The launch of Fiji’s Electronic Phytosanitary Enhanced Services is a transformation that has the potential to boost Fiji’s trade in agriculture and promote efficiency in the entire export supply chain.
Speaking at the launch in Suva last week, permanent secretary for Trade, Co-operatives, SMEs and Communications Shaheen Ali said the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji (BAF) developed the capacity to exchange electronic phytosanitary certificates, or ePhytos, which provided numerous benefits to the private sector, to the quarantine authority and to the country as a whole.
“One of the primary advantages of ePhytos is that they can significantly reduce the time and cost associated with paper-based systems for traders and border agencies.
“The adoption of ePhytos, means that documents can be exchanged instantly and securely between authorised parties, eliminating the need for physical delivery, and reducing the risk of loss or damage,” he said.
According to BAF the web-based program would improve the export and import processes of plants and plant products in Fiji. In a media release BAF highlighted that the ePhyto solution was an initiative of the international Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) to assist countries in exchanging the Electronic Phytosanitary Certificates between the trading countries.
The implementation of the web-based solution for Fiji has been supported by the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation and GFA Consulting Group.
BAF chief executive officer Michael Bartless said the development and implementation of the ePhyto system represented a great step forward in the efficacy, efficiency and transparency of international trade in Fiji.
Mr Bartlett said the time and transactional costs saved by importers, exporters and regulatory authorities through ePhyto would translate in a manifest increase in the ease of doing business in Fiji.
According to Mr Bartlett the electronic phytosanitary certificates are needed to prove that exported and imported plants and plant products meet the requirements of the receiving countries. The use of the ePhyto solution will make trading safer, faster and cheaper.
Mr Bartlett said over the past months, BAF had trained their own biosecurity officers as well as private sector companies in the use of the system.
He said with support of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, BAF had procured new IT equipment that would enable BAF officers to receive applications, inspect the goods and generate the certificates online.
The ePhyto solution will then send the certificates to the receiving country within minutes.
According to BAF going forward the paper-based process to generate phytosanitary certificates will be phased out and BAF will transition to a solely electronic process wherever possible as BAF is in discussion with other trading countries to engage in ePhytos.
