RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE IMA/INV/4
21June1995
ORGANIZATION(95-1623)
International Bovine Meat Agreement Original: Spanish
INTERNATIONAL MEAT COUNCIL
Inventory ofDomestic Policies andTrade Measures
Colombia
Parties agreed to"provide information ontheirdomestic policies andtrademeasures including
bilateral andplurilateral commitments inthebovine meatsector, andshallnotify asearly aspossible
anychanges insuchpolicies andmeasures thatarelikely toaffect international trade inbovine meat
andliveanimals" (Article III:3). TheSecretariat "shall draw upandkeepuptodateaninventory of
allmeasures affecting trade inbovine meatandliveanimals, including commitments resulting from
bilateral, plurilateral andmultilateral negotiations" (Article III:4).
Thedocumentscontainingtherepliestothequestionnaireondomesticpoliciesandtrademeasures
arecirculated under theseries IMA/INV. They willberevised asandwhen changes arenotified.IMA/INV/4
Page2
PART A
Information onDomestic Policies andTrade Measures
Production
InColombia, 85percentofcattle farms formeat production areoftheextensive type,
11percentofthesemi-intensive typeand4percentoftheintensive type,foratotalof800,000 farms
withanaverage areaof30hectares, anaverage totalcattle herdof24million headandafarmed area
of27million hectares. Thetotal value ofbovine output for1994 wasCol$35,910,000
(1975 Colombian pesos).
Thebovine livestock sector accounts for20.6percentoftotalagricultural production and
60.7percentoflivestock production. Policies arecurrently being introduced toreactivate production,
since cattle farming isgoing through acrisis onaccount oftheviolence andinsecurity affecting rural
areas inparticular.
Approximately twothirds oftheagricultural landavailable isusedforstock breeding, with
awiderange ofproduction systems (27million hectares).
Asregards theuseandproduction oftheexisting livestock herd, therearethreeclearly defined
types offarming: specialized dairy production, 1.5million head; meatproduction, 5.5million head;
andfarms forbreeding andmilkproduction anddual-purpose farms, 17million head.
Policies
Asregardsdirectandindirectpolicies,theNationalGovernmentiscurrentlydevelopinganational
system ofclassification andgrading ofbovine-meat carcasses andcutsbased onyieldandgeneral quality
standards, withtheaimofestablishing differential price scales thatwillnotonlystimulate production
andimprove theproduction process butalsohelptomodernize marketing andencourage consumption.
Within thisframework, thestock farmers 'associations, meat-packing plants andLivestock
Funds willbeabletoestablish theirownstructure todivide upthemeatmarket intosegments, taking
intoaccount thedisposable income ofconsumers. TheMinistry ofAgriculture andRural Development
issupporting theinitiatives thattheprivate sector istaking inthisrespect.
Themodernization ofthesystem should result inbetter prices fortheproducer, withpayment
related toquality andstable prices fortheconsumer differing according totypeandquality. Inthe
medium term, economic incentives should favour greater investment intechnology andleadtohigher
productivity.
Alongside thesystem ofclassification ofcarcasses, anational system ofprice andmarket
information isbeing developed. Theaimofthissystem istoensure market transparency byproviding
producers withthemeans ofobtaining first-hand references andinformation, thereby enabling users
tocarry outtheircommercial transactions onthebasis ofrepresentative prices which willbeposted
intheprincipal agricultural marketing centres ofthecountry, thusensuring market transparency.
Atthesame timetheenactment bytheCongress oftheRepublic oftheGeneral Agricultural
andFishery Development Act,Law101of1993, asthelegalframework supporting theagricultural
sector, hasmade itpossible topursue short-term recovery policies andmedium- andlong-term policies
ofsustained development. Thepolicy under wayisbased ontheobjectives ofsafeguarding food
production, enhancing production efficiency andcompetitiveness, adapting thesector totheIMA/INV/4
Page3
internationalization oftheeconomy, promoting modernization ofagricultural andfishery marketing,
providing asufficient volume ofcredit, encouraging technological development andstrengthening social
policy inrural areas.
Thanks tothepossibilities offered byLaw101of1993, dynamic mechanisms havealready
beenestablished forthemodernization oftheproduction andmarketing processes, including inparticular
theruralcapitalization incentive (ICR), which isusedtocreate greater opportunities forthefunding
offorward-looking projects adjusted tothemodel ofmodernization, competitiveness andsustainability
oftheagricultural sector.
With aviewtomodernizing thehandling, processing andmarketing ofagricultural products,
theMinistryofAgricultureandRuralDevelopment,throughtheAgriculturalMarketingInstituteIDEMA,
hassetuptheEMPRENDER ("enterprise") fundwhich usesriskcapital withtheaimoffinancing
specific projects ofanentrepreneurial nature.
