Private standards and sustainable trade

What is the impact of private standard certification in Angola and Vietnam on access to local and international markets for beef and milk?
How does private certification affect labour conditions at farm level in the two countries?
What are the economic and social impacts of private standard certification at different levels (production, processing and retailers)?
How can private certification standards contribute to achieving relevant SDGs (specifically SDG1 ‘No poverty’, SDG2 ‘Zero Hunger’, SDG3 ‘Good Health and Well-being’, SDG13 ‘Climate Action’ and SDG15 ‘Life on Land’)?

Driven by consumer demand, retailers are increasingly asking for certified products in order to be able to show how a specific product was produced and how minimum standards have been met. Private organizations have created voluntary certification systems to provide assurance to consumers and retailers. One example of these systems is GLOBAL G.A.P. certification. In collaboration with GLOBAL G.A.P., two food chains – dairy sector in Viet¬nam and beef in Angola – have been identified to investigate how standards are applied and to assess the impact this has.

Relationships between farmers, processors and retailers and GLOBAL G.A.P as governance framework.

Policies related to market access and labour legislation that affect farm level decision-making in the case study countries will be examined. Particular attention is paid to the differences between the voluntary private standards required by GLOBAL G.A.P and national legislative requirements. The differences between national legislation and private standards will be compared with EU legislation to investigate how these differences affect competitiveness and dairy and beef trade.

Voluntary certification standards influence access to markets such as the EU market, and certification also impacts the competitiveness of food businesses and chains.

With the collaboration of GLOBAL G.A.P., data from the two supply chains in Vietnam and Angola will be collected and analysed. Interviews will be carried out with local stakeholders such as dairy and beef farmers and processors. The collected information will be compared with the requirements dairy and beef supply chains need to comply with outside GLOBAL G.A.P certification.

Primary data will be collected at farm and processing level in Vietnam and Angola by GLOBAL G.A.P experts. Other sources of information will be identified to compare the GLOBAL G.A.P standards with national requirements in both countries.

The case study will show how the certification schemes in force can affect market access, dairy and beef commodity trade, and farm economies. The assessment of the impacts of certification on labour conditions in supply chains will help to improve these and increase the contribution of voluntary certification standards to the achievement of relevant SDGs. Finally, the case study will also help to detect the limits and the potential implementation of GLOBAL G.A.P. in other countries.