食品安全标准与发展中国家的农产品出口

Food Safety Standards and the Agricultural Products Export in Developing Countries

近些年来,食品安全标准已成为发展中国家农产品进入发达国家市场的主要障碍。虽然乌拉圭回合达成的SPS协定从总体上规定了各国使用食品安全标准的基本原则,但由于协议本身的“软约束”性以及发展中国家运用协议能力的不足,发展中国家成为发达国家过高过严食品安全标准的主要牺牲者。为此,要防止食品安全标准沦为贸易保护的工具,增加发展中国家农产品的市场准入机会,在WTO以及SPS协议的框架下需进行这样几方面的改革:一是真正重视发展中国家在“达标”过程的困难;二是加强对发展中国家的技术援助;三是帮助发展中国家更多地参与国际标准的制定;四是帮助发展中国家建立起更有效的国内食品安全控制体系。

In recent years,food safety standards have become one of the major obstacles for developing countries exporting their a-gricultural products to developed countries.Although SPS agreement has set the general principles that member countries should fol-low when applying SPS standards/measures,developing countries are still likely to become the major sacrifice of stricter and higher food safety standards of developed countries due to the'softness'of SPS agreement and incapability of participation in the agreement by developing countries.In order to prevent food safety standards from becoming the disguised protective tool and to increase market access of agricultural product exports from developing countries,the following measures should be taken as per WTO and SPS agree-ment:first,much more attention should be paid to the difficulties confronting developing countries when they are conforming to food safety standards of import countries;second,developed countries should provide more technical assistance to developing countries;third,many efforts should be made to help developing countries participating more actively in formulating of international standards;and last but not least,much should be done to help developing countries establish more effective domestic food safety control sys-tems.