Ministry of Commerce And Supplies - Enhanced Integrated ...
Ministry of Commerce And Supplies - Enhanced Integrated ... Ministry of Commerce And Supplies - Enhanced Integrated ...
N T I S2010CODEX Contact Point: DFTQC, Legal Status and OrganizationTo some extent the CODEX contact point’s functions and legal status overlap with the SPS enquiry pointdescribed above, including personnel, offices, and facilities. This has blurred the distinction between CODEXand general SPS functions in some areas within the DFTQC. However, given the limited resources, it is notnecessarily an issue. The fact that other specialist SPS functions reside within other departments of the MoACmay rebalance any distortions. The DFTQC is the governmental agency charged with implementing the Food Act2023 (1966) and the Food Regulation 2027 (1970). This Act has been rewritten with technical assistance fromFAO in 2004, but the new act is still under review and has yet to be submitted for the legislative process.Nevertheless, the DFTQC has been participating in regional and international CODEX activities with supportfrom various UN agencies and has initiated a series of initiatives related to food safety. These include:1. Initiation of a registration scheme for exporters and importers of food products. The scheme is voluntaryfor exporters but compulsory for importers. So far, no locally-based exporters have registered underthe scheme. The registration process involves an application followed by factory/premises inspectionby the DFTQC to ensure that basic food handling rules are used and applied. The current intention isto phase in this process as a legal (i.e. compulsory) requirement. Under this scheme, imported foodproducts undergo compulsory testing to ensure compliance with existing Nepalese standards. Theintention is to require full traceability by all enterprises at some point. It may be that market-drivencertification (see the following point) may be extended to all food manufacturers in Nepal as one wayof implementing the scheme. WTO accession has enabled the DFTQC to access better informationfrom CODEX free of charge.2. In terms of future compliance with the food safety standards, the DFTQC intends to set up guidelines/standards for the necessary Pre Requisite Programmes (PRPs) 5 as well as internationally acceptablefood safety certifications, including those for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). 6The intent is that certification will be carried out by the GoN-approved commercial entities that arealso recognized internationally. A specific issue is that regionally-based certifying entities do exist, forexample in India, that are internationally accredited and cost-effective. The intent is that certificationwill be compulsory for all food exporters at some point in the future. However, it is recognized by theDFTQC that the main driver for certification will not be the domestic regulatory environment in Nepalbut the end user and/or importing country. National standards for iodized salt and bottled water havealready been drafted and gazetted.Capacity for food testing is being developed to meet international standards in the foreseeable future. Inaddition to the institutional strengthening inputs described above, the World Bank PACT project has an SPScomponent focusing on food quality and safety enhancing activities through improving of laboratory facilitiesand certification capabilities as well as technical assistance and capacity-building measures to meet food safetyand quality standards. An additional dimension is that PACT will also provide technical assistance to industriesto help them meet hygiene requirements so as to more easily comply with importing country authorities andprivate sector importers.The general environment under which Nepalese food manufacturers operate is a matter of concern. Morespecifically, the level of public health in Nepal related to water and food-borne illnesses is poor. Given that5The Prerequisite Programmes include good agricultural practices, good manufacturing practices, good hygiene practices, proper documentmanagement, traceability systems, and any necessary supporting infrastructure.6HACCP: Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. HACCP certification is the apex of a process that involves setting in place the necessaryPRPs (see previous endnote) as well as a culture of continuous improvement.NEPAL TRADE INTEGRATION STRATEGY 2010BACKGROUND REPORT191
