WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/SPS/GEN/1155 
28 March 2012  
 
(12-1657) 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
INFORMATION ON SPS-RELATED RECENT AND FORTHCOMING ASSISTANCE AND 
OTHER ACTIVITIES FROM THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE (ITC) 
 
For the period October 2011 – March 2012 
 
 
 The following communication, received on 27 Marc h 2012, is being circulated at the request 
of the ITC. 
 
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I. PROJECTS 
A. STDF/PG/172:
  "EXPANDING NIGERIA 'S EXPORT OF SESAME SEEDS AND SHEANUT /BUTTER 
THROUGH IMPROVED SPS  CAPACITY BUILDING FOR PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR "   
1. The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) is the implementing agency of the STDF 
172 project with ITC as supervisory agency.  The project duration was expected to be October 2010-
October 2012.  A request to extend the duration to March 2013 has been submitted to STDF to ensure 
the successful completion of all project activities and to address the delay accumulated with regard to 
the issue of securing the space need ed in the selected states to in stall/house the machines and their 
delivery and use.  The project has made significant progress in the last months in particular with regard to Component 1 "Improving documentation on current practices of quality control for sesame 
seed and Shea product exports" and Component 2 "Imp lementation of a robust field quality control 
and traceability system for Nigerian sesame and Shea products".  The second ITC monitoring mission 
was conducted from 13 to 17 February 2012, combined with the International Consultant's visit and 
the mid-term stakeholders meeti ng on 16 February 2012 (attended by 25 participants).  A shea butter 
pilot site is being designed for hosting and using th e equipment in Oyo State and is being used as a 
successful model to encourage replication and alloca tion of funding in the other states.  So far one 
state has completed its own structure (with an NEPC contribution), and another two states had 
funding for construction approved.  There is a strong commitment of the implementing agency 
(NEPC) leading to cooperation with other stake holders.  The second six-month progress report was 
submitted to STDF and cleared, and the release of the third tranche of funding is pending STDF's 
clearance.  
B. C
USTOMS UNION (BELARUS , KAZAKHSTAN AND RUSSIA ) 
2. Within the framework of the project "CIS regi onal trade development", a guide on EU market 
access conditions for pasta and flour exporters of the Customs Union and a study on the quality and 
SPS infrastructures supporting exports of flour an d pasta to the European Union from Belarus, 
Kazakhstan and Russia will be prepared, with particul ar focus on non-tariff barriers, especially in the 
SPS area.  The study and the guide will contribute to the overall objective of the "CIS regional trade 
development" project in promoting sustainabl e economic development of the countries of the 
Customs Union.  The activity is expected to start in April 2012 and end by September 2012. G/SPS/GEN/1155 
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  C. P
ERU  - EXPORT DEVELOPMENT IN PERU'S NORTHERN CORRIDOR  
3. The export quality management component of the project has the objective to build the 
capacity of trade related institutions in the Costa ar ea of Peru to complement their programmes aimed 
at enhancing the competitiveness of small ente rprises through compliance with food hygiene and 
safety requirements in international markets, and enhance and increase their exports.  The project 
(April 2012 – March 2013) will assist small and me diums-sized enterprises to understand and 
implement food safety systems based on HACCP thr ough the sustainable support of selected trainers-
cum-counsellors from the region.  The project is funded by the Economic Cooperation and Development Division at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). 
D. SADC
 - SUPPLY CHAIN AND LOGISTICS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (SCLP)-  REPUBLIC OF 
SOUTH AFRICA  
4. A project funded by the Flemish Government , implemented by the National Agriculture 
Marketing Council (NAMC) and ITC, is helping em erging farmers in South Africa to enable their 
integration in domestic, regional or international supply chains.1  The project started in January 2010 
and is expected to end by December 2012.  The pr oject is assisting 15 farms of pome and stone fruits 
(including 200 permanent staff and 1000 casual sea sonal workers) in the Western Cape (Ceres and 
Grabouw) on three pillars:  (i) food safety impr ovement through training and certification of 
GlobalGAP or SAGAP;  (ii) optimization of the orchard production by improving quality and quantity through direct advisory support;  and (iii) marke ting by enhancing linkages with export agents and 
international supermarkets.  A ppropriate linkages are established with various government, industry 
and private agencies and initiatives to ensure the sust ainability of the programme in respect of funding 
and market access opportunities.  
II. OTHER ITC PROJECTS OF INTEREST 
A. N
ON-TARIFF MEASURES PROJECT  
5. The first ITC NTM report (Sri Lanka) was publis hed and released to the public during the 
WTO Ministerial (15 to 17 December 2011) and is  now also available on ITC website.  ITC was 
requested to deliver further analytical work on certain key areas identified by the Sri Lankan 
authorities.  Since then, ITC has also published and disseminated the Burkina Faso NTM report.  
6. On 3 February 2012, ITC hosted a seminar entitled "Non-Tariff Measures:  New Challenges 
and the Road Ahead", regrouping experts on non-tari ff measures (NTMs), and the wider Geneva trade 
and development community to take stock of NTM issues and challenges as well as to discuss the first 
results of the NTM programme.  About  150 persons participated in that  event.  More information is 
available at:  http://www.intracen.org/new-cha llenges-and-the-road-ahead/ . 
7. Two NTM national workshops were held in Febr uary 2012 in Peru and Morocco;  both draft 
national NTM reports were validated by the local authorities.  These new NTM reports will be published and released by ITC in the near future. 
8. ITC successfully launched the non-tariff measures (NTM) survey in three more areas 
(Palestine, Kazakhstan and Cambodia) during the period October 2011 - March 2012.  Upcoming 
countries include Indonesia, Cote d'Ivoire and Guinea. 
                                                      
