ACP EU TBT Programme

The International Organization for Standardization defines “certification” as the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It defines “accreditation” as the formal recognition by an independent body, generally known as an accreditation body, that a certification body operates according to international standards. Certification and Accreditation are increasingly important for ACP countries, not only as a means to sensitize and win-over consumers, but also as a means to achieve and maintain market access, and to receive higher prices for products that meet specified requirements.

Certification and accreditation pose important challenges to ACP countries. These include lack of laboratory and technical capacity (lack of adequate quality infrastructure), lack of training, high compliance costs, and financial constraints inherent in economies dominated by small producers.

The documents appended below were produced in conjunction with ACP-EU TBT Programme projects dealing with Certification and Accreditation.

CASE STUDY