1. Workshop on Animal health and regional policies to support trade AGR 45933 Animal Trade Palestinian Authority Dr. Samir Alfuqaha Head of Sanitary Committee OIE- food safety focal point

2. Animal census in Palestine Small ruminants950,000 Cattle23,400 Broilers52,000,000 Layers5,500,000

3. In Palestine there are 315 veterinarians distributed as follow Vets No.Locations 72 Veterinary Services and Animal Health 39 Slaughterhouses and meat inspection 12 Public health sector 2 Meat processing factories 15 Academic institutions 2 Zoo vets 10 Poultry integrated companies 12 Veterinary medicine factories 151 Private practitioners and veterinary products

4. Structure of the Veterinary Services & Animal Health in PA General Director for Veterinary Services and Animal Health Central technical departments Field Vet servicesVet controlVet public healthVet epidemiologyVet laboratories Vaccination Logistics Private sector Medicine - registration Import & export Vet quarantine Zoonosis investigation Meat & milk hygiene Licensing & control slaughterhouses Surveillance Training and education One central and Three peripherals Peripheral districts departments Seventeen districts veterinary directorates Execute the technical activities and deliver the services Feed the central technical departments with the relevant data Report the Director General

5. Animal Health procedures in PA are regulated by deferent enacting legislations; Animal health control bylaw 5/2010 Veterinary quarantine bylaw 3/2010 Presidential decree on borders entrance points 16/2006 Public Health law 20/2004 Agriculture law 2/2003 Local governorates law 1/1997 Article VIII of the Paris Protocol on agricultural topics between Israel and PA, signed in April 1994 Poultry import & export bylaw 7/1966 Veterinarians law 7/1960 Slaughterhouses bylaw 1/1956 Animal products import & export bylaw 3/1955 Animal diseases law 39/1954

6. Paris Protocol on agricultural topics between Israel and PA, signed in April 1994 “Trade between the two sides in animals, animal products and biological products will be in keeping with the principles and definitions set out in the current edition of the OIE International Animal Health Code as updated from time to time (hereinafter - I.A.H.C.).” The former International Animal Health Code of the OIE has been replaced recently by the Terrestrial Animal Health Code (2004) and the Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals (2004)

7. Animal / products Trade in PA – 2010 Export Processed meat to Jordan, SA, UAE and Iraq700263kg Leather to Turkey77000 pieces Leather to Israel41000 pieces Ice cream to Jordan81918 kg Honey bee to Kuwait 1200 kg1200 kg Poultry frozen legs to Vietnam22000 kg

8. Animal / products Trade in PA – 2010…continue Import from Israel Cattle2404 heads Fish13950 kg Turkey meat125033 kg Turkey day old chicks27431 Layers day old chick350197 Hatching eggs399000 MSM299183 kg Frozen poultry meat305528

9. Animal / products Trade in PA – 2010 … continue International import (Australia, new Zealand, Brazil, China, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Vietnam, Spain and Estonia) Sheep2000 heads Frozen beef9370 tones Frozen lamb1310 tones Frozen fish1641 tones Salted fish24 tones Beef offal108 tones Sheep offal47 tones

10. OIE/Performance of Veterinary Service (PVS) Evaluation Mission World Animal Health Organisation (OIE)/PVS Evaluation mission took place in 22-30 June 2010, as a response to PA official request in August 2008 Purpose of the Mission was to identify strengths and gaps in the vet. Services capability according to the criteria set out by the OIE terrestrial animal Health Code, and to come up with evidence based recommendations

11. Summary of the findings of the PVS Level of advancement Critical competencies12345 I. HUMAN, PHYSICAL FINANCIAL RESOURCES I.1.A. Staffing: Veterinarians and other professionals I.1.B. Staffing: Veterinary paraprofessionals and other I.2.A. Professional competencies of veterinarians I.2.B. Competencies of veterinary paraprofessionals I-3. Continuing education I-4. Technical independence I-5. Stability of structures and sustainability of policies I-6.A. Internal coordination (chain of command) I-6.B. External coordination I-7. Physical resources I-8. Operational funding I-9. Emergency funding I-10. Capital investment I-11. Management of resources and operations

