Standards & Quality: Pre-shipment Conformity Programme Reviewed

#Economie

An inter-ministerial committee meeting took place over the weekend in Yaounde and the programme is now set to move from its pilot phase into full implementation

A meeting to review the pilot phase of the Pre-shipment Conformity Assessment Programme for Goods Imported into Cameroon (PECAE) spearheaded by the Standards and Quality Agency (ANOR) has taken place in Yaounde. The meeting brought together members of the Inter-ministerial Committee for the Follow-up and Evaluation of Pre-shipment Conformity Assessment Programme (CISE-PECAE).

During the meeting on Friday December 21, 2018, committee members reviewed the dispositions taken so far for the putting in place of PECAE, the technical aspects of the programme, the difficulties encountered and the corrective measures adopted. They also previewed the full implementation of the programme as well as made some recommendations.

According to Maman Luc Claude, Sub-Director of Communication of ANOR, more goods of doubtful quality will no longer be able to enter the country because PECAE in its pilot phase has been strict on standard and norms. The pilot phase of PECAE, which has lasted two years, is said to have been limited to goods imported into the country by sea and air. But officials are considering extending it to goods brought in by road when PECAE’s full implementation begins in 2019.

PECAE will undoubtedly contribute to the promotion of healthy competition between companies and the fight against smuggling and counterfeit in Cameroun. The programme’s objectives include ensuring food safety and the protection of the health of consumers, as well as environmental protection. It also seeks to protect local industries from unhealthy competition and the importation of sub-standards raw material.

Again, PECAE is setup to prevent the risk of the rejection of certain goods by Cameroon and fostering the engagement of the country in simplifying port clearance procedures.

PECAE is coming at a time when international economic competition has given room to a rise in the production of goods of doubtful quality and those that do not meet international standards, norms and quality.

The liberalization of trade, with the coming of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the EU-ACP Economic Partnership Agreement and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, make the putting in place of PECAE more important.

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