Food Protection Trends - November 2008 - 769

many of these perspectives. TPC has many benefits for firms, including improved company management and enhanced product acceptance by consumers, reinforcing the company’s competitiveness and decreasing marketing risk. Although the findings are based on a small sample, the analysis of opinions of producers in the four cities indicates that several areas deserve further attention. First, it is not easy to realize the benefits of the certifications in the domestic market. Respondents from 23.5% of firms noted that it was difficult for certified products to be sold at higher prices in the domestic market. Theoretically, thirdparty certification requires additional investment on the part of companies and, compared with uncertified products, the quality of certified products is assured; therefore, its price should be higher. But higher prices conflict with consumer preferences for high-quality, low-cost products. The overall income level in China is not very high, so the marketing environment for certified products is far from ideal. Second, additional education and promotion are needed. Chinese consumers have little understanding of certified products, and the market is difficult to develop. As for safe agro-products, green food, and organic food, many consumers are not aware of the differences between them and other, non-certified foods, let alone the difference between the three kinds of certified foods. Third, the coverage of TPC is still slight, and the variety of certified products is inadequate. The problem is due not only to inadequate development, but also to the unique characteristics of agricultural production (5). In the case of fisheries, the quality of the fish is easily influenced by the natural environment; water pollution, for example, can make it difficult for fish to meet standards for certification. As another example, the “Good Field Pigeon” company in Guangzhou sold 70 to 80 million pigeons in Guangdong province annually and had applied to the Ministry of Agriculture for safe agro-product certification. But since the baby pigeon feed was purchased from other producers and the quality did not meet the standards for green food, the company had to continue to delay its application for green food certification. Fourth, the costs of TPCs are high, especially given the small or nonexistent price differentials between certified and non-certified foods. The costs of certification are of two kinds: on the one hand, there is the cost incurred in preparing for certification, such as consulting fees, firm renovation costs, and certification fees; on the other hand, there are postcertification annual inspection fees. Many firms involved in the research paid more than US$10,000 annually and sometimes up to several hundred thousand US dollars for TPC. Considering their relatively small firm size, many firms said that the certification fee was too high for them, and created a financial burden. If certification fees are too high, the competitiveness of the certified firm’s product will be undermined. Fifth, more work needs to be done on post-certification monitoring and surveillance of firms. This applies both to the certification agencies and to the government. It is not difficult to find producers who continue to use certification logos, although they have violated regulations or have had their certifications expired. The regulatory offices and certification agencies devote most of their effort to the pre-certification process, such as inspection and the issuing of certification labels. Follow-up surveillance, inspection, and management are largely ignored. POLICy RECOMMENDATION FOR TPC Enhancing agro-product quality and safety through TPC development will be a significant and long-term strategic task for China’s agro-product quality and safety management. Especially given China’s accession to the WTO, certification for agro-product quality and safety is regarded as an important approach to realize international market access and to address global competition. The following require significant improvement if TPC for agro-product quality and safety is to develop successfully in China: First, management systems and measures must be improved. As the scale of TPC expands and it becomes well known by more and more people, certification bodies and government agencies will need to enforce monitoring and management more stringently. Problems associated with certified products not only directly harm consumer rights and interests, but also harm the standing of certification itself. Although China’s TPC is developing rapidly, the problem of ignoring the management of TPC exists, especially with respect to post-certification monitoring and supervision. Increasing the investment and strengthening follow-up monitoring and management of certification are regarded as an important approach. Certification bodies should inspect more carefully in the annual verification and should intensify the management of the certification logo in the future. Meanwhile, mass media, producers, and related agencies should popularize knowledge about good quality products and report counterfeit and shoddy products. Second, capability building by certification bodies is needed. TPC bodies should not only insist on and guarantee impartiality, seriousness and authority, but also recognize its service characteristic, including professional advice, clear certification procedures and so on. There is a need for simplification and cost-reduction in the certification process. Many firms argued that high costs, lengthy delays, and complicated procedures had discouraged them from applying for certification. High certification cost is a particularly prevalent problem in the certification of green food and organic food. Certification agencies should adjust fees so as to encourage firms to apply for certification. Only when they provide high quality service can certification bodies attract more clients. More professional training should be carried on to improve professional competencies as well. Considering the complaints from many firms about overly long certification procedures, simplifying the whole certification process, providing timely information regarding day-to-day issues and annual inspections, and providing more efficient service to clients should be achieved as soon as possible. Third, the scale and quantity of certified products must be expanded. The orientation of safe agro-products is to satisfy national compulsory requirements and consumer demand. Obviously, as a public good, certification should expand the supply of safe agro-products, shifting from a system of occasional examination and approval to a quality controlled NOVEMBER 2008 | FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS 769

Food Protection Trends - November 2008

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