12. Summary of the findings of the PVS...continue II. TECHNICAL AUTHORITY CAPABILITY II-1. Veterinary laboratory diagnosis II-2. Laboratory Quality Assurance II-3. Risk analysis II-4. Quarantine and border security II-5.A. Passive epidemiological surveillance II-5.B. Active epidemiological surveillance II-6. Early detection and emergency response II-7. Disease prevention, control and eradication II-8.A. Ante and post mortem inspection II-8.B. Inspection of collection, processing and distribution II-9. Veterinary medicines and biologicals II-10. Residue testing II-11. Emerging issues II-12. Technical innovation II-13.A. Animal identification and movement control II-13.B. Identification and traceability of animal products II.14 Animal welfare

13. Summary of the findings of the PVS...continue III. INTERACTION WITH STAKEHOLDERS III-1. Communications III-2. Consultation with stakeholders III-3. Official representation III-4. Accreditation/authorisation/delegation III-5.A. Veterinary Statutory Body Authority III-5.B. Veterinary Statutory Body Capacity III-6. Participation of producers and other stakeholders IV. ACCESS TO MARKETS IV-1. Preparation of legislation and regulations IV-2. Implementation of legislation and regulations IV-3. International harmonisation IV-4. International certification IV-5. Equivalence and other types of sanitary agreements IV-6. Transparency IV-7. Zoning IV-8. Compartmentalisation

14. TAIEX Assessment Mission to PA on SPS Policies Jan 2011 The following points were evaluated by the mission team; The animal health situation - the routine animal health controls, disease notification and control systems, disease outbreaks, vaccination, pre-export checks The competent authority control systems – management structures, independence of the official services, resources, personnel, recruitment and training, legal/enforcement powers, prioritization of controls, laboratory service, chemical and microbiological food safety controls, residue controls, controls on the use and distribution of veterinary drugs The farm registration The animal identification and movement controls The laboratory operations The food safety standards

15. Key recommendations of the TAEIX mission Should the Palestinian Authority choose to ensure compliance with EU standards, the following points should be considered; A clear definition of responsibilities of the Competent Authority in the whole chain of production is needed, and no part of the chain should be excluded, This will probably only be possible after structural changes in the present system General hygiene improvement through the application of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, the General Food Law and Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 - Hygiene of foodstuffs Legislation in the veterinary field requires updating as it was mostly formulated in line with neighboring countries within the region, other than Israel. Regulation (EC) No 178/2002; Regulation (EC) No 853/2004. specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin, Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 - Official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption

16. Key recommendations of the TAEIX mission…continue Define the legal power of official veterinarians. It should be made clear that official veterinarians are independent of the companies and employed by the State Introduce a risk-based approach in food inspection and food sampling Consider the work of the Codex and the comparatively recent WTO Agreements on SPS and Technical Barriers to Trade Increase the transparency on activities making available written records or checklists at each premises visited and for every visit Make the HACCP system a legal requirement for food industry, rather than voluntary Develop a control plan for pesticide residue analysis The laboratory, currently accredited to ISO 17025 by PSI accreditation, must base its work on internationally recognized procedures to be able to certify products for international trade Investigate the possibility for support by the EU community reference labs. The EU community reference laboratories have an official task in supporting laboratories in other countries that may export to the EU

17. Future priority plans The multi-sectoral preparations particularly the SPS issues to join the WTO observe ship Improving Food Safety in the WBGS through the Establishment of a National Program for Animal Identification and Animal Products Traceability Up scaling the Central Veterinary Laboratory Build up borders veterinary quarantine stations

18. Thank you for your kind attention