. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/766 
28 February 2007 
 (07-0864) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
PRIVATE INDUSTRY STANDARDS 
 
Communication from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
 
  
 The following communication, received on 27 Fe bruary 2007, is being circulated at the 
request of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.  
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1. St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as part of the Windward Islands Sub-Group, along with other 
Caribbean territories within the African Caribbean  and Pacific Group (ACP) are traditional suppliers 
of a number of agricultural commodities to th e European Communities (EC), thus contributing 
significantly to these small economies.  St. Vin cent and the Grenadines exports in excess of one 
million dollars (US$1,000,000.00) of  agricultural produce to the European Communities on a monthly 
basis (Central Statistical Unit, 2006).  No adverse health or food safety concerns associated with the 
commodities have been raised by any of our tradi ng partners within the European Communities.  
However, in recent times these exports have been s ubjected to a range of private standards that are 
affecting small farmers adversely. 
2. It is well established that hundreds of private st andards exist and that these standards have an 
important ole to play in ensuring that producer s focus on areas such as good agricultural practices and 
traceability, and have resulted in heightened  awareness of environmental concerns. 
3. The SPS Agreement recognizes the role of the International Standard Setting Bodies (OIE, 
Codex Alimentarius and the IPPC) as the only aut horities for establishing SPS standards.  However, 
the proliferation of standards developed by priv ate interest groups without any reference to the 
SPS Agreement or consultation with national authorit ies is a matter of concern and presents numerous 
challenges to small vulnerable economies.  These sta ndards are perceived as be ing in conflict with the 
letter and spirit of the SPS Agreement, veritable barriers to trade (which the very SPS Agreement 
discourages) and having the potential to cause conf usion, inequity and lack of transparency. 
4. It is the position, therefore, of St. Vincent a nd the Grenadines that some industry and private 
standards do not conform to the provisions of the SPS Agreement. 
5. The following are some other factors which may be of relevance to the discussion: 
•  Studies have shown that private standards tend to marginalize small farmers (UNCTAD, 
2006).  In circumstances where more than 95 per cent of the farming community consists of 
small farmers, the result is increased rural poverty and social disruption. 
 
•  Another issue is related to the objectivity of  the auditing system.  In some cases different 
auditors have varied interpretations of the a pplication of procedures.  For example, in the 
Windward Islands the external auditors consider  treated sleeves used in the banana industry G/SPS/GEN/766 
Page 2  
 
  as a pesticide and therefore require that th ese be stored under specific conditions.  
However, in the Dominican Republic sleeves are not considered to be pesticides and 
therefore there are no specific requirements for storage.  (Lipper, 2007) 
 
•  The costs of compliance with these standards ar e high.  It is costly to put in place the 
necessary infrastructure on the farms as well as at  the industry level.  It requires extensive 
training of farmers and exte nsion personnel. (Fair Trade Unit, 2006; Ministry of 
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, St. Vincent 2006).  For example, in any given year the associated costs are as follows: 
  Initial cost to farmers (over 3000 farmers):  US$ 3,000,000   Human resource (monitoring):  US$ 45,865.00  
  Training and material for farmers:  US$ 5000.00 
  External Audit:  US$ 8, 560.00   Total cost:  US$ 3,059,425  
•  Farming on slopes is a characteristic of many of our islands and are the only lands available 
to a vast majority of small farmers.  In St . Vincent and the Grenadines, the arable land area 
is 7.2 km2, and more than 60% of this is sloping lands (St. Vincent Agricultural Census, 
2000).  Hence, there is a marked in crease in the cost of production.  
 6. In order to address some of the concerns rai sed above, the following could be considered: 
(a) Companies and corporations that institute  these standards should make available a 
support facility for producers in small vulnerable economies. 
 
(b) Standards should be more flexible and take into consideration specific crops and country 
situations.  
(c) Producers should be involved as much as possible in the development of standards. 
 
(d) When standards are being developed, consid eration should be given to compliance with 
the SPS Agreement and should involve the in put of International Standard Setting 
Bodies. 
 
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