G/SPS/GEN/1324  
 
2 April 2014  
(14-2017)  Page: 1/5  
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
 INFORMATION ON SPS-RELATED RECENT AND FORTHCOMING ASSISTANCE AND 
OTHER ACTIVITIES FROM THE INTE RNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE (ITC) 
(OCTOBER 2013 – MARCH 2014) 
The following communication, received on 25 March 2014, is being circulated at the request of the 
ITC. 
 
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  The International Trade Centre is continuing its efforts to assist enterprises to meet technical 
requirements. An update of the projects of interest to the SPS Committee is provided herewith. 
1  PROJECTS 1.1  EIF - Sector Competitiveness and Export  Diversification in The Gambia (2012-2015) 
1.1.  In this project, technical barriers hinderin g market access of Gambian exports of groundnuts, 
cashew nuts, and sesame are being addressed. The latest activities conducted so far and ongoing are: 
a. Implementing HACCP: Assistance to enhancin g food safety of groundnuts, cashew nuts 
and sesame through implementation of HACCP
1 was launched in January 2014. A one-
day sensitisation workshop for a large audience of stakeholders, and a four-day workshop on HACCP and documentation for selected enterprises and trainers-cum-
counsellors were conducted in January. An ITC full-fledged programme on HACCP, with 
classroom and hands-on training, will continue until February 2015 to coach five selected trainers-cum-counsellors and seven enterprises; 
b. Development and enforcement of technical re gulations: In February 2014, a workshop 
was conducted for representatives of regulatory bodies to sensitise them on developing and enforcing technical regulations based on a guide developed jointly by ITC and PTB; 
c. Aflatoxin testing capacity: A mission of an international lab technician is planned for 6-
11 April 2014 to ensure the functionality of a versatile modern high performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) machine for aflatoxin analysis and to prepare in situ training for staff; 
d. The first ten national standards have been fi nalized and published, most of them being 
adoptions of international (Codex and ISO standards); and 
e. Around 60 Farmer Field Schools have been established and are functional in the three 
sectors. 
1.2  STDF/PG/172: "Expanding Nigeria's ex port of sesame seeds and sheanut/butter 
through improved SPS capacity buildi ng for private and public sector" 
1.2.  The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) is the implementing agency of the STDF 172 
project with ITC as supervisory agency. 
a. The project has established eight processing sites (four for shea nut and four for sesame 
seeds) in eight states with the installation of sets of equipment, with the aim to improve 
                                               
1 Hazard Analysis and Cr itical Cont rol Points. G/SPS/GEN/1324 
 
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  the compliance of shea butter and sesame seeds with SPS measures. Four have been 
commissioned to the local cooperatives; 
b. A new national project manager was appointed by NEPC in October 2013; 
c. Management of the sites: Potential investors to partner with the cooperatives to manage 
the processing sites were selected by NEPC. Sidley law firm is assisting to develop a 
framework for managing the sites on a pro-bono basis. One mission of a lawyer to Nigeria was conducted in February to meet relevant stakeholders and draft an MoU for 
management of the sites. The MoU is under finalisation; 
d. Harmonization and finalisation of the studies/reports is ongoing with the support of an 
International Consultant.
2 These documents shall represent the operational package of 
the processing sites for the food safety practices along the chain; 
e. A six month progress report was submitted by NEPC/ITC to the STDF Secretariat, 
August 2013 -January 2014; and 
f. A final workshop of the project is planned in April/May 2014 with ITC and possibly STDF 
representative participation. 
1.3  STDF/PG/354: "Improving Safety and Quality of Sri Lankan Fruits and Vegetables" 1.3.  The project has the objective to analyse SPS constraints along the value chains, enhance 
public and private sector stakeholders' capacity to meet international SPS requirements and 
improve public-private cooperation. The project is  implemented by ITC in close coordination at 
national level with the Ceylon Chambers of Commerce (March 2013-February 2015). The key activities conducted since October 2013: 
a. An intensive training of trainers programme for two divisions of the Department of 
Agriculture: Plant Quarantine Office and Exte nsion Division. In total, 145 officers have 
been trained through: 
i. Ten-day training of Plant Quarantine Officers, for 20 participants from the National 
Plant Protection Organisation, 30 October–8 November 2013, in Negembo, on International and EU Market Phytosanitary Standards, Plant Pest Surveillance, 
Phytosanitary Treatments, Pest Risk Analysis based on IPPC methodology; 
ii. Two batches of five-day training for 50 Field Level Plant Quarantine Officers, 
28 January to 1 February and 2 February to  6 February 2014, conducted by the eight 
best performing trained Plant Quarantine Officers under guidance of an international 
phytosanitary expert; 
iii. 11-day training for 28 master trainers of the Extension Training Division, 4-
15 December 2013, in Kandy, on Pest and Disease Management at Field level; Good 
Agricultural Practices; Phytosanitary and Safety Standards; Post-harvest Handling; 
Marketing; Business Management and Finance; Training and Extension Methodology; Field visit; 
iv. Two batches of ten-day training in parallel for 47 Field Level Trainers, 10-
21 February, in Kandy, by the six best selected trainees of the Master Trainers. The best performing Field Level Trainers and Master Trainers will train 150 Field Level Extension Officers and consequently 400 farmers. 
b. Updating of the regulated pest list commenc ed by an appointed team of three Plant 
Quarantine Officers (Senior Plant Pathologist, Senior Entomologist, Senior Weed Scientist); 
c. Two-day workshop on SPS and EU requirements for fruits and vegetables for about 
70 food and drug inspectors, exporters and other relevant stakeholders conducted on 13-14 March 2014; 
d. Establishing a platform for private and public partnership: a series of meetings 
conducted with exporters and the Department of Agriculture to share SPS issues 
                                               
