Food Safety - Competition Law - Lecture Slides, Slides of Competition Law and Policy

Download Food Safety - Competition Law - Lecture Slides and more Slides Competition Law and Policy in PDF only on Docsity! ieee cy ane Fresh Fruit and Vegetables 2 Abstract 1. Trends of environmental, health, and food-safety requirements (EHFSRs) along supply chains 2. The interrelationship between mandatory and voluntary EHFSRs 3. Main problems arising from mandatory and voluntary EHFSRs 4. Becoming more pro-active and holistic: Activities of UNCTAD’s Consultative Task Force Docsity.com 5 Drivers of Private-sector Safety and Quality Requirements  Governments “Name and Shame” policy in some countries.  Retailers legal responsibility (due diligence legislation in some countries) and increasing retailer own labels.  Retailers do not want to compete on the basis of “who’s food is safer”.  Shuffling off certain risk management costs to producers.  Globalisation of retailing and production (i.e. global sourcing) requires rigorous quality assurance system.  New food-safety, health and environmental requirements are being used as value-chain governance tools. Docsity.com 6 Putting Environmental, Health and Food-safety Requirements into Context • Enhanced globalization of investment and trade lead to transnational application of specific EHFSRs. • Many EHFSRs are an attempt to alter market conditions to encourage sustainable production, trade and consumption patterns. • With increasing liberalization of tariffs and quotas, EHFSRs have the potential of being turned into versatile non-tariff measures – difficult to distinguish justified from unjustified EHFSRs. • A tool of companies in the competitive battle with rivals -- gain or temporarily maintain a competitive edge over rivals – certain EHFSRs may require anti- trust/competition law measures. • EHFSRs are increasingly becoming an integral part of product quality. • DgCs need to exploit full national benefits of meeting EHFSRs in export markets, notably in terms of resource efficiency, pollution intensity, occupational safety and public health -- important are dynamic effects that also reduce adjustment costs. Docsity.com 7 Main Trends in EHFS Requirements [1] More strict (e.g. MRLs) More complex (e.g. traceability and auditing requirements) More multi-dimensional (e.g. see next slide) 3 Trends: Docsity.com 10 Main Trends in EHFS Requirements [2] • Growing importance of private sector standards and codes in the marketplace in general; • Growing importance of requirements transmitted to producers and exporters in developing countries through the supply chain; • An enhanced relationship between mandatory and voluntary requirements; • Greater reliance on traceability and related certification; and • Greater regulatory responsibility on food and feed controls, including system of registration of crop-protection products for the exporting country. Docsity.com 11 Diverse Standards in National and International Markets Standards as applied Private Sector Competitive Strategies Local Customs and Consumer Preferences Laws and Regulations Enforcement Capacity There is an ongoing process to put in place harmonized requirements and codes, yet the application is occurring at different speed and depth. Source: Jaffee, S. • Differential application of requirements/standards is the norm, rather than the exception. • Weak compliance enforcement by governments, strong by retailers. Docsity.com TBT and SPS Agreements contain disciplines on the preparation, adoption and application of technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures. 12 EHFSRs and the Limits of WTO Disciplines Four sets of problems: • Many DgCs cannot take advantage of the disciplines because a baseline of institutional capacity does simply not exist. • The procedural aspects of voluntary standards can be as important as for technical regulations, yet they are de facto outside WTO disciplines (also: non-governmental bodies that set voluntary requirements are not part of WTO debate). • Notification and transparency requirements need to be further improved - Access to information is difficult - No difference in notification between complex and simple EHFSRs - Format of notification should be changed (even problematic for industry representatives) • Justification, legitimacy and the role of scientific evidence under TBT / SPS Docsity.com 15 Main Problems Arising from Mandatory EHFSRs in Key Export Markets • Stringent phyto-sanitary measures in certain countries, such as Japan and the United States impose restrictions on imports based on the country of origin – individual country listings of FFV approved for entry – cumbersome approval process for new products • More stringent food-safety requirements: – HACCP has become mandatory for all food categories (of both animal and non-animal origin). Use of HACCP is not mandatory in the case of primary production, which covers most of FFV; exception – packaging for semi-processed fruit. – Registration of plant protection products: problematic for those pesticides used in