Andean Community Sustainable Trade Workshop in Lima, Peru on 5-6 June 2018

In recent years, Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) had an increasing influence over export opportunities for developing countries to access the international markets. The fast-changing landscape matters to everyone: consumers, buyers, traders, producers, and policymakers, given its pertinence in the global trends, market access conditions and the standards used at all levels of the supply chains. In 2016, Andean Community exports to the EU reached US $13,718 million, with agri-food products exports representing 43% between these two partners, making EU the second most important single export market for the Andean Community countries. Considering the high demands of VSS in the EU market, improvements of Andean Community’s Small Medium Enterprises’ (SMEs) sustainable production is an imperative step forward.

In the effort to address the key challenges and opportunities faced by SMEs, The United Nations Forum of Sustainability Standards (UNFSS) and its members, The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Trade Center (ITC), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Netherlands (CBI), in collaboration with the Andean Community and PromPeru will provide a 2-day intensive training workshop on the 5th to 6th of June 2018 in Lima, Peru on ‘Sustainable Trade between Peru and the EU’.

This workshop will target 60 Peruvian SMEs with interests to access the EU market by delivering expertise in:

  • learning about international trade, market access and supply chain standards
  • export requirements demanded by the EU
  • EU’s food and vegetable regulations
  • sustainable agricultural production and renewable energy
  • presentation of ITC’s Sustainability Map tools and the UNCTAD Trade and Analysis Information System (TRAINS)

The UNCTAD, ITC and CBI trainers will present a portfolio of the above mentioned online resources that is essential to  clarify the complex landscape of international markets and support traders, manufacturers, brands, retailers and policy makers’ in taking well informed decisions and developing successful and sustainable export strategies.

A research on “Sustainable Trade between Andean Community and European Union” that looks into VSS and Andean Community exports to the EU under its Renewable Energy Directive and the implications of renewable energy in the production of exportable agri-food products will also be presented during this workshop.

Download Agenda (in Spanish)

Andean Community Press Release (in Spanish)

 

The United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS) is a joint initiative of 5 UN Agencies (FAO, ITC, UNCTAD, UN Environment and UNIDO) that seeks to address these challenges. It is a demand-driven forum for intergovernmental actors to communicate among each other and engage with key target groups (producers, traders, consumers, standard-setters, certification-bodies, trade diplomats, relevant NGOs and researchers) to address their information needs and influence concerned stakeholders. It aims to provide impartial information, analysis, and discussions on VSS and their potential contribution to facilitate market access, strengthen public goods and achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Most importantly, the UNFSS focuses on potential trade or development obstacles VSS may create, with particular emphasis on their impact on SMEs and less developed countries.

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