Trade Access on Paper, Compliance Barriers in Practice: New Zealand Backs SPS Capacity

New Zealand’s NZ$300,000 contribution to the Standards and Trade Development Facility will support developing and least-developed countries in strengthening food safety, animal and plant health systems and digital SPS tools. The funding highlights a deeper trade challenge: market access depends not only on tariffs and transport, but on whether countries can meet the technical standards required to trade safely and competitively.

New Zealand has contributed NZ$300,000, about CHF140,000, to the Standards and Trade Development Facility to help developing and least-developed countries strengthen food safety and animal and plant health systems, including in the Pacific. The funding will support governments and businesses in applying international sanitary and phytosanitary standards, developing regional risk-based approaches and testing digital tools intended to make safe trade more efficient.

The announcement points to a persistent problem in agricultural trade. Export opportunities depend not only on tariffs, transport links or trade agreements, but also on whether regulators and businesses can prove that food, animals and plants meet importing-market requirements.

New Zealand will also use the partnership to share SPS expertise. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the funding would support implementation of international standards, improve transparency and expand the use of tools such as ePing and electronic SPS certification, while helping reduce the time and cost involved in trade.

Market access can fail long before goods reach the border

Sanitary and phytosanitary rules are designed to protect human, animal and plant health, but they also determine whether products can enter a market and under what conditions. Compliance requires technical systems that extend well beyond the farm gate.

Governments need inspection services, testing arrangements, certification procedures, trained officials and reliable communication with businesses. Exporters need clear information on standards, documentation and changes in regulatory requirements.

The STDF was created to support countries facing these constraints. It brings together the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Bank Group, the World Health Organization, the World Organisation for Animal Health and the World Trade Organization, which hosts and manages the partnership.

Since its creation, the STDF has funded more than 275 projects and project-preparation grants. Its work sits at the point where trade policy becomes operational: helping countries build systems capable of meeting the conditions attached to market access.

Digital systems are becoming part of border capacity

The new funding includes support for tools such as ePing and electronic SPS certification. These systems are designed to improve the way regulatory information and certification move between authorities and businesses.

Border efficiency now depends heavily on data, documentation and communication. A delayed certificate or poorly communicated rule change can disrupt trade even when transport infrastructure is functioning well.

Electronic systems can reduce dependence on paper procedures and make information easier to access. They may also help regulators process documentation more consistently and give exporters clearer visibility over changing requirements.

Their effectiveness still depends on institutions that can use them. Staff training, reliable technology and coordination across agencies remain essential, and digitalisation cannot compensate for weak regulatory capacity on its own.

Stronger SPS systems can support regulators, exporters and consumers at the same time. Governments gain better tools for managing health risks, businesses gain clearer procedures, and consumers benefit from stronger food-safety controls.

Smaller producers, however, can face very different conditions from larger exporters. Certification costs, technical requirements and access to information may be harder to absorb when firms have limited staff, capital or regulatory expertise, making inclusion a practical test of reform. A system can become more sophisticated without becoming easier for small firms to use.

The STDF describes its model as a "triple win" for consumers, governments and the private sector. Whether those gains spread widely will depend on how projects are designed and whether smaller producers can access the same systems as larger commercial operators.

The real measure will be what changes on the ground

The Pacific is among the regions expected to benefit, but no individual beneficiary countries or project allocations have been identified. The next stage will be easier to judge once funding is tied to specific interventions.

Useful indicators will include whether certification becomes faster, whether regulatory coordination improves, whether digital tools are actually adopted and whether businesses face fewer procedural delays.

It will also be important to see who benefits first. If improvements are concentrated among firms that already have technical capacity, the development effect may remain limited. If smaller exporters gain easier access to certification and regulatory information, the impact could extend further through agricultural supply chains.