G/SPS/GEN/1461  
20 October 2015  
(15-5532)  Page: 1/3  
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: French  
 
  MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN SENEGAL AND CHINA ON 
PHYTOSANITARY REQUIREMENTS FOR GROUND-NUT EXPORTS 
COMMUNICATION CONCERNING ARTICLE 4 OF THE WTO AGREEMENT ON SANITARY 
AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES: PRINCIPLE OF EQUIVALENCE 
Communication from Senegal 
The following communication, received on 18 Octobe r 2015, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of Senegal. 
 
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1  BACKGROUND 
1.1.  Due to the high volume of ground-nut production in the 2000-2010 period, the Government 
of Senegal decided to open its market by liberalizing exports of ground-nuts other than those for 
sowing (Decree No. 2010-2015 of 13 January 2010). 
1.2.  Following the enactment of Decree No. 2010-20 15, our Chinese partners expressed an 
interest in importing ground-nuts from Senegal, on the condition that phytosanitary requirements 
were met. A memorandum of understanding was subsequently signed by the two governments. 
Technical consultations to finalize this memorandum took place over a three-year period (from September 2011 to September 2014). 
1.3.  In 2011 and 2012, prior to the signing of the memorandum, the Directorate-General of 
Sanitary Control and the Chinese quarantine services undertook a number of phytosanitary risk determination and analysis missions to Senegal, with a view to gaining a proper understanding of 
the existing system and evaluating the phytosanitary certification procedures in place. 
1.4.  Through its meetings with various actors from the ground-nut sector and its evaluation of 
certification procedures, the Chinese delegation was able to identify certain shortcomings that 
needed to be addressed and to recognize the eq uivalence of our methods. The memorandum was 
subsequently signed in Beijing on 3 September 2014 by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural 
Infrastructure of Senegal and the Vice-Ministe r of the General Administration of Quality 
Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China. 
1.5.  The following three-part approach, which is d eemed equivalent, has been implemented in all 
areas of the country where ground-nuts are produced for export. 
1.1  Organizational aspects 
 Registration of producers/operators wishing to  enter this market in the NPPO database 
and evaluation of export crop forecasts;  
 Identification and mapping of the country's ground-nut warehouses and packing plants 
for mandatory post-harvest control purposes. G/SPS/GEN/1461 
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  1.2  Production-related technical aspects 
 Dissemination of good production practices (application of crop management techniques, 
from sowing through to harvesting) through the Agricultural and Rural Advisory Board;  
 Phytosanitary monitoring of ground-nut production through detailed surveys conducted 
throughout the territory in accordance with IPPC standards 6 and 9 (in particular the guidelines for surveillance); where necessary , monitoring of pest management methods 
(pesticides used, dose, effectiveness of treatment, etc.); 
 
 Regular transmission of growing-crop insp ection reports to the Chinese quarantine 
services; 
 
 Observance of harvesting periods, and farm-based management of quarantine 
organisms specified by China (e.g. Caryedon serratus , commonly known as ground-nut 
bruchid; Elasmolomus sordidus , known as ground-nut pod bug; and aflatoxin-producing 
pathogen  Aspergillus flavus ). 
1.3  Post-harvest activities (c ertification procedures) 
1.6.  China first had to validate Senegal's phytosanitary certificate, in accordance with IPPC 
standards 7 and 12. In this certificate, Senegal is  required to state that the products meet the 
requirements of the memorandum of understanding  between its Ministry of Agriculture and Rural 
Infrastructure and the General Administration of Qu ality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of 
the People's Republic of China on phytosanitary requirements for ground-nuts exported to China. 
1.7.  The Chinese quarantine services were also prov ided with specimen signatures and a list of 
approved Senegalese plant health inspectors. 
1.8.  The product certification procedure itself involves various inspection authorities and 
specialized laboratories, most notably: 
 The phytosanitary control services, which are responsible for inspecting and monitoring 
all warehouses and stored crops for the presence of harmful organisms and which ensure 
that the necessary quarantine treatments have been applied;  
 Trade services, which check the packaging and commercial quality of the products 
(including sorting and labelling aspects), in accordance with Decree No. 85-178 of 
16 February 1985 establishing ground-nut marketing standards and quality control requirements (impurity levels, mouldy or rotten kernels and breakage rates should not 
exceed certain values in product samples); 
 
 The final stage of the certification procedure is conducted by the following SPS analysis 
laboratories, which take representative samples from stocks nationwide (ISPM No. 31 of 
the IPPC):  
 The CERES-Locustox Foundation laboratory, accredited by COFRAC in March 2013 in 
accordance with ISO Standard 17025:2005, which assists in food safety-related 
decision-making and analyses pesticide residues (MRLs) at the limit of determination;  
 The Food Technology Institute, which, through its mycotoxin laboratory (accredited 
under ISO Standard 17025 and specializing in the determination of levels of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2), is responsible for determining the level of aflatoxin B1 in 
ground-nuts. This level must not exceed 20 micrograms/kg in exports to China; 
 
 The Plant Protection Directorate's plant pathology laboratory, which is responsible for 
microbiological testing; and 
 
 An operator, approved and supervised by plant health inspectors, who issues the 
certificate of quarantine treatment (disinfection by fumigation). G/SPS/GEN/1461 
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  1.9.  The phytosanitary certificate is issued or rejected only after all the analysis results have been 
received and their content reviewed against international standards (in particular those of China). 
1.10.  This approach has enabled us to ensure an appropriate level of SPS protection for our 
Chinese partners, and the results for the first export season are more than satisfactory. 
1.4  Results obtained 
1.11.  Senegal was the leading exporter of ground-nuts to the Chinese market in 2014/2015, with 
a 52% share of the total volume exported by the countries signatory to the memorandum of 
understanding on the phytosanitary requirements for ground-nuts exported to China. 
1.12.  On the whole, the destination markets consider the level of conformity to be satisfactory, 
with only a few negligible shortcomings. 
1.13.  In terms of impact, opening up to the Chinese market has considerably improved the 
income of ground-nut producers and exporters. 
1.14.  Senegal is, without any doubt, a safe source of ground-nuts for importing countries. 
Acknowledgements 
We would like to thank: 
 
 The SPS Committee Secretariat; 
 
 Our Chinese partners, for their interest in the ground-nut sector; 
 
 The African Union/IBAR, for strengthening the capacity of African nations to participate 
in the activities of sanitary and phytosanitary standard-setting organizations; 
 
 The Russian Federation and Tunisia, with whom Senegal had some market access 
concerns relating to certain horticultural products, for their openness and constructive 
attitude;  
 The Permanent Mission of Senegal to the United Nations Office in Geneva, for its 
unwavering support at the 64
th regular meeting of the SPS Committee. 
 
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