Another scheme being promoted bytheMinistry ofAgriculture andRural Development is
thealternative development programme tobeimplemented inareas where illegal crops aregrown;
itprovides fortheparticipation oftheLivestock Funds. Theaimistoprovide averysoftandeasily
obtainable lineofcredit fortheestablishment ofstockbreeding farms asanalternative programme.
TheNational Livestock Fund setupunder Law89of10December 1993 earmarks funds for
livestock anddairy promotion, which willbeinvested essentially inthemodernization ofmeat and
dairy product marketing, support forlivestock, meatanddairy exports, basic infrastructure, funding
ofresearch, technological development andlivestock promotion programmes andprojects, and
establishment ofindustrial andtrading enterprises.
Credit
Law16of1990 setuptheNational Agricultural Credit System, consisting oftheNational
Agricultural Credit Commission, asapolicy instrument fortheMinistry ofAgriculture andRural
Development, andFINAGRO forpolicy implementation, withaviewtostreamlining procedures and
ensuring greater flexibility.
Inthisconnection, itisworth mentioning theestablishment ofrediscount linesforthefollowing
activities: warehousing, marketing andprimary processing ofcrops andlivestock andfishery products
byproducers, acquisition andpreparation ofland, increase ofthelivestock herd, retention offemale
animals andadaptation offarms, construction andoperation ofcoldstorage systems, andfinancing
ofmarketing through agricultural commodity exchanges.
Theoverall programme executed in1994, excluding pledge bonds (192thousand million pesos)
amounted to600,794.4 million pesos, 36percentmorethanthe440,780.1 million pesos oftheprevious
year. Ofthistotalamount, 291,252.6 million pesos (48.4 percent) wassetaside asworking capital
and309,541.8 million pesos (51.6 percent) wasallocated asinvestment credit.
Asregards bovine livestock activities in1994, 1,840 million pesos weregranted intheform
ofworking capital credits and15,950 million pesos intheform ofinvestment, foratotal of
17,790 million pesos.
Animal health
Thetaskofcontrolling anderadicating foot-and-mouth disease continues, withtheaimof
expanding thedisease-free area(URABA) byreinforcing theICA-USDA programme. Twodisease-freeIMA/INV/4
Page4
areas havealready beendesignated (Area No.1,theChocoano Disease-Free Area; AreaNo.2,the
Antioqueno-Disease-Free Area), while work remains tobecompleted onAreas Nos.3,4and5.This
programme covers anareaof4.5million hectares, serving aspasture forsome 4.5million headof
cattle belonging to45,000 farms. Itisfunded inequal amounts bytheAmerican andColombian
Governments, withabudget forthecurrent yearof4,037 million pesos.
Inaddition,theMinistryofAgricultureandRuralDevelopment,jointlywiththeICA(Colombian
Agricultural Institute), isholding discussions withtheInternational Office ofEpizootics fortheIOE
toconduct aninspection forcertification purposes soastoinclude Colombia among thecountries that
arepartially freeoffoot-and-mouth disease.
Following suchcertification bytheIOE,Colombia willapply, under theInternational Bovine
Meat Agreement, tohavethissanitary barrier lifted sothatitdoesnotconstitute alimitation onthe
search fornewmarkets, especially those inthedisease-free network.
Anaggressive strategy tostrengthen existing programmes ofprevention andcontrol anddevelop
asanitary culture among livestock producers, withemphasis onfoot-and-mouth disease, isbeing
promoted jointly bytheMinistry ofAgriculture andRural Development (with thelivestock department
intheforefront), theICA(Colombian Agricultural Institute), CORPOICA (Colombian Corporation
forAgricultural Research), VECOL (Colombian Veterinary Products Enterprise), FEDEGAN (the
Colombian Stock Farmers 'Federation), theNational Livestock Fund andtheother livestock funds,
inaddition totheproducers 'associations andregional andlocalentities.
Toensure thesuccess ofthisundertaking, theInter-Institutional Committee wassetupasa
national body tocoordinate theactivities carried outatdistrict orprovincial level.
Amethodologywasalsoworkedouttoenablethedepartmentalcommittees,undertheleadership
oftheICA (Colombian Agricultural Institute) tobegin working onthebasis ofthedates of
anti-foot-and-mouth vaccination cycles.
Asregards othersanitary programmes covering theentire territory ofthecountry, theauthorities
arecurrently working ontheeradication ofthefollowing diseases: brucellosis, bovine rabies, vesicular
diseases andtuberculosis. These programmes arefinanced andimplemented bytheICA(Colombian
Agricultural Institute).
TheMinistry ofHealth andtherelevant municipalities areresponsible forsanitary inspection
bothofliveanimals andofcarcasses inthevarious slaughter houses; prior authorization bytheICA
isrequired forthemovement ofliveanimals. TheMinistry alsohasasanitary inspection unitforexport
slaughterhouses.
