WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/1006 
11 March 2010 
 (10-1325) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE (ITC) 
(JULY 2009-FEBRUARY 2010) 
 
Meeting of 17-18 March 2010
 
 
 
 The following communication, received on 10 Marc h 2010, is being circulated at the request 
of the ITC . 
 
_______________ 
 
 
PROJECTS: 
 
A. BANGLADESH QUALITY SUPPORT PROGRAMME1 
1. ITC has completed its activities in Bangladesh in December 2009 to strengthen national 
capacity to design and implement sanitary and phyt osanitary (SPS) measures in accordance with the 
relevant WTO rights and obligations.  
1. Workshops on "The WTO/SPS Agreement:  A Business Perspective", conducted by 
local trainers 
2. The local trainers, who have customized  the generic ITC training material on " The WTO SPS 
Agreement:  A Business Perspective " to take into account the specific situation in Bangladesh and the 
specific needs related to fisheries, horticulture and agro-processing, have conducted the following 
workshops: 
• One two-day SPS workshop on Fisheries in Chittagong (8-9 October 2009); 
• One two-day SPS workshop on Fisheries in Khulna (15-16 October 2009); 
• One two-day SPS workshop for Horticu lture/Agro Processing in Chittagong 
(12-13 December 2009). 
2. Food Safety Management System (FSMS) - ISO 22000 
3. Direct assistance to implement FSMS based  on ISO 22000 in six agro-processed food 
enterprises and hands-on training of selected Trai ners-cum-Counselors (TcCs) on ISO 22000 has been 
completed in December 2009.  The review of the ISO 22000 documentation in the six enterprises and final recommendations to improve the FSMS was pr ovided in October 2009, together with a two-day 
                                                     
 
 1 The Bangladesh Quality Support Programme (B QSP) was funded by the European Union with 
contributions from UNIDO and ITC and in kind contribution from the Government of Bangladesh. ITC implemented Component 2 "Supporting Export Diversification" of the BQSP. The project ended in 
December 2009. G/SPS/GEN/1006 
Page 2  
 
  training workshop on "Internal Audit  on FSMS – ISO 22000" and a one-day awareness workshop on 
"Implementing Food Safety Management Systems – ISO 22000" conducted by the trained local TcCs.  
Trained TcCs have conducted final in ternal audits of the enterprises and guided them with corrective 
actions for closure of the nonconformities identifie d.  The six selected enterprises have quickly 
implemented the project recommendations and at least th ree of them may be able to reach certification 
in a few months.  At least two TcCs are extrem ely committed and have significantly improved their 
skills in the area of ISO 22000; they may be cons idered as valuable local resources for any future 
initiatives in this area. 
3. Export Diversification and Strengthenin g the International Competitiveness of 
Enterprises within the Horticulture Sector 
4. The ITC assistance in the horticulture sector h as been completed; it focused on improving the 
understanding of the exporters in Bangladesh of th e demands of the export markets particularly the 
quality, packaging, certification requirements and training exporters to organise and manage an 
effective supply and procurement chain including post- harvest, contract farming, cold store and pack-
house management. 
5. Specific training workshops and advisory services, led by experts from Thailand, 
(18-23 October 2009) were conducte d to improve quality, food safety and packaging compliance of 
Bangladeshi horticulture products with market requi rements along the value chain.  A match-making, 
marketing tour to the Middle East was conducted for exporters from Bangladesh in October 2009 to 
expose them to the market requirements and establis h personal contacts with major importers in the 
UAE.  Ten exporters have formed Bangladesh Ag ro Produce Exporting Company, BAPEXCO Ltd in 
a joint venture to adopt and apply all the reco mmendations of the BQSP programme in the area of 
quality, packaging, operations and marketing.  BA PEXCO is willing to introduce Integrated Pest 
Management (IPM) and Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) to their contracted growers.  
B. P
ROJECT STDF  69:  "IMPROVED CAPACITY FOR ENSURING THE QUALITY AND SAFETY OF 
YEMENI SEAFOOD PRODUCTS "   
6. ITC has completed its close supervisory assistance to the Yemeni Seafood Exporting 
Association (YSEA) in December 2009.  The fo urth progress report was submitted to the STDF 
Secretariat in October 2009 while the final report is in progress.  Project STDF 69 is an example of a 
project applying the principles of the Paris Declara tion for Aid Effectiveness, by bringing together 
components such as the private sector, national owne rship and implementation and supervision by an 
international agency such as ITC.  
7. An ITC monitoring mission was conducted fro m 6 to 13 November 2009 on the occasion of 
the final workshop of the project on 9 November 2009.  The workshop was attended by more than 
40 key representatives of private and public sector s and donors (i.e. EU, JICA) and focused on the 
main achievements and outputs of the project a nd recommendations for implementation of the SPS 
Strategy.  
8. Besides reaching the stated project outputs, pr oject STDF 69 has supported YSEA to establish 
itself, in a relatively short period of time, as a key institution in the Yemeni fisheries sector.  Although 
there is still a long way to go, the association h as undoubtedly been instrumental in bringing the 
seafood industry closer together.  
• YSEA is now recognized as an industry associa tion in Yemen and a key stakeholder in the 
development of the national sector strategy led by the European Union;  G/SPS/GEN/1006 
 Page 3 
 
