Page 11 - Trade and Food Standards

The annual value of trade in agricultural products has grown almost three-fold over the past decade, largely in emerging economies and developing countries, reaching USD 1.7 trillion.1 Over the past two decades, the reduction in tariffs through global and regional trade agreements has provided greater opportunities for the expansion of global food trade. However, in order to trade internationally and access markets for high-value products, producers must be able to meet food standards. Governments apply food standards to ensure that food is safe, and meets quality and labelling requirements. The use of international food standards worldwide helps reduce trade costs by making trade more transparent and efficient, allowing food to move more smoothly between markets.
Trade is inextricably linked to food security, nutrition and food safety. Trade affects a wide number of economic and social variables, including market structures, the productivity and composition of agricultural output, the variety, quality and safety of food products, and the composition of diets.
The institutional framework, the system, that governs the development and application of international food safety standards is based on the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme – the Codex Alimentarius Commission – and the WTO.
Agricultural development, trade and food security are at the heart of the FAO mandate and the reason for FAO’s investment in Codex. The WTO deals with the rules for international trade; its SPS and TBT Agreements set out the framework in which international standards are applied by governments to ensure the safety and quality of internationally traded food products.
WTO International Trade Statistics 2015.
This publication focuses on the close relationship between food standards and trade. It describes the system governing the development and implementation of food standards. It further highlights the importance of rules, the harmonization of regulations on the basis of international standards, and the need for countries to be prepared in order to take advantage of the system.
The text offers insights for decision-makers in national governments and other stakeholders dealing with trade, standards, regulations and food policy. It explains that by bringing together trade, food safety and food standards, building awareness, domestic capacity and promoting collaboration, there can be tangible public health and economic benefits.
Part I describes the system of Codex standards and WTO agreements. Part II examines the dynamics of the system in action and the importance of preparation and participation in Codex and the work of the SPS and TBT Committees by countries at all levels of development. The final section explores drivers of change likely to affect food standards and trade in the future.
INTRODUCTION
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Part 1. The institutional framework ix