G/SPS/GEN/1505  
 
4 July 2016  
(16-3573)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
INFORMATION ON SPS-RELATED RECENT AND FORTHCOMING ASSISTANCE AND 
RELATED ACTIVITIES FROM THE IN TERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE (ITC) 
(APRIL – JUNE 2016) 
The following communication, received on 1 July 2016, is being circulated at the request of the 
ITC. 
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 The International Trade Centre continues its efforts to assist enterprises to meet technical requirements. An update on SPS-related work an d projects of interest to the WTO Members is 
provided herewith: 
1  SUPPORTING INDIAN TRADE AND INVESTMENT FOR AFRICA (SITA) 1.1.  The project SITA aims to increase the value of business transactions between India and 
selected East African countries – Ethiopia, Kenya,  Rwanda, the United Republic of Tanzania, and 
Uganda – with the ultimate objective to create jobs and income opportunities for people in East Africa. The project is financed by the Departme nt for International Development of the United 
Kingdom. The project targets growth in priority sectors, among others, sunflower oil, in Uganda 
and Tanzania. 
1.2.  As part of this project, ITC is providing assistance to help improve the international 
competitiveness and capacity of Tanzanian and Ug andan SMEs in the sunflower oil sector through 
compliance with quality standards, and SPS measures. Towards this goal, a new guide titled 
"Standards and buyer requirements in East Africa, India, and International Markets: Guide for Sunflower Oil Exporters " was prepared. The guide complemented the training for oil processors 
and related sector-specific associations and the national standards bodies. Two training workshops 
were held in Dodoma, Tanzania (20-21 April 2016) and Lira, Uganda (25-26 April 2016), where 
participants were trained on key standards, technical regulations including SPS requirements, with 
an overview on implementing HACCP. Pilot diagnost ics were carried out for one enterprise each in 
Tanzania and Uganda. The enterprise diagnostics will be rolled to 20 enterprises per country based on which support will be provided under the project to improve quality and undertake measures to comply with relevant standards and technical regulations. 
2  STRENGTHENING THE NATIONAL SANITA RY AND PHYTOSANITARY INSTITUTIONAL 
FRAMEWORK IN ZIMBABWE 
2.1.  A new project was launched on the 29 June 2016, in Zimbabwe, with the overall objective to 
contribute to the increase of Zimbabwe's internat ional trade of agricultural goods, based on the 
Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (i-EPA) implementation. The project, financed by the 
European Union, specifically aims to enhance knowledge of technical and sanitary and 
phytosanitary standards at the national level, and their monitoring, including creating or upgrading 
laboratories as necessary, while ensuring consistency with regional and continental policies. 
2.2.  The project addresses the following priority needs: 
 Facilitate the issue of permits/certificates to importers and exporters by SPS regulatory 
authorities; 
 Promote Good Agricultural Practices; 
 Improve knowledge of SPS agencies and producers on EU import requirements; G/SPS/GEN/1505 
 
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   Build capacity of inspection, testing and certification agencies (border inspection and 
laboratory testing); and 
 Improve knowledge of SMEs on General i-EPA provisions, including rules of origin, TBT and 
SPS issues. 
2.3.  The beneficiaries identified are the five key SPS institutions (Plant Quarantine Services, 
Division of Veterinary Services, National Biotechnology Authority and the Government Analyst, and Environmental Health Department), farmers, and SMEs in Zimbabwe. 
3  TRADE AND PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME 
3.1.  Under this programme, financed by the Europe an Union, ITC conducts an interactive training 
on the WTO Agreements on Technical Barriers to Trade and Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures. 
3.2.  The training (4-5 April 2016) was attended by 23 participants who were high level 
representatives of the different departments of the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and 
Irrigation (Plant Quarantine Services, Division of  Veterinary Services and National Biotechnology 
Authority), Ministry of Health and Child Care (Government Analyst Department and Environment 
Health Department), Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Standards Association of 
Zimbabwe. The interactive sessions saw active participation of the officials. Several practical exercises and case studies were discussed to facilitate a better understanding of the provisions of 
the two WTO Agreements. Most participants rated the training "excellent". 
3.3.  A new Chromatography Laboratory of the Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) was 
launched on 4 May 2016 to provide a wider range of testing services to local producers. 
4  REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON "TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE (TBT) AND SANITARY 
AND PHYTOSANITARY (SPS) MEASURES: EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS FOR BOOSTING INTRA-
ARAB TRADE. PRIVATE SECTOR'S PERSPECTIVE" 
4.1.  This regional workshop aimed at the Arab region was organized in Amman, Jordan, 
11-12 April 2016, with the support of the United  States Agency for International Development 
(USAID). Representatives of the private sector an d representatives of the regional integration 
organizations directly involved in harmonization process of SPS/TBT related measures, such as 
League of Arab States (LAS), the Agadir Technical Unit (ATU), and international development 
partners working in the Arab region, exchanged their views on how to facilitate the harmonization of TBT and SPS measures in order to increase in tra-regional trade and cooperation between Arab 
companies. The workshop helped in developing a number of recommendations to improve the 
harmonization of TBT and SPS measures. 
5  ENHANCED INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK (EIF) 5.1.  The Tier 2 project in Lesotho "Agricultura l Productivity and Trade Development" aims to 
contribute to the enhancement of Lesotho's su stainable economic growth, employment, food 
security, nutrition and poverty alleviation through building and strengthening capacity of smallholder producers to commercialize, diversify, and promote production of fresh fruits and 
vegetables for domestic and exports. As part of this project, ITC has developed a new guide 
"Manual on Buyer Requirements for fresh fruits and vegetables suppliers in Lesotho". Based on this 
guide about 40 producers were sensitized about buyer requirements, including food quality and 
safety issues and the way to ensure compliance. 
For more information: 
Ludovica Ghizzoni, ITC Adviser on Export Quality Management 
Tel: +41 22 730 06 38 - Fax: +41 22 730 05 76 - E-mail: ghizzoni@intracen.org  
Khemraj Ramful, ITC Senior Adviser on Export Quality Management  
Tel: +41 22 730 04 87 - Fax: +41 22 730 05 76 - E-mail: ramful@intracen.org  
Web address: http://www.intracen.org/itc/exp orters/quality-management/  
E-mail address: quality@intracen.org  
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ITCstandards  
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