N T I S2010a crucial part of the PRP necessary to gain HACCP accreditation relates to worker health and their homeenvironment in addition to the general environment of a food handling entity and its raw material suppliers(notably access to clean water and proper waste disposal), the poor public health environment will act as aclear hindrance to exporters. A basic requirement in this area would be the implementation by municipalitiesand other directly concerned entities of existing clean water standards through proper provision of cleanwater, proper treatment of waste water and proper monitoring of progress through the national recording offood and water-borne diseases (this may be the case, but the data is not to hand).IPPC Contact Point: Department of Agriculture, Plant Protection Directorate(DoA/PPD), Legal Status, and OrganizationNepal became a member of the IPPC on September 13, 2007. However, before this date Nepal was a memberof the Asia Pacific Plant Protection Commission. While not a member of the IPPC at the time, Nepal enacteda Plant Protection Act in 1972. The original act has been revised with technical assistance from FAO in theform of a new Plant Protection Act, which was enacted in 2007. The new act has corrected several deficienciesin its predecessor by aligning Nepal’s legislative framework more correctly with the IPPC and the WTO SPSAgreement. However, the necessary regulations under the new act have yet to be approved by the Council ofMinisters; so at present plant protection in Nepal is enforced under the previous Plant Protection Regulationsapproved in 1974 under the Plant Protection Act of 1972.Responsibility for applying the Act lies with the Plant Protection Directorate (PPD) at the DoA. This responsibilityincludes most functions required of an IPPC member, but, crucially, due to a technical issue relating to the factthat the PPD is still operating under the 1974 Plant Protection Regulations, it still does not fully control importconditions for imported plants.The PPD operates at 15 border posts, including three crossings into China, eleven crossings into India andone at Tribhuvan International Airport. It maintains the pest list/phytosanitary database for Nepal and hascompleted 28 pest lists for specific commodities, including seven in respect of imported commodities. Thereare basic pest identification facilities at the border crossings, but taxonomic backstopping is primarily carriedout by the Agricultural Research Services Directorate within the DoA. There is no provision for internationaltaxonomic backstopping.Support for specific commodities includes:1. Fresh ginger: Trying to get market access into China through the compilation of a pest list. Currently,there are no phytosanitary problems for fresh ginger exports to India or for dried products to eithercountry;2. Pulses: Running fumigation facilities using methyl bromide 73. Cardamom/medicinal herbs/tea: Currently, no phytosanitary issues4. Wood products, including packaging and curios: Heat treatment or fumigation5. Bananas and citrus: Currently, these fruit cannot be exported to India and attempts are in progress bythe PPD to ascertain what the issues are and see if these can be mitigatedA specific and emerging issue is that of fruit flies for which the PPD is trying to develop capacity for determiningpest status, distribution, surveillance, and taxonomic services.7In this respect, India, the main customer, has no problem with the use of methyl bromide despite the Montreal Protocol in respect of ozonedepleting chemicals. Some markets that are more sensitive in this regard require the use of fumigation by aluminum phosphide instead.192NEPAL TRADE INTEGRATION STRATEGY 2010BACKGROUND REPORT
- Page 154 and 155: N T I S2010The findings discussed h
- Page 156 and 157: N T I S20104.5 Other Impediments to
- Page 158: N T I S20104.7 Recommendations: Cha
- Page 161 and 162: N T I S2010inflow between 2000 and
- Page 163 and 164: N T I S2010Industrial Parks and SEZ
- Page 165 and 166: N T I S2010Lack of up-to-date polic
- Page 167 and 168: N T I S2010Apart from the critical
- Page 169 and 170: N T I S2010capabilities in all five
- Page 171 and 172: N T I S20105.5. Combining Investmen
- Page 174 and 175: Chapter 6Trade FacilitationN T I S2
- Page 176 and 177: N T I S2010In the 2005 Trade Facili
- Page 178 and 179: N T I S2010The latest phase of impl
- Page 180: N T I S2010improve efficiency. Few
- Page 183 and 184: N T I S2010Figure 7.1Future Organog
- Page 185 and 186: N T I S2010EU countries, special pr
- Page 187 and 188: N T I S2010Act 1980. So far, 130 fi
- Page 189 and 190: N T I S2010The current projects inc
- Page 191 and 192: N T I S2010The NBSM as a secretaria
- Page 193 and 194: N T I S2010Many more organizations
- Page 195 and 196: N T I S2010Table 7.8Existing Nepal
- Page 197 and 198: Table 7.9Standards Issues for Ten E
- Page 199 and 200: N T I S20107.14 Priority Actions an
- Page 201 and 202: N T I S2010It is not clear what amo
- Page 203: N T I S2010GeneralNepal’s general
- Page 207 and 208: N T I S2010residue limits (MRLs) ar
- Page 209 and 210: N T I S2010The viral diseases chirk
- Page 211 and 212: N T I S2010SPS issues Affecting Tra
- Page 213 and 214: N T I S2010Indian phytosanitary sta
- Page 215 and 216: N T I S20108.5 Conclusions and Reco
- Page 217 and 218: N T I S2010Simpler requirements suc
- Page 219 and 220: Table 8.4Summary of Export Environm
- Page 221 and 222: N T I S2010To register a patent, a
- Page 223 and 224: N T I S2010breaches of law. The Nep
- Page 225 and 226: N T I S2010Intellectual Property is
- Page 228 and 229: Chapter 10Barriers to Service Trade
- Page 230 and 231: N T I S2010Constraints in the touri
