Sanitary, Phytosanitary, Standards and Other Technical requirements

Before undertaking import or export business, operators should be aware of and comply with required sanitary, phytosanitary, standards and other technical barriers to trade (TBT) in their respective imports and exports markets. These measures have become a very important factor affecting trade hence operators need to understand requirements for each market.

A) Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Requirements.

Namibia is a signatory member of to the WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). 

Government adopted the Namibia Food Safety Policy (NFSP) to protect consumer health while facilitating trade in food. The NFSP seeks to ensure that requirements and controls are developed and respected regarding food production safety, food hygiene, animal health and welfare, plant health, and preventing the risk of contamination from substances. It promotes the principles of risk assessment and prevention, and a "farm to fork" approach.

Responsibilities for SPS are distributed across several Offices, Ministries and Agencies (OMAs):

1. The Ministry of Health and Social Services, which is responsible for public health.
2. The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform (MAWLR), which  is responsible for safe production of food of animal and plant origin, including their primary processed forms.
3. The Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR), which oversees food safety, handling of fish and fishery products, including chilling, freezing, filleting, transport, and packaging.
4. The Namibia Standards Institute, which is responsible for developing standards on processing and processed foods, food additives, processing aids in foods, food labelling, and packaging materials.
5. The Ministry of Urban and Rural Development, which is responsible for licensing of food service and food business operators.

The Directorate of Veterinary Services in the MAWLR https://mawf.gov.na/ is responsible for implementing the Animal Health Act, 2011 and related regulations.

1. Imports of live animals and animal products generally require a veterinary import permit (NAD 50 per permit), a livestock movement permit for purposes of traceability.In the case of breeding material, a livestock improvement permit is also required.
2. A health certificate is required for the exports of animals, animal products, and restricted material.
3. The MAWLR manages the Namibian Livestock Identification and Traceability System (NamLITS) to provide accurate records of animal disease surveillance, animal movements, and vaccinations in the country.
4. Cattle originating north of the Veterinary Cordon Fence (VCF), also known as the Red Line, may not be marketed in the FMD-free zone, south of the VCF, where FMD vaccination is not permitted. 
5. Cattle may only be imported from countries free from bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and FMD where vaccination is not practiced.
6. A veterinary import permit is only required for the importation of ostriches, elephants, wild pigs, wildebeest, and buffalo from RSA. Imports of other farm animals/animal products are subject to a veterinary movement certificate issued by an official veterinarian in South Africa in accordance with the requirements as set out in the Namibian/South African bilateral agreement.
7. Veterinary staff based at the border are available 24 hours a day to verify compliance with import and export requirements.
8. Growth-promoting hormones are banned in animal production, while imports of meat from hormone-treated animals are permitted.
9. In February 2020, Namibia for the first time exported (boneless) beef to the United States.

The Plant Health Division of the MAWLR https://mawf.gov.na/ is responsible for plant health.

1. It administers a permit system for domestic and imported agricultural inputs and maintains a database for traceability purposes of registered and imported pesticides, fertiliser, and farm feeds.
2. All imports of plants, plant products, and other regulated articles require a permit issued by the MAWLR (NAD 100, valid for 21 days) and a phytosanitary certificate issued by the plant protection authority of the country of export.

The National Council for Research Science and Technology is responsible for implementing the GMO regime. Imports of GM food or feed require a permit (valid one year) from the Biosafety Council.

SPS Inquiry points

The Enquiry Point and National Notification Authority for SPS lies with the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform (MAWLR). To ensure effective implementation of the various agreements, protocols and commitments, a National SPS Committee was established under MAWLR as the Chair deputised by MIT.

The committee comprises the public sector, private and academia. The committee was established to provide a coordination mechanism on SPS at national level. This committee provides a dedicated forum for coordination among OMAs and consulting the private sector and other parties that are affected by the implementation of Bilateral, Regional, Plurilateral and WTO SPS Agreements. National SPS: https://mawf.gov.na/

B) Standards and Other Technical Requirements

1. Namibia is one of the founder Members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and a signatory to the multilateral agreements which includes the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).
2. The Namibian Standards Institution (NSI) is the national standards body responsible for developing standards and conformity assessment procedures. 
3. Namibia has adopted a Revised National Quality Policy (2020-25) and the stated policy of standards development in Namibia is to adopt standards from international and foreign standards bodies.
4. Namibia has 227 standards in place, of which 32 were Namibian "home grown" standards, 55 regional standards, and 140 international standards. A catalogue of Namibian Standards, updated at regular intervals, is available at Namibian Standard Institution | Creating peace of mind (nsi.com.na)
5. Namibia has adopted the Continental Standardisation Body under the African Regional Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO).
6. The NSI Certification Body provides independent third-party conformity assessment services. It was successfully assessed in 2019 by SADCAS for maintaining its accreditation to provide certification services according to ISO standards. SADCAS is Namibia's de facto accreditation body.
7. The NSI is also the designated national fishery inspection and certification authority. The Inspection Centre is accredited to ISO/IEC 17020.
8. Namibia has 83 EU-approved facilities, including factory and freezer vessels, processing plants, and cold stores.
9. Both the NSI Inspection Centre and the testing laboratory facilities are accredited by SADCAS.
10. Mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) were concluded between the NSI and the National Fish Inspection Institute of Mozambique (INIP) in 2012; between the NSI and the Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS) in 2018; and, in 2021, between the NSI and the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), and the NSI and the National Regulatory for Compulsory Specification of South Africa (NRCS).

TBT Enquiry Points

The NSI Namibian Standard Institution | Creating peace of mind (nsi.com.na) serves as the Enquiry Point and National Notification Authority for Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) a coordination mechanism is essential. A National TBT Committee was established under the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade (MIT) as the Chair deputised by NSI to ensure effective implementation of the various agreements, protocols and commitments on TBT.

 

C. ePing-WTO SPS and TBT Platform

 

The ePing is a WTO platform that facilitates tracking sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) and technical barriers to trade (TBT) measures.  The platform can be accessed here Home - ePing SPS&TBT platform.