Agricultural Trade Facilitation in the Greater Mekong Subregion
The main focus of agricultural trade facilitation is on the procedures that such trade undergoes in moving from the country of origin to the country of destination. Many, if not most of these procedures, are bureaucratic in nature involving papers and documents required for the traded products to be cleared and released to consignee (or loaded on the transport facility in case of exports). This follows the general meaning of trade facilitation as defined by the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development as “…simplification and harmonisation of international trade procedures that include activities, practices and formalities related to the collection, presentation, communication and processing of data required for the movement of goods…”1 Traditionally, this was confined to the processes and procedures at the borders, but with the expanded and more integrated logistics approach this has encompassed behind-the-border processes and procedures on both the production and consumption sides.
Goal: To improve the flow of agricultural products between and among the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries, and between them and the rest of the world.
Objectives:
• To encourage the integration of new agriculture and its trade in country agricultural development plans and strategies.
• To promote a GMS subregional plan in agriculture that aims to increase cross-border trade in agricultural products.
• To formulate country-level and region-level programs and projects intended to contribute to the goal of improving trade in agricultural products.
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Asian Development Bank (ADB)