Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS) and South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), organised an interaction programme on August 5 to discuss Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) related international laws and practices which could impact agriculture trade. Considering the recent decision by Nepal government to make pesticide residue mandatory for fruits and vegetables imports and eventual withdrawal of the decision within 18 days and ensuing public reaction, this event aimed at unknotting the issue. The main objective of the programme was to create awareness on SPS issues in agriculture trade and discuss measures that Nepal should undertake in moving forward.
Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Matrika Prasad Yadav, pointed out that despite the initial turmoil created by recent policy change by the government and its retraction, it has also created an avalanche of awareness. He stressed the need to create awareness amongst stakeholders regarding the issues related to World Trade Organisation and other regional and bilateral agreements. He reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to WTO rules and regulations and said that the misalignment was a result of lapses in procedure but not of intent.
Secretary for MOICS, Kedar Bahadur Adhikari, stressed the need to build legal, institutional and other mechanisms to regulate import as well export.
Dr. Posh Raj Pandey, Chairman of SAWTEE, stressed the need to build related institutions and coordination amongst relevant government institutions. He said, “Being a party to international agreements we have to be mindful of both the rights and duties and hence, this programme is to discuss the optimal way to protect plant, animal and human life while honouring international, regional and bilateral agreements.” He further added, “We need to make an attempt to discuss this issue with relevant stakeholders to build consensus for the way forward.”
Presenting a paper on “SPS measures in Nepal’s agricultural trade”, Dr. Paras Kharel, Research Director of SAWTEE, highlighted the high degree of import dependency on India for agricultural and food products, indicating that any disruptions at the borders will have severe implications.
Calling attention to the “letter” (allegedly sent by Indian Embassy in Nepal in response to Nepal’s policy change with regard to fruits and vegetables imports), Dr Kharel pointed out that it only talked about phytosanitary certificate which in reality does not concern pesticides residue tests. His paper further delineated current sanitary and phytosanitary constraints such as lack of legislations, institutional inadequacies, human resources constraints, and most importantly, extremely poor state of testing facilities.
Adoption of international standards for commodities that currently do not have standards, upgradation of laboratories, accreditation over the most important parameters and, ultimately, the mutual recognition agreements with the major trading partners, were pointed out as the likely way forward.
Emphasising the need to protect the consumers from pesticides residue risks, Dr. Dilli Ram Sharma, Chief, Plant Quarantine and Pest Management Centre (PQPMC), pointed out the lapses made by government while implementing the policy, particularly the failure to notify the policy change in advance, six months being the legally binding international norms. He also mentioned that pesticides test on each consignment of perishable items is not infeasible but also unprecedented globally and hence, procedures like screening, certifications, risk-based sampling must be adopted to ensure that trade continues as usual and consumer health is not compromised. He also informed that agriculture ministry and its other bodies are rapidly moving ahead with necessary changes.
Jyoti Baniya, Chairman of Forum for Consumer Protection, pointed out the lack of proper legislative framework as a key constraint, for example, Nepal has not promulgated new laws to replace the outdated Food Act and Import Export Act. Nepal is yet to come up with the much-needed Accreditation Act.
