Source: Manila Bulletin
A new European Union regulation that took effect this year would affect local exporters of marine products particularly tuna.
Joseph Wozniak, manager for analysis and research of the International Trade Center based in the UK told a recent seminar that Europe has required traceability certification from Philippine regulators of marine products caught in the wild.
In his presentation, Wosniak revealed that in a survey of several developing countries, the ITC has found that many of those surveyed countries are failing to comply with EUs food safety requirements.
Their problems were largely internal which included lack of funds to set up the testing laboratories and hire the right technical people that man the sophisticated testing machines plus lack of coordination among regulatory agencies.
The same problems have been bugging the Philippines although both the trade department’s Bureau of Product Standards and the DA’s BAFPS have been trying their best to set local standards that are aligned to international yardsticks.
It was noted that Europe, the United States and Japan had kept on raising the bar on non-tariff measures to the effect that the Philippines finds it harder and harder hurdling new barriers to trade.
Regulatory agencies had been helping exporters comply with the technical barriers to trade (TBT) and sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) requirements of importing countries.
TBTs that cover manufactured goods and SPS that are supposed to ensure the safety of food products are now recognized worldwide as the biggest challenges to small exporters in the developing world.
The advocacy seminar was jointly organized by the DTI and the International Trade Centre based in the UK that helps small exporters in poorer nations comply with product standards in the European Union.