ITC consultants assist producers of fruit and vegetables in the implementation of GLOBALG.A.P

The International Trade Center consultants assist producers of fruit and vegetables in the implementation of GLOBALG.A.P.

ITC consultant Nina Dmytrash has conducted an initial audit of four farms that have decided to certify their products. These are Demetralex (Zaporizhzhya oblast), Obriy, LLC Organik D (Vinnytsia oblast) and Danube Agrarian LLC (Odesa oblast).

Nina Dmytrash says all farms are interested in fulfilling all the requirements, go through the certification and thus increase their competitiveness.

The initial audit

“This was the first visit to enterprises to conduct an initial assessment of compliance with GLOBALG.A.P. We went through each checkpoint, looked at what had already been accomplished and what needed to be done, and then prepared an appropriate plan for each enterprise,” Nina Dmitrash comments.

According to her, further enterprises will prepare documents that will need to be kept constantly, will implement requirements on hygiene, occupational safety, conformity of equipment, premises for storage of fertilizers and plant protection products and others.

Businesses also need to sign contracts with waste management companies with possible subcontractors.

“There is a lot of work to be done, but every company has the understanding it is not as difficult as it might seem at first. You just need to structure this work, properly organize accounting, perform checkpoints and continue to follow these rules,” says Nina Dmytrash.

The effect of the quarantine

According to Nina Dmytrash, it is difficult to predict how quarantine will affect certification through the spread of COVID-19, but at this stage, everything goes according to plan.

“If we cannot go to the companies, then we work online. We develop the documentation, check it online. Most of the work has to be done at the company. It is agriculture, it cannot standstill. The land must be cultivated, so this situation should not be affected. The certification itself occurs at the time of harvest. The closest is June, the onion collection in Organic D. I think, by this time, all the planned certification work will be done,” Nina Dmytrash said.

What is GLOBALG.A.P.?

A GLOBALG.A.P. certificate is a book with checkpoints that have eligibility criteria. To be certified, the manufacturer must comply with 89 major, 114 minor and 15 recommendation points.

It is a certification of not the final product, but production technology, from planting material or seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides to post-harvest processing and storage, if any.

GLOBALG.A.P certificate for consumers and retailers means confirmation that the product is in compliance with the appropriate safety and quality standards, manufactured in compliance with environmental standards, with concern for the health and safety of workers, the state of the environment.

ITC consultants help Ukrainian producers in the Project “Linking Ukrainian SMEs in the Fruits and Vegetables Sector to Global and Domestic Markets and Value Chains”.

The Project helps small and medium-sized producers and processors of fresh vegetables and fruits in the southern and central regions of Ukraine to increase their competitiveness, integrate into national and global value chains, and access new markets with a focus on EU markets.

The Project is funded by the Swedish Government and implemented by ITC in close collaboration with the national partners of the Project.

%d bloggers like this: