BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:unctad.org BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6a71fb96c95f8 DTSTART:20190704T100000Z SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE DTEND:20190704T110000Z LOCATION:Geneva\, Switzerland SUMMARY:WTO A4T Side Event: Moving beyond SPS and TBT - Challenges of the G reen Market CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION: The market of sustainably-produced goods – the “green mar ket” - is growing rapidly all over the world\, as more and more consumer s care that small producers get an equitable share of the money they pay\, or that goods are produced in an environmentally-friendly manner.  This green market provides an opportunity for biodiversity-rich developing coun tries to achieve export growth and improve conditions for sustainable deve lopment at the same time. But challenges associated with entering the gree n market can be prohibitive to small producers and MSMEs. How can Aid for Trade help them make the best out of green market opportunities? This was the focus of the discussion on Challenges of the Green Market\, organised by UNCTAD in partnership with the Permanent Mission of Ecuador\, the Europ ean Commission (DEVCO) and Fair Trade Advocacy Office at the occasion of A id for Trade Global Review 2019. The debate was moderated by Isabelle Dura nt\, Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD. The panellists represented differ ent stakeholders in this debate: producing countries\, civil society organ izations and development partners. Panellists: (from left to right):Diego Aulestia\, Ambassador\, Permanent Mission of Ecuador to the WTOEric Beanta nana\, Economic and Trade Counsellor\, Permanent Mission of Madagascar to the United Nations GenevaSergi Corbalán\, Executive Director\, Fair Trade Advocacy OfficeIsabelle Durant\, Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD (mode rator)Bertrand Jolas\, Policy Officer\, Trade and Private Sector\, Directo rate General for International Cooperation and Development\, European Comm issionChristian Robin\, Deputy Head of Trade Promotion\, Swiss State Secre tariat for Economic Affairs The green market is hard to enterWith very f ew exceptions\, small producers and MSMEs cannot afford the costs of certi fication of voluntary sustainability standards (VSS)\, a proof that goods are produced sustainably. These requirements are value-chain specific\, co me in addition to SPS or TBT requirements\, and can be expensive to meet.  “In fact\, today’s green market is very much monopolised by large-sc ale farms and multinational corporations\, while small producers only sell to lower-priced bulk commodity markets”\, said Isabelle Durant\, Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD\, who moderated the session. She asked the sp eakers from Ecuador and Madagascar\, both extremely rich in biodiversity\, how they could make the most out of green market opportunities. For Ecuad or\, Ambassador Diego Aulestia of the Permanent Mission of Ecuador to WTO confirmed that the BioTrade Initiative of UNCTAD since 2001 has contribute d to the country’s public policy that helps people receive equitable ben efits from natural ingredients for pharmaceutical and beauty products with out destroying the natural environment. “But this requires investment an d local producers have limited access to financial services. Aid for Trade can alleviate investment needs”\, he said.Eric Beantanana of the Perman ent Mission of Madagascar to the UN Geneva said that “People in Madagasc ar do not know yet that biodiversity can be a strategic resource. Meeting organic\, Fairtrade and other sustainability standards for them is a stumb ling block rather than a tool to enter the green market. We need market in formation\, knowledge and quality infrastructure. Aid for Trade to allevia te these challenges can help Madagascar improve production and services in various sectors and move to higher value addition.” Sergi Corbalán of the Fair Trade Advocacy Office stressed that the green market should not b e about consumers and big businesses dictating standards and imposing them upon producers. “It should be about value chains that are more equitabl e\, where small producers and workers can bargain and receive better and f airer terms-of-trade. We are happy to partner with UNCTAD through its proj ects to transform value chains to become greener in a true sense for small producers\, workers and MSMEs”\, he said. Aid for Trade can help Aid f or trade can assist small produces to achieve VSS certification\, but this tends to be outside the radar of Aid for Trade activities. Key donors are looking into increasing their support to build the capacity of small prod ucers and MSMEs to enter the green market. Since 2003\, the Swiss State Se cretariat for Economic Affairs SECO has partnered with UNCTAD on BioTrade to enhance the linkages between sustainable trade and biodiversity. The Bi oTrade market is growing and currently valued at Euro 4.3 billion. “To e nhance this trend\, Aid for Trade can help make the regulatory framework f or production and trade\, both in producing and importing countries\, more conducive to BioTrade.”\, said Christian Robin of SECO.“To scale up s ustainable production and trade\, the European Commission mobilizes differ ent policy instruments to facilitate entry to the EU market for developing country producers”\, asserted Bertrand Jolas of the European Commission (DEVCO). Such policy instruments range from preferential market access to support to productive capacity building\, including investment support to MSMEs and sustainable agriculture. The discussion reasserted the need for UNCTAD to continue working with developing countries through National Gr een Export Reviews\, Fostering Green Exports through VSS project\, and the BioTrade Initiative in close partnership with the Aid for Trade donor com munity.   /topic/trade-and-environment/biotrade\n\nView meeting on uncta d.org\nhttps://unctad.org/meeting/wto-a4t-side-event-moving-beyond-sps-and -tbt-challenges-green-market DTSTAMP:20260804T144750Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR