Standards and Agro-Food Exports from Developing Countries: Rebalancing the Debate
The proliferation and increased stringency of food safety and agricultural health standards is a source of concern among many developing countries. These standards are perceived as a barrier to the continued success of their exports of high-value a...
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| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, D.C.
2013
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2004/06/4963646/standards-agro-food-exports-developing-countries-rebalancing-debate http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14061 |
| Summary: | The proliferation and increased
stringency of food safety and agricultural health standards
is a source of concern among many developing countries.
These standards are perceived as a barrier to the continued
success of their exports of high-value agro-food products
(including fish, horticultural, and other products), either
because these countries lack the technical and
administrative capacities needed for compliance or because
these standards can be applied in a discriminatory or
protectionist manner. The authors draw on available
literature and work in progress to examine the underlying
evidence related to the changing standards environment and
its impact on existing and potential developing country
exporters of high-value agricultural and food products. The
evidence the authors present, while only partial, suggests
that the picture for developing countries as a whole is not
necessarily problematic and certainly less pessimistic than
the mainstream "standards-as-barriers"
perspective. Indeed, rising standards serve to accentuate
underlying supply chain strengths and weaknesses and thus
impact differently on the competitive position of individual
countries and distinct market participants. Some countries
and industries are even using high quality and safety
standards to successfully (re-)position themselves in
competitive global markets. This emphasizes the importance
of considering the effects of food safety and agricultural
health measures within the context of wider capacity
constraints and underlying supply chain trends and drivers.
The key question for developing countries is how to exploit
their strengths and overcome their weaknesses such that they
are gainers rather than losers in the emerging commercial
and regulatory context. |
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