- Page 232 and 233: N T I S2010Table 10.2Nepal GATS Com
- Page 234 and 235: N T I S2010locations favourable for
- Page 236 and 237: N T I S2010Barriers to Exports of H
- Page 238: N T I S2010Institutional IssueThe s
- Page 241 and 242: N T I S2010 Strengthening sub-natio
- Page 243 and 244: N T I S2010Observations from enterp
- Page 245 and 246: N T I S2010Nepal Ginger Producers a
- Page 247 and 248: N T I S2010 Helping paper manufactu
- Page 249 and 250: N T I S2010Computer Association of
- Page 251 and 252: N T I S20105. Also related to the a
- Page 253 and 254: N T I S2010The key principles inclu
N T I S2010CODEX Contact Point: DFTQC, Legal Status and OrganizationTo some extent the CODEX contact point’s functions and legal status overlap with the SPS enquiry pointdescribed above, including personnel, <strong>of</strong>fices, and facilities. This has blurred the distinction between CODEXand general SPS functions in some areas within the DFTQC. However, given the limited resources, it is notnecessarily an issue. The fact that other specialist SPS functions reside within other departments <strong>of</strong> the MoACmay rebalance any distortions. The DFTQC is the governmental agency charged with implementing the Food Act2023 (1966) and the Food Regulation 2027 (1970). This Act has been rewritten with technical assistance fromFAO in 2004, but the new act is still under review and has yet to be submitted for the legislative process.Nevertheless, the DFTQC has been participating in regional and international CODEX activities with supportfrom various UN agencies and has initiated a series <strong>of</strong> initiatives related to food safety. These include:1. Initiation <strong>of</strong> a registration scheme for exporters and importers <strong>of</strong> food products. The scheme is voluntaryfor exporters but compulsory for importers. So far, no locally-based exporters have registered underthe scheme. The registration process involves an application followed by factory/premises inspectionby the DFTQC to ensure that basic food handling rules are used and applied. The current intention isto phase in this process as a legal (i.e. compulsory) requirement. Under this scheme, imported foodproducts undergo compulsory testing to ensure compliance with existing Nepalese standards. Theintention is to require full traceability by all enterprises at some point. It may be that market-drivencertification (see the following point) may be extended to all food manufacturers in Nepal as one way<strong>of</strong> implementing the scheme. WTO accession has enabled the DFTQC to access better informationfrom CODEX free <strong>of</strong> charge.2. In terms <strong>of</strong> future compliance with the food safety standards, the DFTQC intends to set up guidelines/standards for the necessary Pre Requisite Programmes (PRPs) 5 as well as internationally acceptablefood safety certifications, including those for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). 6The intent is that certification will be carried out by the GoN-approved commercial entities that arealso recognized internationally. A specific issue is that regionally-based certifying entities do exist, forexample in India, that are internationally accredited and cost-effective. The intent is that certificationwill be compulsory for all food exporters at some point in the future. However, it is recognized by theDFTQC that the main driver for certification will not be the domestic regulatory environment in Nepalbut the end user and/or importing country. National standards for iodized salt and bottled water havealready been drafted and gazetted.Capacity for food testing is being developed to meet international standards in the foreseeable future. Inaddition to the institutional strengthening inputs described above, the World Bank PACT project has an SPScomponent focusing on food quality and safety enhancing activities through improving <strong>of</strong> laboratory facilitiesand certification capabilities as well as technical assistance and capacity-building measures to meet food safetyand quality standards. An additional dimension is that PACT will also provide technical assistance to industriesto help them meet hygiene requirements so as to more easily comply with importing country authorities andprivate sector importers.The general environment under which Nepalese food manufacturers operate is a matter <strong>of</strong> concern. Morespecifically, the level <strong>of</strong> public health in Nepal related to water and food-borne illnesses is poor. Given that5The Prerequisite Programmes include good agricultural practices, good manufacturing practices, good hygiene practices, proper documentmanagement, traceability systems, and any necessary supporting infrastructure.6HACCP: Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. HACCP certification is the apex <strong>of</strong> a process that involves setting in place the necessaryPRPs (see previous endnote) as well as a culture <strong>of</strong> continuous improvement.NEPAL TRADE INTEGRATION STRATEGY 2010BACKGROUND REPORT191
Change language