Developed counties are at stake by agriculture subsidies while developing countries are battered by some of the emerging issues of the WTO eg anti-dumping, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement (SPS: sanitary measures apply to human and animal health while Phytosanitary measures apply to plant health), Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) etc.
Moreover International Standards Organisation (ISO) and WTO have mutual agreement to support the measures respecting quality trade and the established Standards Information System.
So far the agriculture sector can offer a future for developing countries under the WTO regime.
This sector has not met the quality and standards requirements, demanded by the developed countries, concentrated at the markets of the developing countries.
Demand of quality products is stimulated due to rapid growth, modern technology, and global competition among countries rather than by competition on price. Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreements are promulgated to disseminate quality consciousness.
In the current trade scenario, SPS is applied to fruit juices, vegetables, cereal, pulses and derived products, food additives, sugar, cocoa products and chocolate, milk and milk products, dyes, medicines, genetically modified organisms (GMO) and fertilisers etc.
ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS ORGANISATION (ISO) International Standards Organisation is a Geneva (Switzerland)-based Non-government Organisation (NGO) which started functioning in 1947.
ISO monitors, maintains, and controls quality and standards for all kind of businesses. It has regional offices in 148 countries across the world.
ISO works with the collaboration of the International Electro Technical Commission and International Telecommunication Union to enhance quality consciousness among consumers, governments, importer, and private institutions.
HOW ISO HAS HARMONISED RULES TO FACILITATE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES? As an authority in the world, ISO has a key role in the promotion of trade volume across the world. But it follows a gradual and long lasting standardised trade, which is the dictum of ISO.
Developed and developing countries both are benefiting from ISO's standards.
SOME OF THE BENEFITS TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
1.-- Standard products are effortlessly judged as high tech machinery is lacked in developing countries.
2.-- Unique and familiar parameters are available
3.-- International recognition of developing countries' product
4.-- Importers and exporters oriented policies and programs
5.-- Training workshops and seminars are designed especially for developing countries
6.-- Labelling requirements postulate Rule of Origin of WTO
7.-- Best effective in medicinal and health sector, uniformly determined around the globe, both in the developed and developing countries
8.-- Advocate the profitability ratio
9.-- Facilitate government, customers, businessmen, international trade organisations, and citizens.
10.-- Protect consumers cum users rights for standard products
QUALITY AND STANDARDS: A LESSON FOR PAKISTAN: New world trade order is offering enormous new opportunities to the manufacturers cum traders of Pakistan.
Traders can enhance their capability to get market access by adopting diverse quality standards.
Quality control and maintenance, in international markets, can only fetch intense commodity demands. Because, quality and price are the only appealing components for the importers.
As is well known, factor of productions are cost ineffective in Pakistan, which leaves only achieving quality control for competing in the international market.
As Pakistan has faced record objections in quality standards, the issue requires immediate attention.
As Pakistan is at a comparative advantageous in rice, fish, livestock, fruits, cotton, and flower yet it has received complaints in these sectors.
PAKISTAN HAS RECEIVED COMPLAINTS IN THE FOLLOWING SECTORS:
1.-- Chicken complaints from Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh
2.-- Honey to Saudi Arabia
3.-- Wheat to Iraq
4.-- Citrus to Philippines
5.-- Mangoes to Japan
6.-- Onion to Sri Lanka
7.-- Fish and livestock to the European Union
8.-- Rice to Egypt
9.-- Meat to the UAE and Saudi Arabia
Although all agreements of the WTO are based on fundamental principles but, still under the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreements, exporting industries are blackmailed for political purposes. In this regard, alleging countries are benefited by the SPS and TBT.
These agreements cover quality and environmental issues and in broad policy context, include substandard, child labour, bio-safety lines, food security, and animals' and plants' health.
Unfortunately, Pakistan meets less of these standards, set by agreements, which makes the country's export worse against WTO's parameters.
These parameters are universally determined and applied in uniformity to all of the member states.
The transformation process of global trade is continuously filtering out the harmful business factors to protecting global trade.
As a result, Chinese exports are rapidly rising because of quality control, and through niche marketing with quality control segmented in many parts.
China joined the WTO in December 2001 and is now ruling the world (with 30% of world trade) by this effective use of quality and standard measures.
Pakistan can prevail in the international market by quality improvements in all contexts, some of them are as follows:
1.-- Reworking on standards with SPS and TBT applications in consideration so that faulty standards can be replaced by international demanding standards
2.-- Use of the latest technology for pre-shipment inspection to improve the export market
3.-- Effective campaigns of the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority and Pakistan National Accreditation Council, Pakistan Institute of Quality Control (PIQC) and International Organisation of Standardisation to build the capacity of exporters
4.-- Perfect fulfilment of labelling requirements of each country separately so that market access can be widened and the 'Made in Pakistan' label is boosted.
5.-- quality maintenance in the education system of all subjects
6.-- Research and Development on quality and standards to design modern parameters
Exports items of Pakistan under SPS:
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RS IN TOTAL EXPORT IN
ITEMS BILLION PERCENTAGE
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Rice 27.95 6.3
Fish 6.39 1.44
Cotton 5.7 1.29
Sugar and Honey 3.15 0.71
Fruits 3.13 0.7
Others 3.24 0.73
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AGRICULTURE BASED PRODUCTS
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Textile Yarn and Thread 60.24 13.58
Cotton Fabrics and Woven 56.75 12.79
Leather 9.07 2.04
Total 126.06 28.41
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IMPORT OF ITEMS UNDER SPS
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Rs In Total Imports in
ITEMS Billion Percentage
Wheat 14.68 2.75
Fruits 3.3 0.62
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ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE OIL AND
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Fats 26.04 4.88
Total 44.02 8.25
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(The write is research associate with Lok Sangh, a non-government Islamabad-based organisation.)