Managing SPS Informationto Maximize Stakeholder Interest and Involvement

Special Meeting on the Implementation of the SPS

Agreement

Geneva, 31 March 2006

March 31, 2006

“Model Arrangements for SPS Stakeholder Involvement at the

National Level” (STDF19)

March 31, 2006

PurposeImprove SPS-related information flow as well as information sharing between the public and private sector…

…with positive spin-offs for market access

March 31, 2006

The present situation in Sri Lanka

NCP: Directorate of Seed Production and Plant

Quarantine (Ministry of Agriculture)

NCP: Directorate of Animal Production

and Health(Ministry of Agriculture)

NEP and NCP: Directorateof Food Safety

(Ministry of Health, Nutrition, and Welfare)

NNADepartment of

Commerce (Ministry of Trade

and Commerce)

CODEX

IPPC

OIE

WTO

Private Stakeholders

March 31, 2006

Sri Lanka Portal for Food and Agricultural

Standards

First step in improving SPS information management in Sri Lanka=>national portal

NCP: Directorate of Seed Production and Plant

Quarantine (Ministry of Agriculture)

NCP: Directorate of Animal Production

and Health(Ministry of Agriculture)

NEP and NCP: Directorateof Food Safety

(Ministry of Health, Nutrition, and Welfare)

NNADepartment of

Commerce (Ministry of Trade

and Commerce)

CODEX

IPPC

OIE

WTO

EU NCP: Ministry of Fisheries

and Natural Resources

March 31, 2006

Global Reference Portal

for SPS

March 31, 2006

Sri Lanka Portal for Food and Agricultural Standards

Second step in improving SPS information management in Sri Lanka=>web-based network

NCP: Directorate of SeedProduction and Plant

Quarantine (Ministry of Agriculture)

NCP: Directorateof Animal Production

and Health(Ministry of Agriculture)

NEP and NCP: Directorate of Food Safety

(Ministry of Health, Nutrition, and Welfare)

NNADepartment of

Commerce (Ministry of Trade

and Commerce)

CODEX

IPPC

OIE

WTO Tea Cluster

Coconut Cluster

Spice/Nut Cluster

Fruit & Vegetable Cluster*

Ornamental Horticulture

Cluster*

Organic Products Cluster

Poultry/Egg Cluster*Live and

Processed Fish Cluster*

EU NCP: Ministry of Fisheries

and Natural Resources

Agribusiness

Livestock and Meat Cluster*

Inputs Cluster*

Processed Food Cluster

*new websites

March 31, 2006

Host Association for Sri Lanka

March 31, 2006

CAPECOCereals and Oilseeds

CADELPACotton

CEPACOOPFruits and Vegetables

ARPLivestock

CEPALProcessed Foods

Paraguayan Portalfor Food and Agricultural

Standards

First and Second Steps for Paraguayan National Information System for Food & Agricultural

Standards

SENAVENEP and

Nat’l Contact Point for Plant Heath

SENACSANEP and

Nat’l ContactPoint for

Animal Heath

INTNNEP for

Food Safety

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN

RELATIONS

NNA

CODEX

IPPC

OIE

WTO

FECOPRODCooperatives

March 31, 2006

Regional Reference Portal

for SPS

March 31, 2006

Challenges in gaining buy-in

• Breaking down walls within the public sector

• Getting the public sector to reach out to private

• Convincing the public sector players to give up control over portal, for their own long-term benefit

• Convincing the private sector that public will really work with them

• Deciding which private entities to include as leaders

March 31, 2006

Strengths of Internet-based solutions

• Can serve as one-stop shop for information needs and communicate breaking news

• Can become a virtual gathering place strengthening cohesion among stakeholders

• Can serve as vehicle for discussing issues, presenting positions, furthering consensus

• Can handle multiple languages

• Delivers documents in electronic (i.e.,manipulable) form

• Has a very low cost of adding, deleting or updating documents

• Has zero marginal cost to provider for each hit

• Relatively low cost of access and use to userscontinued

March 31, 2006

Weaknesses of Internet-based solutions

• Will have a relatively high set-up and maintenance cost and may not be easy to sustain in a financial and technical sense;

• Still excludes a significant (although declining) share of stakeholders;

• Has trouble capturing the necessary volume of information and keeping it up to date

• Will find it difficult to handle confidential or limited-audience data such as private standards and may find it hard to charge user fees because much of the content is public data or concerns public goods continued

March 31, 2006

Implications for Implementation of the SPS Agreement? Its too soon to tell, but it mayEnhance relevance of WTO notifications as perceived by some public

and most private stakeholders

Facilitate broader dissemination of information from Three Sisters to relevant subsectors and industry players

Serve to place official grades and standards in proper place vis-à-vis private standards

Stimulate greater involvement of private sector

Facilitate more commentary on proposed standards, rules and SPS actions at borders

Provide a way to achieve more efficiency and sustainability in the handling of SPS-related information