. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/733 
18 October 2006 
 
 (06-5037) 
Committee on Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures Original:   Spanish 
 
 
 
STATEMENT BY PERU ON RE GULATION No. 258/97 OF THE 
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
 
Statement by Peru at the Meeting Held on 11 and 12 October 2006  
 
  The following communication, received on 12 Octo ber 2006, is being circulated at the request 
of the delegation of Peru.  
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 1. Peru is grateful to the Eur opean Communities for its goodwill with  regard to the consultation 
initiated by document G/SPS/GEN/700 with a view to  receiving comments from those with an interest 
in the matter and introducing changes to Eur opean Parliament and Council Regulation 258/97.  
Peruvian institutions such as the Peruvian Institu te for Natural Products (IPPN), the Commission for 
the Promotion of Exports (PROMPEX), the Nationa l Agrarian Health Service (SENASA) and Hersil 
Laboratories have sent comments in response to this consultation. 
2. Peru wishes to present to the WTO Members argum ents additional to those contained in its 
first communication (G/SPS/GEN/681) and in its second communication (G/SPS/GEN/713).  In those 
communications, Peru expressed concern regarding the application of the Regulation, which restricts 
entry into the European Market of certain foods (in their natural state and processed) described as 
"novel foods", that were not marketed in Europe prior to 15 May 1997. 
3. As was indicated in its previous communica tions, Peru considers the Regulation to be 
somewhat inflexible, in that it makes no distinction between foods that are new in the strict sense and 
those that are new only to the European Union.  In  this regard, Peru proposes that the international 
context should be considered, from which it can be  seen that many of these traditional products are 
being marketed in various countries with very stri ct sanitary standards, and that in the case of 
traditional products, the requirements permitting them  to be imported into their markets should 
include, inter alia , the fact that they have been marketed safely outside the country establishing the 
regulation, methodological guides for obtaining author ization, support to developing countries, etc. 
4. In addition, we must stress that initiating the procedure established in the Regulation for the 
entry of such products entails a very high cost fo r exporters.  Furthermore, a licence is granted only 
for the importer that requested the product.  A nother importer of the same product would have to 
make a new application. 
5. In this context, it is important to take account of the poverty that prevails in Peru, particularly 
in rural areas, which are precisely the areas where the majority of the traditional products derived 
from our biodiversity are found.  The economic impact , projected on the basis of exports to date of 
various traditional products such as lúcuma, sacha in chi, yacón and camu-camu, is very encouraging 
and would help reduce poverty in many regions of Peru.  In addition, Peru has shown that it can G/SPS/GEN/733 
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  supply safe agro-industrial products, as in the case  of asparagus and artichokes, both of which are 
widely recognized in the European Market. 
6. It must therefore be stressed that these trad itional products are a manifestation of the 
sustainable use of our biodiversity through free and saf e trade, an approach to  which Peru subscribes, 
in the belief that trade, sanitary and phytosanita ry protection and biodiversity must be mutually 
supportive components of the country's development. 
7. It is also important to bear in mind some of th e adverse social effects of the implementation of 
this Regulation, such as disincentives to the deve lopment of promising econom ic activities, promotion 
of increased cultivation of illicit crops for economic ends, the failure to contribute to improving the 
health of the world as a whole through consumpt ion of traditional products  or foods with a high 
nutritional value, and a decline in the income of th e poorest sectors of the population, hampering their 
access to fundamental rights. 
8. In conclusion, Peru reiterates its request to th e European Communities for an early revision of 
Regulation 258/97, excluding from its scope of application traditional exotic products (derived from 
biodiversity) or, failing that, for a more flexible implementation of the Regulation easing the entry of 
traditional exotic products into the European market, in the light of various factors, including the fact 
that they are constantly used in other co untries without any risk to life or health. 
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