1 The SADC SCLP project is also implemented in Malawi and Mozambique addressing the local 
specific needs with a focus more on  the local and regional markets.  G/SPS/GEN/1155 
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  For more information about ITC's NTM project, please contact Ms Poonam Mohun, NTM Market 
Analyst, Market Analysis and Research, ITC. Tel:  +41 22 730 0277 - Fax:  +41 22 730 0577 – E-mail:  mohun@intracen.org 
 B. T
RADE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (T4SD) 
9. ITC's Standards Map allows users to compare pr ivate standards with regards to, for example, 
their governance structure, social, environmenta l and economic criteria, compliance policies and 
requirements for implementation.  Compliance to  these standards is not legally required by 
governments or regulations, but it could lead to mo re sustainable social and environmental practices 
or potentially open up new markets.  
10. As of March 2012, the Standards Map covers  70 private standards developed by non-
governmental organizations, companies and other pr ivate entities.  The new standards loaded since 
October 2011 include Ekolabel Indonesia, Green Label Thailand, Green Choice Philippines, China Environmental Labelling- CEL, Food Justice Cert ified, Verified Carbon Standard, International 
Council on Mining and Metals – ICMM, Carbon Tr ust - Carbon Reduction Label, China Organic 
Product Certification Standard, International Su stainability & Carbon Certification – ISCC, among 
others.  The team is working on an additional ten st andards that will be loaded on the website by the 
end of July.  
11. The T4SD team also published several papers in the past months, among which a series on the 
impacts of private standards in global value chai ns (part 1), at producers level (part 2) and on the 
interplay of public and private standards (par t 3).  The three papers are accessible at:  
http://www.standardsmap.org . 
12. We aim to have approximately 110 standards full y loaded on the website by the end of 2012. 
13. Should you be interested in a live demonstration of  the website or in a webinar, please contact 
Joseph Wozniak, Programme Manager (wozniak@intracen.org). 
C. PUBLICATIONS AND TECHNICAL PAPERS  
III. EXPORT QUALITY MANAGEMENT:  A GUIDE FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-
SIZED EXPORTERS 
14. ITC and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanst alt - the National Metrology Institute of 
Germany) (PTB) has partnered in publishing this results-based book.  The guide is structured in a 
question and answer format and targ ets small and medium-sized exporters  in developing countries.  It 
provides managers with answers to their most fre quently asked questions about quality, technical 
requirements, management systems, conformity assessment, metrology, accreditation, and the WTO 
Agreements on Technical Barriers to Trade and th e Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary 
Measures.  
15. This is the second edition of the 2001 best-seller, Export Quality Management:  An Answer 
Book for Small and Medium-Sized Exporters.  It has been revised by ITC in partnership with PTB to 
take into account international trade developments during the last decade. 
16. The contributions from many individuals and organizations are well acknowledged, such as 
from the network on Metrology, Accreditation and Standardization for Developing Countries 
(DCMAS), STDF and the Secretariats of the WTO Committees on TBT and SPS. G/SPS/GEN/1155 
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  On line version is available in English at:  http://www.intracen.org/publications/ .   
Printed version can be ordered through the ITC e-shop (at http://www.intracen.org/about/e-shop/ ).   
The book will be made available in French a nd Spanish in the second quarter of 2012.  
 17. National institutions dealing with quality such as National Standards Bodies and Trade 
Promotion Organizations, are welcome to partner w ith ITC to adapt the book through the addition of 
two annexes that describe the national quality infrastru cture and contact details in a particular country.  
For more information: 
Ludovica Ghizzoni, ITC Adviser on Export Quality Management  Tel:  +41 22 730 06 38 - Fax:  +41 22 7 30 05 76 - E-mail:  ghizzoni@intracen.org 
Web address:  http://www.intracen.org/exporters/quality-management/ 
E-mail address:  quality@intracen.org  
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