India Govt objects to Singapore's restrictions on meat, eggs import
Wednesday, 12 January 2022
India at the World Trade Organization (WTO) has questioned the restrictions that Singapore has imposed on the import of certain food items, such as meat and eggs, from the country for lack of mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) between the two.
“India requests Singapore to explain the reasons for the non-existence of MRA with India’s regulatory authorities despite a comprehensive free-trade agreement (FTA), which is nearly two decades old,” it asked Singapore during a trade policy review over the city-state not allowing import of certain food items.
Singapore claimed that meat, eggs, and their products must be imported from approved sources in accredited countries or regions that meet the Singapore Food Agency’s (SFA) food safety and animal health standards and requirements.
“Accreditation is necessary as these products can carry food safety risks and animal diseases of public health and trade importance. We thank India for its interest and welcome further discussion with our SPS competent authority for food safety, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA),” the Southeast Asian country replied.
The SFA's accreditation procedure is a two-stage process. “The first stage involves country accreditation, where the country is assessed for regulatory oversight and freedom from animal diseases of important trade and public health concerns (such as foot-and-mouth disease and bovine spongiform encephalopathy).
The second stage involves the individual establishment accreditation, where the food safety and quality programmes and operational hygiene practices of the export meat processing plants are evaluated. This involves submission of a documentary dossier, followed by an inspection,” Singapore said.
Singapore currently allows the import of fresh eggs only from accredited farms in Australia, Denmark, Finland, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand, Ukraine, and the United States.
