SADC SECRETARIAT REPORT ON SPS ACTIVITIES
SADC
REPORT TO THE WTO COMMITTEE ON SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES
The following communication, received on 24 February 2025, is
being circulated at the request of the secretariat of the Southern African
Development Community (SADC).
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1 Background
1.1. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) region consists of
16 member States, namely Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia,
Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The region has a
population of around 366 million people, with a significant number of them
involved in agriculture and small‑scale cross border trade. Therefore, SADC member
States have a high responsibility to meet the international sustainable
development goals for the betterment of the lives of the people through safe
intra‑SADC and international trade by the participation and application of
relevant international SPS standards.
1.2. In 1996, SADC member States adopted the SADC Protocol on Trade which
aims at easing trade in the region as well as supporting member States
objectives of improving quality of life of the citizens. Currently, 13 member States,
Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique,
Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe are parties to
the protocol and trading under SADC Free Trade Area. The SADC Free Trade Area
entered into force in 2008. In addition, SADC member States together with the member
States of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and partner
States of East African Community (EAC) established the Tripartite Free Trade
Area (TFTA), which entered into force in 2024. Furthermore, SADC member States are
part of the Continental Free Trade Area agreement well known as the Africa
Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
1.3. To reduce the risks associated with the movement of food and agro‑products
without unduly restricting regional or international trade, the Sanitary and
Phytosanitary (SPS) Annex to the SADC Protocol on Trade encourages SADC member States
to adopt harmonized or scientifically justified SPS measures. This is in line
with the implementation of the requirements of the World Trade Organization
(WTO) Agreement on the Application of SPS Measures, the International Plant
Protection Convention (IPPC), the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)
and the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC).
2 Updates on the Implementation of the SPS Annex to the SADC Protocol
on Trade
2.1 SADC SPS Coordinating Committee
2.1. The SADC SPS Coordinating Committee is established by Article 14 of
the SPS Annex to the SADC Protocol on Trade. It constitutes a forum to discuss
and resolve regional SPS issues and report on SPS‑related non‑tariff barriers.
The SPS Coordinating Committee is also an important institution to ensure that
SADC member States fully participate in the implementation of the Tripartite
Free Trade Area; the African Continental Free Trade Area; and the
implementation of regional activities of Codex, WOAH and FAO aimed at
facilitating safe trade.
2.2. In October 2024, the SADC secretariat convened the 15th
meeting of the SADC Food Safety Technical committee. The 15th
meeting addressed matters arising from the 14th meeting and reviewed
draft guidelines for harmonization of SPS measures, onsite sampling, inspection
and testing food as well as on establishing mutual recognition agreements
between SADC member States. The meeting of the SADC SPS Coordinating
Committee is scheduled for 10‑12 March 2025 and will address the
current SPS issues faced by member States.
2.3. For the period under consideration, the SADC secretariat attended
the African Union (AU) SPS Forum meeting and the learning on the implementation
of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary index in post Malabo 10‑year action plan
focusing on SPS issues. The AU SPS Forum serves as a platform to monitor the
implementation of the SPS Policy Framework by African countries as well as
provide guidance on common principles of application of SPS measures across the
continent. Meanwhile, the learning on the implementation of the SPS index in
post Malabo discussed the challenges and opportunities in achieving the SPS
goals as per the Malabo declaration. It was observed that most of African
countries are still far behind the Malabo goals and more effort is needed by
all the stakeholders to achieve tangible results. The two events were held in
Libreville, Gabon on 3‑6 December 2025.
2.2 Transparency
2.4. Following the successfully pilot phase of developing the SADC
Non–Tariff SPS and TBT Measures (NTMs) which involved five SADC member States
in 2023, the SADC secretariat has scheduled a regional capacity building
workshop to be conducted on 13 and 14 March 2025. The objective is to
capacitate national focal points who will be responsible for the collection,
classification and upload of SPS and TBT non‑tariff measures of member States
onto the system to be managed by the SADC secretariat. It is envisaged that
facilitating the accessibility of SADC member States national NTMs through the
SADC NTM database will provide an open and systematic source of information for
trading partners, researchers and other stakeholders with an interest in Trade.
Report by Cesarino Benjamim
SADC secretariat
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