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| UNCTAD/ TED Palais des Nations, CH - 1211 Genève 10, Suisse trade.environment@unctad.org tél +41 (0)22 917 1330 Terms & conditions Privacy |
New series of 3 books published
UNCTAD has just brought out a series of three studies synthesizing the main findings of a dozen of country-case studies analyzing the challenges and opportunities of the new breed of private-sector standards on environmental, food-safety, health and social standards for producers and exporters of fresh fruit and vegetables of developing countries.
• The first book, which appeared in December 2007, analyzed the situation in Latin America, focusing on the findings in Argentina, Brazil and Costa Rica.
• The second book, which appeared in early February 2008, synthesized the findings of country studies in South-East Asia, in particular Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam.
• The third book, which is currently in print, will summarize the situation in Africa, dwelling on country studies for Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia. The book will be launched at UNCTAD XII on 22 April 2008.
The fresh fruit and vegetables (FFV) sector can provide significant opportunities for export diversification, poverty alleviation and rural development. However, in order to successfully increase FFV production and exports in developing countries key challenges need to be addressed, in particular the compliance with private standards that are often governing global agri-food business chains. Meeting these standards generally require the application of specific production methods that generally need to be documented, audited and certified. They offer many opportunities (such as the use of modern management methods, lower input use, better profitability, higher occupational safety, reduced environmental impact and better social conditions), but can also pose barriers (in terms of market access, high producer-level and macro-economic adjustment costs, and the marginalization of small producers, regions and even countries).
The books review the regional and national experience with pro-active adjustment policies to these private standards (in particular the GLOBALGAP standard) in the context of national programmes on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). When contextualizing national GAP development, it is important not to limit it to the commercial, micro-economic context of enabling producers to comply with downstream market standards. Rather, national GAPs should address both the commercial context and the non-commercial, sustainability aspects, including benefits for worker health, the environment, national food safety and national economic development. This is the background for using public (and development assistance) resources to support national GAP implementation.
In reviewing the developmental (including pro-poor), market access and governance aspects of private standards, the books provide useful empirical and analytical information for stakeholder dialogues on national GAP programmes in concerned developing countries and the current discussions on private standards in the WTO SPS Committee.
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The Implications of Private-Sector Standards for Good Agricultural Practices Exploring Options to Facilitate Market Access for Developing-country Exporters of Fruit and Vegetables: Experiences of Argentina, Brazil and Costa Rica UNCTAD/DITC/TED/2007/2 This publication analyses the developmental and market access impact of new, ever more stringent and complex private standards on food safety, health and environmental requirements (mostly set by large and globally acting supermarkets) on fresh fruit and vegetable exports from Central and South American countries. These private standards, although voluntary in legal nature, are often de facto mandatory for producers and exporters through the buying power of those setting and applying them. The wider use of these standards can help to increase efficiency of fruit and vegetable production, offer safer and healthier produce for consumers, improve occupational safety of producers, and facilitate access to lucrative export and domestic markets.... |
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Challenges and Opportunities Arising from Private Standards on Food Safety and Environment for Exporters of Fresh Fruit and Vegetables in Asia: Experiences of Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam. UNCTAD/DITC/TED/2007/6 |
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New ! Private-Sector Standards and National Schemes for Good Agricultural Practices: Implications for Exports of Fresh Fruit and Vegetables from sub-Saharan Africa Experiences of Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda UNCTAD/DITC/TED/2007/13 |