WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/295/Add.22/Rev.1 
4 July 2007 
 
 (07-2855) 
Committee on Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures Original:   Spanish 
 
 
 
QUESTIONNAIRE ON TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 
 
Submission by Guatemala  
 
Revision  
   
  G/SPS/GEN/295/Add.22/Rev.1 
Page 2 Technical assistance requirements : 
 Information Training Infrastructure: 
(Hard and/or Soft) Specific concern Other 
Rights, 
obligations and practical operation of the SPS 
Agreement: • Dissemination of national 
WTO commitments at the highest political level 
• Strengthening of the national 
and international electronic 
intercommunication system • Implementation of 
the WTO SPS Agreement 
• Commitments under 
the Agreement and 
remaining phases 
 • Development of the 
electronic intercommunication 
system;  hardware and 
software 
 • Implementation of a 
national interconnected support network 
between the Ministries 
of Agriculture, 
Livestock and Food, of 
Public Health and Social Welfare and of 
Economy, enabling the 
development of the national sanitary and 
phytosanitary measures 
information system 
 • Human resources training 
in trade negotiations on sanitary and phytosanitary 
measures 
• Attendance at and 
mechanisms for 
participating in the WTO SPS Committee 
• Implementation and 
administration of sanitary and phytosanitary 
measures in Customs 
Union territory 
Food safety • SPS Agreement and 
international food safety 
obligations 
• Handling of international 
WTO notifications 
• Information and notification 
system 
• List of national food safety 
notifications • Implementation of 
the WTO 
SPS Agreement 
• Training in the 
inspection of cattle, 
swine and poultry abattoirs and in 
abattoir audits 
• Training in Codex 
Alimentarius 
standards • Development and 
implementation of the 
national food protection programme 
established in the 
Health Code 
• Development and 
implementation of the 
quarantine protection system for processed 
food safety 
• National rapid alert 
system 
• Implementation of the 
national network of 
food safety 
laboratories • Assistance with and 
training in technical 
regulations and standards, in particular 
Annexes B and C to the 
WTO SPS Agreement 
• Training in inspection, 
control and certification 
systems and procedures for food safety from 
farm to fork (Good 
Manufacturing Practices, GMP - 
Hazard Analysis and 
Critical Control Point, HACCP) 
• Education and training 
in risk analysis for 
technical and 
professional staff   
   G/SPS/GEN/295/Add.22/Rev.1
 Page 3Technical assistance requirements : 
 Information Training Infrastructure: 
(Hard and/or Soft) Specific concern Other 
Animal health • Establishment of specific 
electronic information systems for risk analysis 
(e.g., A Risk, Epi Info) 
• Specialised documents on 
animal health and zoonoses 
• New OIE information system 
(World Animal Health 
Information System, 
WAHIS) • Implementation of 
the weekly animal health information 
system 
• Regionalization of 
diseases in line with 
the concept of pest-free areas and areas 
of low pest 
prevalence 
• Control of domestic 
movement 
• Inspection and 
sampling techniques 
• Endemic diseases of 
economic 
importance 
• Laboratory 
techniques:  
immunoperoxidase, 
immunofluorescence and TSL for Bovine 
Spongiform 
Encephalopathy (BSE) 
• Epidemiological 
surveillance systems for animal health in 
other countries 
• Aquatic health 
• Use and usefulness 
of Global Positioning Systems 
(GPS) • Implementation of 
internal quarantine and the national 
animal health 
diagnosis laboratory 
system network 
• Implementation of 
regulations on the 
movement of animals 
to different regions 
• Livestock farm 
register 
• Development of 
illustrated animal 
disease recognition 
guides 
• Technical assistance 
with the implementation of the 
field sampling and 
laboratory analysis system, the diagnosis 
of aquatic diseases 
and the aquatic health surveillance system 
• 12 Global Positioning 
System (GPS) units 
 • Establishment of a 
national livestock 
register 
• Regulations governing 
the implementation of 
internal quarantine 
• Implementation of a risk 
analysis system for 
livestock imports 
• Establishment of 
programmes to control 
and/or eradicate 
endemic diseases 
• Establishment of an 
epidemiological 
surveillance system for 
animal health   
  G/SPS/GEN/295/Add.22/Rev.1 
Page 4 Technical assistance requirements : 
 Information Training Infrastructure: 
(Hard and/or Soft) Specific concern Other 
Plant health • Data accessibility;  databases 
• Collection, analysis and 
interpretation of 
phytosanitary data 
• Development of documents 
notifying the presence or 
absence of endemic or exotic pests and diseases on the 
basis of international 
regulations (establishment of basic formats and 
requirements) 
 • Training in 
polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and 
Experimental 
Laboratory for 
Internet Systems and 
Applications (ELISA) laboratory 
techniques 
• Risk analysis 
training for the Risk 
Analysis Unit of the 
Standards and Regulations Unit, 
UNR (Agriculture) 
• Training in 
irradiation 
techniques for 
export fruit 
• Modern techniques 
for quarantine pest and disease 
detection (X rays) 
• Taxonomic 
identification of fruit 
flies 
• Modern pesticide 
incineration methods 
 • Establishment of areas 
suitable for carrying out the various 
activities 
• Evaluation and 
rehabilitation of 
regional laboratories with a view to their 
intensive use 
• Establishment and 
control of regulations 
on the transportation 
of plants, plant products and by-
products both within 
and outside the country 
• Continued operation 
of the phytosanitary 
surveillance team 
• Maintenance of the 
inputs and reagents 
required to conduct 
the various laboratory tests 
• Implementation of 
mobile phytosanitary laboratories • Agricultural censuses in 
different sectors 
• Establishment of 
specific regulations on 
exotic pests 
• Phytosanitary risk 
analysis 
• Monitoring and follow-
up of epidemiological 
surveillance projects 
• Training courses on 
field sampling and 
laboratory analysis methodology and 
techniques 
• Training for  
professionals on the 
process of globalization and national 
commitments under 
international trade agreements   
   G/SPS/GEN/295/Add.22/Rev.1
 Page 5Technical assistance requirements : 
 Information Training Infrastructure: 
(Hard and/or Soft) Specific concern Other 
Contact details 1. Eduardo Spiegeler, Coordinator, Standards and Regula tions Unit, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food. 
E-mail:  eduardo.spiegeler@maga.gob.gt ;  Tel.:  +(502) 2413-7390; PBX: 2413-7385/86;  Address: 7a. Av. 12-90, Zona 13, edificio 
anexo a Monja Blanca, Guatemala, Guatemala. 
 