2 Simple predictive model for mould growth and af latoxin production in the Nigerian sesame and 
sheanut/butter production chains, establishment of HACC P plan, traceability system, farmers’ guide to quality 
production of shea an d sesame in Nigeria. G/SPS/GEN/1324 
 
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  hampering export (i.e. lack of hot water treatment facility) and find ways to address 
them; 
e. Second project steering committee meeting conducted, 12 March 2014; 
f. Ongoing update of the http://www.spssrilanka.lk  website; and 
g. Ongoing mapping of extension officers, fa rmers and exporters to enable backwards 
linkages. 
1.4.  The STDF 354 project is feat ured in the ITC annual report 2013. 
1.4  STDF PG 242: Development of an SPS Strategy, Comores 
1.5.  ITC is contracted by UNDP, as implementing  agency of the project, to prepare and animate a 
workshop related to SPS issues for trade support institutions, scheduled for May 2014. 
1.5  Fiji "Improving key services to agriculture" 
1.6.  An EU programme, funded from the Mult i-Annual Indicative Programme on Accompanying 
Measures for Sugar (AAP2011), implemented by ITC and the Secretariat of the Pacific Communities (SPC), aims at improvement of key services to non-sugar agriculture in order to 
improve and consolidate farming systems in Fiji, with the ultimate goal of income generation 
through alternative livelihoods for poverty alleviation. 
1.7.  The food safety component is currently focusi ng on i) building the capacity of enterprises and 
local Trainers-cum-Counsellors (TcCs) to comply with and advise on food safety requirements (Fiji 
Food Act, HACCP, GAP); ii) Setting up a system of re gistration for trainers, as well as advisory and 
training services, in the area of food safety under  the national registration system; iii) improving 
hygiene at the markets. 
 Nine TcCs and nine enterprises are participating in training and coaching. The third and 
fourth missions of the International Consultant on food safety took place 14-29 October 2013 and 3-26 February 2014. Further classroom training on internal verification and 
training skills and hands-on training to th e enterprises to implement HACCP and GAP and 
coaching of the TcCs was delivered. An audit of six enterprises was conducted and gap reports drafted and recommendations to close non-conformities were given. 
 A sensitization workshop on food hygiene and food safety was well received at the Lautoka 
market on 19 February 2014 by 70 market vendors, inspectors, market managers and cleaners 
 A monitoring visit of the local EU delegates to two participating enterprises took place on 
5 March 2014. 
1.8.  A selection of additional enterprises to implement HACCP with the support of the TcCs is 
ongoing. 
1.6  Trade and Private Sector Development Programme, Zimbabwe 
1.9.  This project is funded by the European  Union and implemented by ITC. It includes a 
component related to the capacity building of the testing laboratories of the Standards Association 
of Zimbabwe (SAZ) for pesticide residue testing as well as other testing for food products. This 
project has been launched in February this year. 
2  OTHER ITC PROJECTS, PUBLICATIONS OR INTERVENTIONS OF INTEREST: 2.1  Training Seminar, Business Implications  of Multilateral Trading System, for Russia; 
7-11 April 2014, ITC, Geneva 
2.1.  The training course organised by ITC is designed as an introductory course to the multilateral 
trading system and the WTO trade rules for Russi an representatives of the business community 
and government officials. The course provides fundamental and practical knowledge of the 
multilateral trading system and regulations, and international trade dispute settlement procedures. G/SPS/GEN/1324 
 
