These are the steps to obtain the Phytosanitary and Zoosanitary Export Certificate for livestock and vegetable products

The document is mandatory for all companies or SMEs that wish to carry out the process of standardizing health requirements with importing countries.

More and more non-traditional products have opened up markets outside of Ecuador. Having the Phytosanitary Export Certificate is mandatory for all companies or SMEs that wish to carry out the process of standardizing sanitary requirements with importing countries for both livestock and vegetable products.

The Phytosanitary and Zoosanitary Regulation and Control Agency (Agrocalidad) is the one that issues this guarantee and the steps to obtain it are different between livestock and vegetable products.

February 15, 2022vegetable products, required for all fresh or minimally processed vegetable products, the potential future exporter must take the following steps:

1. Register as an operator in the Agrocalidad GUIA systemand at the Ecuadorian Single Window (VUE) of theNational Customs Service of Ecuador(Sena). This process is done online, at no cost and is done at the following links:https://guia.agrocalidad.gob.ec/agrodb/ingreso.phpandhttps://portal.aduana.gob.ec/de.

2. Request the phytosanitary inspection, which will be done immediately. The interested party must ensure that their product has complied with the procedures or treatments required by the importing country (industrial drying, heat treatment, fumigation, among others).

The inspection is requested via email to the technicians of the province where the product is ready for export, at least 48 hours before departure. Once the inspection is finished, the inspector will give you a report, which is used to request the Phytosanitary Export Certificate through the VUE portal.

3. Obtaining the Phytosanitary Export Certificate.Once the favorable inspection report has been obtained, the user must request the Phytosanitary Export Certificate for each shipment on the VUE portal, attaching the report of the inspection carried out, and a code will be assigned to pay the respective fee at the agencies of the Banco Guayaquil or Banco del Pacífico.

Once canceled, the user must go to the control point -that is, to the Agrocalidad offices, located in ports, airports or border crossings-, where the Certificate that will accompany the product until it enters the importing country will be delivered.

In the last three years, the issuance, through the Animal Health Coordination, must comply with two processes. In 2019, 241,276 were issued; in 2020, 193,640; and this 2021, until September, 294,408 certificates have been issued.

February 15, 2022livestock products, through the Animal Health Coordination, must comply with two processes.

1) Register as an exporter of livestock merchandise approaching the office of the District Directorate of Agrocalidad of the province where the company is located to request an inspection to assess whether the company complies with the sanitary parameters required by the importing country.

2) Obtain the Zoosanitary Export Certificate (CZE)of livestock merchandise, for this the exporter must:

• Register as a foreign trade operator in the Ecuapass Systemof the Senae through the VUE and each export must declare the livestock merchandise that is going to leave.
• Register as an exporter in the GUIA system of Agrocalidadto receive the inspection visit of the livestock merchandise by the entity.

Agrocalidad has in its registry that under the figure of exporter, so far this year, there are three companies; last year there were seven, in 2019 they did nine and in 2018 eight were registered.

On the CZE, the entity has issued from January to October 293 certificates; last year, 268; in 2019, 346; and 317, in 2018.