PartC
Information onBilateral orPlurilateral Agreements Focusing
ontheBovine Animal, Meat andOffal Sector
Pursuant totheNational Government 'sphilosophy ofopening uptheeconomy tointernational
markets, theagricultural sector hasbeenstrongly involved intheintegration process withothercountries
andmarkets suchastheG3,Mexico, Venezuela andtheAndean Group, theCaribbean andCaricom,
aswellaseconomic complementarity agreements withChile andArgentina. Theprivate sector has
beenincluded inthenegotiations asanactive participant. Measures havebeenprovided forandinitiated
topromote economic andcommercial integration agreements withMercosur, andprogress isalsobeingIMA/INV/4
Page5
made intheimprovement oftradeagreements withaviewtoachieving theharmonization ofagricultural,
commercial, health andtransport policies among others, sothatfurther stepscanbetaken toconsolidate
thefree-trade areas andlaythefoundations foracommon customs area.
Inthecontext oftheAndean Group, substantial progress hasbeenmade inharmonizing tariff
policies through theadoption oftheCommon External Tariff andtheAndean price-band system.
Withregard toColombia 'spresent tariffpolicy, asshown inthetable, itshould bementioned
thatoverthelastthree years there have been successive changes. These have resulted from the
internationalizationofthecountry'seconomyandfrombilateralnegotiationsconductedwithneighbouring
countries, suchasVenezuela, withwhich theHarmonized Common Tariff hasbeeninoperation since
February 1992. Anumber ofbilateral tariff agreements withEcuador have been inforce since
October 1992, within theframework oftheAndean Group. Inaddition, integration agreements have
beensigned withMexico andVenezuela inthecontext oftheG3andeconomic complementarity
agreements withChile andArgentina. Bilateral negotiations havealsobeenresumed withPeru, a
traditional importer ofColombian beef, which didnotimport anybovine meatin1993. Apart from
this,Colombia hascertain preferential tariffs withtheUnited States.
Another factor affecting theproductivity, economic efficiency andcompetitiveness ofthe
agriculturalandbovinelivestockbreedingsectorinparticulararetheprogrammesofagriculturalresearch
andtechnology transfer, todrive thechange needed innational agricultural production. Research and
development policy willbegeared togenerating technologies atlower production costs, improving
productivity andmaking thesector more competitive. Particular importance isattached tothe
implementation oftheNational Technology Transfers System (SINTAP) through themunicipalities,
andthedevelopment ofacloser relationship between users andthemunicipal technical assistance units,
which havebeensetuptomake efficient useofthefinancial andtechnical resources available atthe
locallevel.
Asregards institutions forexport promotion, mention maybemade ofBANCOLDEX (the
Foreign Trade Bank), whose purpose istofinance projects fortheexport ofnewproducts andexpand
external markets through credit facilities. TheMinistry ofAgriculture andRural Development has
established theNational Livestock Commission asanadvisory body tofacilitate cooperation among
alloperators engaged inthisactivity.IMA/INV/4
Page6
CERT andNANDINA Customs Tariff Headings (Colombia)
LiveAnimals, Meat andMeat Offal
Tariff Cert
0102100000
0102909090
0103100000
0103820090
0105110000
0105190000
0105910000
0105990000
0201100000
0201200000
0201300000
0202100000
0202200000
0202300000
0203110000
0203120000
0203190000
0203210000
0203220000
0206100000
0206210000
0208220000
0206300000
0207100000
0207210000
0207220000
0302000000
0303000000
0304100000
0304200000
0304900000
0407001000
0407002000
0407009000Pure-bred bovine animals forbreeding
Livebovine animals
Pure-bred swine forbreeding
Liveswine
Fowls weighing lessthan185g.
Other
Fowls ofthespecies Gallus Domesticus
Other
Meat ofbovine animals, carcasses andhalf-carcasses, fresh orchilled
Meat ofbovine animals, cutswithbone in,fresh orchilled
Meat ofbovine animals, boneless, fresh orchilled
Meat ofbovine animals, carcasses andhalf-carcasses, frozen
Meat ofbovine animals, cutswithbone in,frozen
Meat ofbovine animals, boneless, frozen
Meat ofswine, carcasses andhalf-carcasses, fresh orfrozen
Hams, shoulders andcutsthereof, withbone in,fresh orfrozen
Other
Meat ofswine, carcasses andhalf-carcasses, frozen
Hams, shoulders andcutsthereof, withbone in,frozen
Edible offalofbovine animals, chilled orfrozen
Bovine tongues
Bovine livers
Pork offal, fresh, chilled orfrozen
Poultry, notcutinpieces, fresh, chilled orfrozen
Fowls ofthespecies Gallus Domesticus
Turkeys forconsumption
Fish, fresh orchilled
Fish, frozen
Fishfillets, chilled
Fishfillets, frozen
Other
Eggs forincubation
Eggs fortheproduction ofvaccines
Other eggsforconsumption5.0
10.0
5.0
10.0
5.0
5.0
10.0
10.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
5.0
5.0
20.00.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
5.0
5.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0