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  2.2.  A lecture on the "Agreement on Sanitary an d Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)" was provided by 
a representative of the WTO Agriculture and Commodities Division on 9 April 2014. 
2.2  Trade for Sustainable Development (T4SD) project 2.3.  Voluntary sustainability standards addressing  issues related to environmental quality, social 
equity and trade practices have grown exponent ially over the past decade. Small and medium-
sized enterprises face challenges in keeping trac k of standards and meeting buyers' sustainability 
requirements. To address this challenge, a new version of the Standards Map was launched in 
February 2014. Standards Map 2.0 ( http://www.standardsmap.org ) allows users to compare 
voluntary standards side-by-side and to produce personalized reports that their companies can use 
to make better-informed decisions about certific ation and involvement in sustainable production 
and trade. 
2.4.  Trade support institutions, small and medi um-sized enterprises, exporters, policymakers, 
producers and researchers can use Standards Map 2.0 to extract up-to-date information on more than 130 standards covering 80 sectors in 180 countries, as well as their requirements and scope 
of operations. 
2.5.  The user can then find summary reviews for each of the standards, as well as information 
about costs, scope, assurance, steps required to join an initiative and other information. Also 
available are charts and graphs that show the connection between a standard and different 
"hotspots": environment, social, economic, quality and ethics. 
2.6.  At the end of a user's analysis, there is the option to generate a customized sustainability 
diagnostic report, which serves as a company's roadmap towards sustainable production and 
trade. 
2.7.  ITC, with the support of HIVOS, IDH, SECO, 4C Association and UTZ Certified, is currently 
developing SustainabilityXchange, the first community owned, interactive platform on sustainable 
supply chain development. SustainabilityXchange will offer five services combined in one website:  
 Yellow Pages: Access to expertise 
 Library: Relevant training material on sustainable supply chains  
 Community of Practice: Sharing of experiences, asking questions and participation in 
discussions 
 Events Calendar: Promotion of training events and workshops 
 Newsroom: Latest news on sustainable supply chains 
2.8.  SustainabilityXchange will be launched on 21 May 2014 during the ISEAL Alliance annual 
conference in London. 
2.9.  Should you be interested in more information please contact Joseph Wozniak, Program 
Manager ( wozniak@intracen.org ). 
2.3  Non-Tariff Measures (NTM) programme 
2.10.  The programme aims to increase transparency and understanding of NTMs – in order to 
facilitate trade in the long-run. It helps countries to understand the non-tariff obstacles to trade 
faced by their business sector, and assists in defining strategies and solutions that meet their exporters' needs to speed up and ease cross-bord er trade. This project is implemented with the 
close collaboration of ministries, export promotion agencies, research institutes, business 
associations and local experts in each country. 
2.11.  ITC has already carried out large-scale company surveys on NTMs and obstacles to trade in 
23 developing countries worldwide, and aims at covering more countries in the coming years. NTM 
country specific reports are currently available and accessible at 
http://www.intracen.org/publicationlist.aspx?taxid=2314 . 
2.12.  The next national stakeholder NTM workshop is scheduled to be held in Tanzania, on 
21 May 2014. This workshop aims to bring together more than 50 participants from the public and G/SPS/GEN/1324 
 
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  private sectors of Tanzania. The results of an ITC NTM survey in Tanzania will be discussed in this 
public-private dialogue. The main objectives of the stakeholder workshop is to validate the survey results and elaborate technical recommendations, policy options and practical solutions for problems reported by the private sector. The results of the workshop will be used to finalize a 
detailed country report. 
2.13.  For more information about the NTM project, please contact ntm@intracen.org . 
2.4  ITC 50 Anniversary 
2.14.  On the occasion of ITC's 50th Anniversary celebration, a number of events and initiatives will 
take place to build awareness around ITC's role in trade-related technical assistance among its major target audiences and amplify ITC messages. http://www.intracen.org  
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 Advise r 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/exporters/quality-management/  
E-mail address: quality@intracen.org  
Twitter: @QualityatITC 
 
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