GPC Supports 17 Governments’ Call for Strengthening CODEX and Providing Farmers with Tools to Access International Markets

The Global Pulse Confederation (GPC) welcomed a joint statement issued this week from 17 governments participating in the 11th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The joint statement emphasized the importance of strengthening science-based Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures (SPS) and supporting farmer access to a broader range of tools and technologies.

The Global Pulse Confederation (GPC) welcomed a joint statement issued this week from 17 governments participating in the 11th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The joint statement emphasized the importance of strengthening science-based Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures (SPS) and supporting farmer access to a broader range of tools and technologies. The statement also highlighted the need to increase the capacity and efficiency of Codex Alimentarius in setting international standards on pesticide maximum residue limits (MRLs), while increasing international harmonization of MRLs.

GPC President Huseyin Arslan supported the joint statement, saying “If we are going to increase food security and food production to meet needs of a rapidly-growing population we have to produce nutritious, higher-yielding pulse crops. In order to do that, we must help farmers, particularly those in developing countries, with the new tools and technologies they need to participate in international markets – including greater access to new crop protectants. And we must also ensure farmers have free and fair access to international markets by supporting science based SPS measures and MRLs that are set in a way that is transparent, predictable and consistent.”