Streamlining Agricultural Imports, Boosting Export Potential

Helping Jordan implement the Trade Facilitation Agreement

Article 2.2
Consultations

Each Member shall, as appropriate, provide for regular consultations between its border agencies and traders or other stakeholders located within its territory.
Article 7.1
Pre-arrival processing

1.1 Each Member shall adopt or maintain procedures allowing for the submission of import documentation and other required information, including manifests, in order to begin processing prior to the arrival of goods with a view to expediting the release of goods upon arrival.

1.2 Each Member shall, as appropriate, provide for advance lodging of documents in electronic format for pre-arrival processing of such documents.
Article 7.9
Perishable Goods

9.1 With a view to preventing avoidable loss or deterioration of perishable goods, and provided that all regulatory requirements have been met, each Member shall provide for the release of perishable goods:

(a) under normal circumstances within the shortest possible time; and

(b) in exceptional circumstances where it would be appropriate to do so, outside the business hours of customs and other relevant authorities.

9.2 Each Member shall give appropriate priority to perishable goods when scheduling any examinations that may be required.

9.3 Each Member shall either arrange or allow an importer to arrange for the proper storage of perishable goods pending their release. The Member may require that any storage facilities arranged by the importer have been approved or designated by its relevant authorities. The movement of the goods to those storage facilities, including authorizations for the operator moving the goods, may be subject to the approval, where required, of the relevant authorities. The Member shall, where practicable and consistent with domestic legislation, upon the request of the importer, provide for any procedures necessary for release to take place at those storage facilities.

9.4 In cases of significant delay in the release of perishable goods, and upon written request, the importing Member shall, to the extent practicable, provide a communication on the reasons for the delay.
Article 8
Border agency cooperation

1. Each Member shall ensure that its authorities and agencies responsible for border controls and procedures dealing with the importation, exportation, and transit of goods cooperate with one another and coordinate their activities in order to facilitate trade.

2. Each Member shall, to the extent possible and practicable, cooperate on mutually agreed terms with other Members with whom it shares a common border with a view to coordinating procedures at border crossings to facilitate cross-border trade. Such cooperation and coordination may include:

(a) alignment of working days and hours;

(b) alignment of procedures and formalities;

(c) development and sharing of common facilities;

(d) joint controls;

(e) establishment of one stop border post control.
Article 10.1
Formalities and documentation requirements

1 Formalities and Documentation Requirements

1.1 With a view to minimizing the incidence and complexity of import, export, and transit formalities and to decreasing and simplifying import, export, and transit documentation requirements and taking into account the legitimate policy objectives and other factors such as changed circumstances, relevant new information, business practices, availability of techniques and technology, international best practices, and inputs from interested parties, each Member shall review such formalities and documentation requirements and, based on the results of the review, ensure, as appropriate, that such formalities and documentation requirements are:

(a) adopted and/or applied with a view to a rapid release and clearance of goods, particularly perishable goods;

(b) adopted and/or applied in a manner that aims at reducing the time and cost of compliance for traders and operators;

(c) the least trade restrictive measure chosen where two or more alternative measures are reasonably available for fulfilling the policy objective or objectives in question; and

(d) not maintained, including parts thereof, if no longer required.

1.2 The Committee shall develop procedures for the sharing by Members of relevant information and best practices, as appropriate.
Article 10.4
Single Window

4.1 Members shall endeavour to establish or maintain a single window, enabling traders to submit documentation and/or data requirements for importation, exportation, or transit of goods through a single entry point to the participating authorities or agencies. After the examination by the participating authorities or agencies of the documentation and/or data, the results shall be notified to the applicants through the single window in a timely manner.

4.2 In cases where documentation and/or data requirements have already been received through the single window, the same documentation and/or data requirements shall not be requested by participating authorities or agencies except in urgent circumstances and other limited exceptions which are made public.

4.3 Members shall notify the Committee of the details of operation of the single window.

4.4 Members shall, to the extent possible and practicable, use information technology to support the single window.

Project Updates
Jordan Launches Electronic Phytosanitary Certification
December 12, 2022

This Alliance project cut the time and costs of border clearance for perishable food products, benefitting Jordan’s agricultural sector.

Traders shipping plants or plant products had to acquire a paper phytosanitary certificate to show that the material is considered free from pests and that they comply with plant health regulations. Jordan aimed to enhance the use of automated systems for this verification process, removing the risk of erroneous, lost, or damaged paperwork that can take time to resolve, leaving stranded produce to spoil.

The Alliance had already gained valuable experience supporting the implementation of this digitalised approach in Morocco, Ecuador, Madagascar, Senegal, and has other ePhyto projects underway in Colombia, and Thailand.

What we did

Our project supported the Jordanian government in introducing electronic phytosanitary certificates, or ePhytos, and in joining the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) ePhyto Hub, allowing member countries to electronically exchange ePhytos with trading partners quickly, accurately, and at low cost.

The Alliance implemented the project in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply, Jordan Customs Single Window and the local and international private sector.

Benefits

The use of ePhytos has:

meant certificates are transferred between parties quickly, accurately and at low cost, reducing the time and cost burden on both traders and border agencies
enhanced Jordan’s global trade competitiveness by allowing the agricultural sector to conform to international business standards
paved the way for Jordan to exchange other types of data with trading partners
reduced the risk of loss or fraud, helping ensure any threats to plant health through trade are stopped in their tracks

Overall, the project can also contribute to food security by ensuring that shipments are not getting stuck and spoiled at border checkpoints. Ease of trade with other ePhyto Hub countries can make exports more attractive, benefiting local traders and farmers.

Measurement

The Alliance used its Total Trade Logistics Cost (TTLC) methodology at the project’s outset and again at its conclusion to determine how the project contributed to lower costs and time saved in import and export processes at the border.

Timeline

The project took 15 months and was implemented in five phases:

Phase 1

In progress

Legal review of existing regulations on phytosanitary procedures and electronic signatures

Phase 2

In progress

Analyses of current scenario and mapping of procedures

Phase 3

In progress

Implementation of the IPPC ePhyto system

Phase 4

In progress

Capacity building and training

Phase 5

In progress

Communications and awareness-building in the private sector

Get involved

Find out more about how to get involved with the Alliance. Click on the relevant icon:

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Discover our project in Tunisia

Modernising agri-food clearance procedures

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Jordan
Achieved

Adopting electronic phytosanitary exchange

What we did

Benefits

Measurement

Timeline

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