By Andy Young
The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group has introduced a new export certificate, which it says will reduce red tape for businesses looking at wine trade opportunities in the region.
The APEC Model Wine Export Certificate will consolidate all existing certificate requirements in the region and between member countries, into a single certificate usable across the region.
“APEC’s new model wine export certificate will reduce administrative burdens for producers endeavouring to take advantage of the increasing taste for wine in the region,” said Rocío Barrios Alvarado, chair of the APEC Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance, which administered this development.
“The measure will allow for the bundling of export certificates for traders of wine that are currently required by individual APEC economies and frequently cover areas like product origin, authenticity and health and sanitation,” he added.
The value of wine trade between APEC economies has more than tripled to over US$23 billion since 2000. But businesses in the sector incur an estimated US$1 billion in costs annually due to the emergence of unnecessary non-tariff barriers, with multiple, overlapping export certificates for wine imports contributing considerably to this total.
“The APEC Model Wine Export Certificate is a win-win for the industry and the bodies that regulate it,” said Jamie Ferman of the United States Department of Commerce. “Adoption of the model certificate will enable regulators to shift scarce resources currently used to review and stamp wine certificates to higher risk food products.”
Tom LaFaille, International Trade Counsel for the Wine Institute, private sector overseer of the APEC Wine Regulatory Forum, added: “Easier, more inclusive wine trade can improve product availability and prices for consumers and improve job creation and growth. Simplified wine trade procedures and lower compliance costs targeted by the model certificate could provide a significant industry boost, particularly among smaller, more resource constrained producers.
“Implementation of the model by interested APEC economies will help to further realise the industry’s potential.”
More details on the APEC Model Wine Export Certificate and how it will work are available from the APEC website.