the traders and SPS/TBT Authorities, respectively.  
2.8  Enhancing Regional Agricultural Commodity Trade i n Eastern and Southern Africa  
2.9.  COMESA is implementing this intervention in collaboration with  the Alliance for a Green 
Revolution in Africa (AGRA) with support from  the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office 
(FCDO). The project aims at facilitating tr ade among the trading partners with the establishment of 
Mutual Recognition Agreements based on equivalence of SPS measures and mutual recognition of 
conformity assessments procedures. The project has been piloted among six member States : Kenya, 
Malawi, Rw anda, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe covering six commodities : maize , groundnuts, 
soybeans , sorghum , rice, and beans.  
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