 
  • YSEA’s international cooperation has been st rengthened through the development of an MoU 
with VASEP, the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers2;  
• Yemeni fishery products have gained higher  visibility in international markets through 
participation of YSEA and expor ters to international expositions  (i.e. EU, Dubai, Viet Nam); 
• The project outputs are being made available to improve the quality and food safety of the 
fisheries products in Yemen and represent useful  inputs for policy framework development.  
The outputs of the project have helped to rai se the awareness of the SPS issues covered.  They 
have also raised the profile of YSEA as an honest broker acting in the interest of all 
stakeholders in the Yemeni fishery sector, thus contributing to the future  sustainability of the 
organization. 
9. Most importantly, the process of developing the National SPS Strategy for the Fishery Sector 
has contributed to a national policy debate and subsequent amendment to the fisheries by-laws 
regarding introduction of market principles in the management of fish landing sites and strengthened 
sanitary controls on regional exports. 
10. The YSEA strategy (2009-2015), developed unde r the project STDF 69, along with a number 
of key initiatives/work packages have been identifie d as crucial for the development of the association 
enabling it to gain further accepta nce within the seafood sector in Ye men and contribute to increase 
the quality and safety of seafood from Yemen.  
11. There is now a need to ensure sustainability of the results achieved under the project STDF 69 
by ensuring additional Technical Assistance and f unding support to YSEA and the private sector in 
the fishery sector.  Failing to receive additional external support would result in a significant reduction of activities that may be carried forward by YSEA itself and would most likely jeopardise 
the ambitious plans for implementation of the YSEA  formulated strategy under the project STDF 69 
in the short to medium term.  
C. P
ROJECT STDF/172:   "EXPANDING NIGERIA ’S EXPORT OF SESAME SEEDS AND 
SHEANUT /BUTTER THROUGH IMPROVED SPS  CAPACITY BUILDING FOR PRIVATE AND PUBLIC 
SECTOR " 
12. ITC has been appointed by STDF as the preferre d supervisory agency of the above-mentioned 
project.  The Nigeria Export Promotion Council (N EPC) will be the implementing agency and will be 
responsible to supervise all the local organizatio ns involved in providing technical inputs to the 
project.  NEPC is finalizing some outstanding issu es in the project document and budget, previously 
raised by ITC and STDF.  A Letter of Agreement will be signed between WTO and ITC.  Project 
activities are due to start in the second quarter of 2010. 
D. CENTRAL ASIA (KYRGYZSTAN AND TAJIKISTAN ) 
13. The projects in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, fund ed by SECO, have started their third phase in 
September 2009.  The overall objective of this project is to contribute to the sustainable expansion and 
diversification of SMEs’ exports  in Tajikistan through increasing the competitiveness of the textile 
and clothing industry and improving the quality management infrastructure of the country. 
                                                      
 2 The MoU is aimed at enhancing collaboration in the areas of training, techno logical cooperation, the 
development of investigations, and technological transfer , for the benefit of both institutions and of society. G/SPS/GEN/1006 
Page 4  
 
  14. The specific objective in the areas of SPS and TBT, is to improve the capacity of the 
Standards, Quality Assurance, Metrology and Accreditation (SQAM), TBT and SPS bodies and the 
regulatory infrastructure.  In particular:  
• Two Tajik laboratories dealing with products  in the agro-processing sector and complying 
with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 w ill be assessed for accreditation by a full 
member of the International Laborat ory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC); 
• The Kyrgyz Accreditation Centre (KAC) will be  assisted to become  a full member of 
ILAC; 
• Assistance will be provided for the establishment of the National Notification Authority 
(NNA) and the National Enquiry Points (NEPs) for SPS and TBT in Tajikistan; 
• The NNA and the NEP for SPS in Kyrgyzstan w ill be assisted to become operational;  
and 
• The SPS infrastructure will be streamlined to cat er to the country’s needs in the area of 
food safety, animal health and plant health  with regard to imports, domestic production 
and exports 
E. B
ENIN  
15. An ITC workshop was organized in August 2009 to inform stakeholders in the cashew nut 
sector about issues related, to operations manageme nt, quality and packaging.  This was followed by 
advisory visits to a selected number of enterprises.  An analysis of the opportunities for the organic 
certification of cashew nuts was conducted.  
OTHER ITC PROJECTS OF INTEREST: 
 
