PRIVATE STANDARDS: A COUNTRY PERSPECTIVE. LESOTHO

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PRIVATE STANDARDS A COUNTRY PERSPECTIVE.
LESOTHO

• SADC Stakeholders Workshop on Private Voluntary
  Agri-food Standards.
  
• Pretoria, 5th and 6th November 2008.

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Background

• Lesotho has one abattoir that is located in
  Maseru, and about ten municipal slaughter slabs
  that cater for slaughter of animals at district
  level. The main activity at these slaughter
  facilities is primary meat handling. There are no
  facilities for processing of meat products.
• There is only one milk processing plant situated
  in Maseru, the main activities being processing
  of milk through pasteurisation, UHT process and
  processing of dairy products on a small scale.
• The bulk of meat and meat products as well as
  milk and milk products consumed in Lesotho are
  imported from South Africa.
  

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SPS Agreement

• Article 3
• Members base their SPS measures on international
  standards, guidelines and recommendations in
  order to facilitate harmonization.
  
• SPS recognizes 3 sister organizations
• Codex Alimentarius Commission For food safety
  measures standards.

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Article 3 of SPS Agreement (cont)

• OIE (World Animal Health Organization) for
  animal health measures. Its standards are
  compiled In Animal health code (terrestrial,
  aquatic)
• International Plant Protection Convention
• For plant protection and health measures.

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SPS Agreement (cont.)

• Article 5.1
• Requires that SPS measures be based on an
  assessment of risks to human, animal and plant
  life or health. The importing country must be
  able to demonstrate that its measure is based on
  an appropriate risk assessment.

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SPS Agreement (cont.)

• Article 5.2
• Kind of information that shall be taken into
  account when undertaking risk assessment
  
• Available scientific evidence
• Relevant processes and production methods.

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SPS measures Article 5.2 (cont.)

• Relevant inspection, sampling and testing
  protocols.
  
• Prevalence of specific diseases or pests
• Existence of pests or disease free areas.
• Relevant ecological and environmental
  conditions.
  
• Quarantine or other treatment

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SPS Measures (cont.)

• Transparency (Article 7)
• Members shall notify changes in their sanitary
  and phytosanitary measures and shall provide
  information on their SPS measures in accourdance
  with annex B (Prompt publication of SPS
  regulations,allow reasonable time after
  publication to enter into force and establishment
  of enquiry point)

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National Standards (Lesotho)

• In order to implement its obligations with WTO
  SPS Measures, Lesotho has devised set of Zoo
  sanitary measures (National Legislation), which
  are as follows

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National Standards (Lesotho) cont.

• Importation and Exportation of Livestock and
  Livestock products proclamation No.57 of 1952.
  
• Importation and Exportation of Livestock and
  Livestock Products (Amendment) Act No. 21 of
  1984.
  
• Public Health (Abattoir Regulations), Legal
  Notice No.27 of 1972.
  
• Stock Diseases Proclamation No.10 of 1896
• Stock Diseases (Amendment) Act No.18 of 1984
• Veterinary Surgeons Act No.13 of 1973
• Distribution of Dairy Products Regulations, 1992
  (Legal Notice No. 241 of 1992)

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National Standards (Lesotho) cont.

• Challenges
• Some of the challenges facing Veterinary
  Authorities to effectively implement
  international standards are
  
• Outdated legislation that needs urgent
  attention.
  
• Lack of proper infrastructure to implement
  prescribed standards (quarantine facilities,
  laboratory equipment, Vehicles for DVOs and
  headquarters staff, communication.)
• Inadequate inspectors to implement SPS measures
  at various levels (ports of entry and exit,
  business establishments and farms.)
  
• Non compliance by stakeholders due to lack of
  information, or sometimes to due utter deviance
  in some quarters
  

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Private Standards

• Private Standards
• Food production in Lesotho is mainly for domestic
  consumption and in a very limited scale. Large
  scale food processing plants are non-existent
  hence the lack of interest on the part of private
  standards bodies to establish any office in
  Lesotho.
• Any commodities of food origin that are imported
  into Lesotho are subjected to national standards
  that are regulated by State

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Impact of private standards

• As member of international standards setting
  bodies such as OIE and Codex, which have been
  mandated by WTO to facilitate international trade
  through standards that will ensure products that
  are safe for human and animal consumption,
  wholesome and do not pose any danger of
  transmission and spread of transboundary
  diseases, we fully support such standards.
• They are based on science, non- discriminatory
  and anybody or institution that wants to impose
  more stringent standards has to justify
  scientifically why they want to impose such
  standards.
• There must be justification why such move does
  not constitute a barrier to trade.

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Impact of private standards (cont).

• Lesotho believes that whatever standards that
  deviate from internationally recognised standards
  have to be done with caution, making sure that
  they do not deliberately exclude some
  underdeveloped countries such as Lesotho and
  indeed many SADC member countries, which do not
  have capacity to implement such standards

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• THANK YOU