production of “minor crops”, which applies to most FFV exported by DgCs. – Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 on official food and feed controls obliges DgCs to provide information on the general organization and management of their national food control system, including assurance of compliance or equivalence with the requirements of Community legislation. Docsity.com 16 Spectrum of Private-sector Requirements Whole Chain Assurance PRE- FARM GATE POST FARM GATE Growers Farmers Food Packing and Processing Retail Stores Consumers REQUIREMENTS Key components oPre-Farm and Post Farm Gate Standards o Traceability o Documentation o Residue Monitoring EurepGAP SQF 1000 Integrated Farming of FARRE UK Assured Produce TESCO’s Nature’s Choice HACCP BRC ISO 9000 SQF 2000 HACCP ISO 9000 SQF 3000 Currently some 400 private food schemes Collective Individual Docsity.com 17 Implications for DgC Producers/Exporters • Move towards high-precision agricultural production methods. • Explicit objective to meet higher food-safety and quality requirements with environmentally beneficial practices (EurepGAP refers to itself as the “Partnership for Safe and Sustainable Agriculture”). • Supply-chain requirements tend to reinforce existing strengths and weaknesses of competing producers. Risk of marginalization. • Multitude of standards increases certification costs. Need for equivalence and harmonization, such as EurepGAP. Also increasingly important for enhanced South-South trade (particularly relevant in Asia). • Significance of adjustment costs and little opportunity for price premiums. Docsity.com 20 Problematic Aspects of the EurepGAP Standard • Risk of marginalization of small producers (different experience in Senegal and Kenya) • Supply-chain governance implications – Control mechanisms without ownership – Favours FDI type of investment – Producers have to shoulder significant part of risk management costs (capital and recurrent costs: 20-200% of annual profit of producers of 0.5-6 hectares) • No price premium for compliance or advantages through use of a EurepGAP label • Risk of becoming dependent on servicing packages of globally active agro-chemical companies • EurepGAP is gradually becoming important also for access to the high- end domestic market in DgCs • Revision of EurepGAP standard every three years – moving target (DgCs have to seek active participation) Docsity.com 21 Key Challenges for Developing Countries • Lack of local regulation/enforcement in DgCs • Lack of institutional support (notably significant deficiencies in SMTQ system - standards, metrology, testing, and quality assurance) • Weak regulatory system relating to the import, production and sale of crop protection products • Lack of knowledge on responsible pesticide use • Lack of extension services • Constraints of physical infrastructure • Constraints regarding farmer skills Docsity.com 22 Key Problems of Current Adjustment Approach • Reactive/fire-fighting approach prevails (delaying compliance until after a crisis has occurred). • Piecemeal and fire-fighting approach on technical assistance • Insufficient participation in pre-standard-setting consultations by DgC producers/exporters • Costs of adjustment are often more apparent than benefits/ catalytic effects. General Issues Docsity.com 25 Key Elements of a Proactive Role of DgC Governments Key Function of Government: 1. Taking into account broad commercial and developmental objectives. 2. Optimizing long-term costs and catalytic benefits of compliance. 3. Focus on wider distributional and societal impacts of the available responses. Public- private sector dialogue Info gathering and dissemination – cost/benefit analysis Pay special attention to small producers Setting up and Supporting Quality Assurance Systems Clusters of Policy Tools Effective adjustment Docsity.com 26 Special Role of UNCTAD’s Consultative Task Force on Environmental Requirements and Market Access • Country- and sector-focused exchange of national adjustment experiences among DgCs • Includes in the analysis and discussion voluntary ERs of the private sector and NGOs and thus provides a formal exchange mechanism between these stakeholders and governments • Facilitating access to information on new ERs • Allows a regular exchange of information among agencies and initiatives that provide TC/CB in fields relevant to CTF discussions • Provides input into WTO debate (CTE, TBT, SPS) Docsity.com 27 1. Three series of country-case studies on challenges and opportunities of EurepGAP for horticultural exports. Asia: Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica Africa: Ghana, Kenya, Uganda 2. Sub-regional, multi-stakeholder workshops on exchanging national experiences on national GAPs for horticultural products Asia: Manila, November 2005; Latin America: Rio de Janeiro, December 2005; Africa: planned for February 2007 in Nairobi 3. Publication of monographs on the three regions (see info note) Recent Activities under UNCTAD’s Consultative Task Force on Environmental Requirements and Market Access Docsity.com