[Source: Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport/ Facebook]

Fiji has launched Electronic Phytosanitary Enhanced Services which has the potential to boost trade in agriculture and promote efficiency in the entire export supply chain.

Phytosanitary certificates are official documents issued by authorized Government agencies, such as the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji to certify that exported plants and plant products meet requirements and are free from dangerous pests and disease and are essential for ensuring the safe and efficient trade of agricultural commodities critical for food security.

Ministry of Trade, Cooperatives, Small and Medium Enterprises Permanent Secretary Shaheen Ali says the new system will provide a modern and efficient way to manage and verify phytosanitary certificates for plant products, replacing the traditional paper-based system.

[Source: Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport/ Facebook]

He adds that traditionally, the phytosanitary certificates were issued on paper and required physical delivery to the quarantine authorities.

Ali says this also made it difficult to ensure that certificates were legitimate and increased the risk of untreated goods entering Fiji or being exported to other countries.

[Source: Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport/ Facebook]

The permanent secretary says BAF has now developed the capacity to exchange electronic phytosanitary certificates, or ePhytos, which provides numerous benefits to the Private Sector to the Quarantine Authority and to the country as a whole.

He adds that traders will now also be able to save significant time and money, as they no longer have to rely on couriers or postal services to transport the certificates.

[Source: Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport/ Facebook]

Ali says Fiji will be exchanging ePhytos with the United States.