The National Service of Agri-Food Health and Quality (Senasa) reported on Monday (22.01.2024/XNUMX/XNUMX) that Argentina and Bolivia started the Electronic Phytosanitary Certification (e-Phyto, for its acronym in English) for the exchange of products and by-products of plant origin.
Senasa explained in a press release that this tool "eliminates the use of paper and enables the certificate to reach the country of destination of the merchandise in seconds," a key aspect to facilitate the import and export processes of such goodseg.
In this regard, he highlighted that Argentina uses electronic phytosanitary certification in the exchange of plant products with 41 countries. "We are one of the countries leading the implementation of e-Phyto worldwide, which began in 2020 together with Chile," said the National Director of Plant Protection of Senasa, Diego Quiroga.
During 2023, Argentina issued more than 1.700 phytosanitary certificates in commercial operations to Bolivia that covered exports of wheat grain and fresh apples for more than 58.100 tons. Regarding our imports, the main products that entered from Bolivia last year were soybeans and fresh bananas.
Authorities explained that Argentina also uses this tool with other countries, namely: the United States, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica; Paraguay, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, the countries of the European Union and China, among others (See table).
About e-Phyto
The e-Phyto System is of particular importance from the point of view of facilitating trade in products of plant origin by digitalising procedures, as well as the protection this offers to public health, through increased health and safety controls and traceability of goods.
Its development is an initiative of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) that encourages its implementation by the National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPO) of the contracting countries.
With the implementation of this tool, an exporting NPPO - for example Senasa - can transfer e-Phyto certificates through a secure "Hub" system (central IPPC certificate exchange system), which transfers that certificate to the "mailbox" of the importing country, from where it can be retrieved by the NPPO of the importing country.
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
