A strong food and agriculture system is fundamental to economic growth, poverty reduction, environmental sustainability, and human health. The Agriculture and Food Series is intended to prompt public discussion and inform policies that will deliver higher incomes, reduce hunger, improve sustainability, and generate better health and nutrition from the food we grow and eat. It expands on the former Agriculture and Rural Development series by considering issues from farm to fork, in both rural and urban settings. Titles in this series undergo internal and external review under the management of the World Bank's Agriculture and Food Global Practice.
This paper explores the competing concepts of 'standards as barriers' and 'standards as catalysts' in the context of food safety standards in international trade in agricultural and food products. Through a review of existing evidence of the impact of food safety standards on developing country exports of agricultural and food products and the results of a series of country- and product-specific case studies, it is suggested that food safety standards can act as both a barrier to trade and the basis of competitive positioning for developing countries in international markets. This suggests that broad conclusions about the trade effects of food safety standards on developing countries are problematic, rather the level and ways in which agricultural and food exports are impacted can be product, country, standard and even firm-specific. Copyright 2007 The Authors.
Bank in Vietnam. For their valuable inputs to our work, we thank Nguyen The Dung (the World Bank), and members of the project research consortium, especially Dao The Anh (Centre for Agrarian System Research and Development), Nguyen Ngoc Que and Do Anh Phong (Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agricultural and Rural Development), Vo Thi Thanh Loc, Le Canh Dung and their teams at the Mekong Development Institute. We thank Michael Jerie (Centre of Policy Studies) for helpful comments on the paper.
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. This paper draws 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 presented in this paper, although only partial, suggests that the picture for developing countries as a whole is not necessarily problematic and certainly is 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/or 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 impacts 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.
The overall approach and findings in this chapter are based heavily on Jaffee et al. (2019). 2020 ReSAKSS Annual Trends and Outlook Report 113 F ood safety is vital for achieving food and nutritional security in Africa. Unsafe food contains microbiological, chemical, or physical hazards that can make people sick, causing acute or chronic illness that, in extreme cases, can lead to death or permanent disability. 2 The presence of foodborne hazards can also reduce the bioavailability of nutrients in food, putting already food-insecure populations at greater risk of malnutrition. Food safety is closely linked to other food-related public health issues. For example, the inappropriate use of antimicrobials in livestock and aquaculture production is contributing to the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. The safety of food impacts not only public health in African countries but also the growth and modernization of these countries' domestic food markets. Food consumption and expenditure patterns are changing throughout the continent, driven by income growth, urbanization, and other factors. Overall, consumption is declining for starchy staples and increasing for animal products, fruits and vegetables, and processed foods. Out-of-home eating is also on the rise. But for farmers and food business operators to profitably and sustainably service this demand for higher-value foods, they must manage the food safety risks associated with such foods and maintain consumer trust (Ortega and Tschirley 2017). These developments may profoundly impact income and employment opportunities in the African food packing, manufacturing, and food service industries, as well as affecting the growth (or otherwise) of domestic and international tourism. Unsafe food and its antidote, investments in food safety capacity, can have profound effects on the success of efforts to alleviate poverty and reduce inequalities in Africa. Because people with low incomes are both consumers of food and agents in agrifood value chains, food safety intersects with poverty in two critical ways. A growing body of literature identifies the extent of food safety hazards in informal food markets, which are the predominant source of food for poor people, especially in Africa's urban areas (Roesel and Grace 2014; Skinner 2016; Fellows and Hilmi 2011). Furthermore, food safety can affect the livelihoods of poor people within agrifood value chains, whether as small-scale
This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Nothing herein shall constitute or be considered to be a limitation upon or waiver of the privileges and immunities of The World Bank, all of which are specifically reserved.
The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.
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