Food safety issues and fresh food product exports from LDCs

Fresh food products have a high income elasticity of demand and few traditi onal trade barriers in high income markets. As such, they represent an impo rtant opportunity for less developed country (LDC) exporters. Fresh food pr oduct exports account for half of all food and agricultural exports from LD Cs to high income countries. But these products may be subject to greater f ood safety risks and potential trade barriers arising from sanitary regulat ion. This paper reviews the challenges and issues facing LDCs in meeting fo od safety standards for export. These issues include: (a) the importance of fresh food product trade by region and the kinds of issues that arise from those products; (b) the role of farm to table approaches and hazard analys is critical control points (HACCP) in ensuring safety; (c) the role of the public sector in LDCs in facilitating trade; (d) the potential role of the SPS Agreement in resolving disputes and determining equivalency of standard s between high and low income countries. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. JEL classification: F1; Q1; Q1.