The Hindu Business Line : SPS pact requirements loom over food sector exports

INDIA is losing out on export opportunities as domestic producers are unable to meet the requirements of the SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) agreement signed during the Uruguay round of WTO negotiations to safeguard the health of plant, animal and human life in any country.

Addressing a seminar on the SPS agreement and achieving global competence in the food processing sector, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (Western Region), Mr Sudhir Kumar Goel, Maharashtra Commissioner for Agriculture, said there was an urgent need to arm Indian committees with infrastructure to test international standards for their suitability to Indian conditions, as also developing standards that are in the interest of Indian agriculture.

Mr Goel pointed out that India was passively adopting CA (Codex Alimentarius), a collection of international food standards for all principle food products, but did not have any process for developing international standards. "Though a national Codex committee and a Central Committee for Food Standards exist," he said.

The country must immediately identify commodities that are of special interest to each state and undertake commodity specific study for SPS. The study must also cover the international market, its size, spread, the number of players, their strengths and weaknesses, as also find the corresponding domestic support, export subsidies, and import tariffs, he said.

Commodity specific national-level groups should be formed, he said.

The strategies for SPS managementwould include appropriate legislation and standards, as also basic research, diagnosis and analysis. He also stressed the need for quarantine procedures, including emergency measures, to sustain pest or disease-free areas.

According to the India Development Foundation (IDF), a private non-profit research foundation, the country must clear several bottlenecks if it hoped to gain from SPS standards. Foremost among these was the need for modern technology both in production and processing, to increase productivity.

To help industries adopt modern technology, adequate information and credit facilities must be made available, IDF said.

Enhanced transport facilities must be developed to ensure timely and safe movement of the perishable products, it added.

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