1. Regional Consultation on "Quality Manageme nt:  Linking TPOs and NSBs for Export 
Success", 1-3 December 2009, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 
16. ITC and ISO have jointly organized a consu ltation aimed at providi ng a framework for 
National Standards Bodies (NSBs) and Trade Prom otion Organizations (TPOs) to find the best 
approach to develop and strengthe n their cooperation to support the international competitiveness of 
small and medium enterprises (SMEs), given the li mited resources, and constraints in developing 
countries.  More than 35 representatives from 16 countries3 in Asia, and among  decision-making level 
practitioners and professionals in the field of standa rds and trade promotion, actively participated to 
the consultation.  The consultation helped clarif y roles and mandates of NSBs and TPOs and related 
inter-linkages and identify possible areas of coope ration to help enterprises meet standards and 
overcome technical barriers to trade and, particular ly, to influence the development of international 
standards for export products of interest.  
17. Besides the important actions identified by the participants as follow up at national level, the 
consultation is expected to produce in the second quarter of 2010:   
(a) A publication emphasizing linkages betw een NSBs and TPOs based on an 
consultation which will, inter alia , incorporate the key issues, solutions and "best 
practices" elaborated in the consulta tion documentation and discussions;  and 
                                                      
 3 Bangladesh, Bhutan, Fiji , India, Indonesia, Iran, Macao China, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, 
Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam  G/SPS/GEN/1006 
 Page 5 
 
 
  (b) Updated export strategy formulation me thodology with a reinforced module on 
Quality Management. 
For more information on the consultation, please visit 
http://www.intracen.org/eqm/events/welcome.htm  
NON-TARIFF MEASURES PROJECT: 
18. ITC is engaged in a multi-agency initiative on Non-Tariff Measures, which was initiated by 
the UNCTAD Secretary General in September 2007 w ith the objective to in crease transparency and 
understanding about NTMs through the systematic  collection, classification and dissemination of 
NTM-related data.  In this context, ITC assists countries to better understand the obstacles to trade 
experienced by their business sect ors when complying with non-tari ff measures.  Further to a pilot 
project executed in collaboration with UNCTAD in seven developing countries in 2008-2009, ITC 
will implement a representative survey on NTMs - with a focus on SPS and TBT - in around 30 developing and least developed countries durin g 2010-2012.  The surveys identify at product, 
sector and partner country-level the predominan t obstacles that the business sector faces when 
complying with NTMs, including those that are rela ted to potential bottlenecks at the national level 
with regards to the capabilities and technical f acilities to meet regulations and demonstrate 
compliance.  Exporting and importing companies are screened through phone interviews and surveyed through in-depth face-to-face inte rviews.  The survey contributes to a better understanding of the 
specific needs of the business sector, enabling targ eted capacity building and better formulation of 
national strategies and policies.  
For more information on the NTM project:  Mond her Mimouni, ITC, Officer in Charge, Market 
Analysis and Research;  Tel:  +41 22 730 0371 - Fax:  +41 22 730 0577 – E-mail:  
mimouni@intracen.org  
1. Trade for Sustainable Development (T4SD) 
19. Trade for Sustainable Development (T4SD) is a partnership-based effort led by the ITC to 
enhance transparency on voluntary standards and to increase opportunities for sustainable production 
and trade.  The main project output will be a web-based tool that centralizes, organizes and disseminates information on voluntary sustainab ility standards and related research results to 
strengthen the capacity of producers, exporters and buy ers to participate in sustainable production and 
trade.  T4SD will:  
• Systematically integrate comprehensive, recent and comparable information on voluntary 
sustainability standards; 
• Provide research and case studies that comple ments this information, such as impact 
assessment, market data, how-to guides and best practice(s) examples;  and 
• Allow information tailoring through customized front ends addressing users’ specific 
needs, ensuring direct access to relevant information and intuitive web navigation. 
20. The T4SD database currently contains 12 sta ndards including, Fairtrade (FLO), Rainforest 
Alliance (Sustainable Agriculture Network), UTZ Certified, GlobalGAP, 4C Association, the Marine 
Stewardship Council (MSC), the Forestry Stewar dship Council (FSC), the Programme for the 
Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), the Be tter Sugarcane Initiative (BSI), the Roundtable on 
Sustainable Biofuels (RSB), Social Accountabilit y International (SAI), and the International 
Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOA M).  Discussions with additional standards are 
ongoing. G/SPS/GEN/1006 
Page 6  
 
   
For more information about T4SD, please cont act Mr. Joseph Wozniak, Programme Manager 
(wozniak@intracen.org
). 
  
For more information on the ITC work in th e area of Standards and Quality Management : 
Shyam K. Gujadhur, ITC Senior Adviser on Standards and Quality Management 
Tel:  +41 22 730 03 96 - Fax:  +41 22 730 05 76  - E-mail:  gujadhur@intracen.org 
 Ludovica Ghizzoni, ITC Adviser on Enterprise Value Chain-Export Quality Management  Tel:  +41 22 730 06 38 - Fax:  +41 22 730 05 76  - E-mail:  ghizzoni@intracen.org 
 Web address:  http://www.intracen.org/eqm
 
E-mail address:  quality@intracen.org 
 
__________