2. Jorge Mario Gómez Castillo, Head, Standards and Procedures Offi ce, Standards and Regulations Unit, Ministry of Agriculture, 
Livestock and Food.  E-mail:  jorge.gomez@maga.gob.gt ;  Tel.:  +(502) 2413-7411;  PBX: 2413- 7385/86;  Address:  7a. Av. 12-90, 
Zona 13, edifício anexo a Monja Blanca, Guatemala, Guatemala. G/SPS/GEN/295/Add.22/Rev.1 
Page 6  
 
  ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 
 
(Such information could include, inter alia, a more  detailed description of the technical assistance 
required, any relevant background information on the rea sons for the request, the possibility of using a 
regional approach to the provision of the requested  assistance and the scope for a coordinated approach 
among relevant international organizations.)  
 
Guatemala is the northernmost Central American country, bounded in the north by the Republic of 
Mexico with which it shares a border of approxima tely 1,000 kilometres.  A bilateral free-trade 
agreement has been signed by these two countries, together with Honduras and El Salvador, which 
border on Guatemala to the east and use Guatemalan national territory as a corridor between Mexico and 
their own countries.  Guatemala therefore has great er responsibility with regard to the agricultural 
protection and food safety system, for which reason it has adapted the organic structures of its Ministries 
of Agriculture, Livestock and Food and of Public Hea lth and Social Welfare and is doing its utmost to 
implement the WTO Agreement on the Application of  Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.  The 
administrative structure of these Ministries was refo rmed in 1996 with a view to facilitating trade 
without neglecting human, animal and plant health prot ection.  Much remains to be done and any form of 
technical assistance and cooperation in respect of the implementation of the WTO SPS Agreement would 
be welcomed.  Such assistance and co-operation woul d preferably take the form of human resources 
training and development of the sanitary and phyt osanitary infrastructure, for example, modern 
agricultural protection and food safety systems, and electronic epidemiological surveillance  and 
laboratory diagnosis systems.  
 
     
 
    
 
  
 
__________