General Standards
The Central African Republic (CAR) is a fragile post-conflict state, with a highly vulnerable business climate and basic infrastructure deficit. The country's economy is based on agriculture, foreign trade being dependent on the extractive industries.
The CAR is a member of the World Trade Organization since 1995. The country is also a member of regional economic communities including: the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD).
The Central African Republic does not have any national regulatory framework on standardization and quality management, including national standards. In addition, CAR is not a member of the International Standardization Organization. The country works to create an institution authorized to adopt international standards and formulate national standards.
At the regional level, CAR and other CEMAC countries signed an agreement creating the Central African Sub-regional Metrology Organization and lunched the CEMAC Regional Infrastructure-Quality Development Project (IQ-CEMAC).
Regarding the sanitary and phytosanitary measures, The CAR complies with International Plant Protection Convention, the Codex Alimentarious Commission, and the World Organization for Animal Health. It checks the implementation of SPS regulations through relevant Directorate and Code. However, the lack of an operational SPS system and the inadequate infrastructure hamper the development of trade and the quality of local products.
At the regional level, the Regional Food Safety Programme has laid the foundation for the harmonization of the rules, addressing the pesticides as one of phytosanitary measures. The organization for Coordination of the Fight against Endemic Diseases in Central Africa oversees the process of harmonization of national pharmaceutical policies.
Other quality infrastructure components, such as standardization, conformity assessmrnt, certification and accreditation, are taken into account by the European Union within the framework of the CEMAC quality program. In the absence of national rules, imports must be accompanied by a certificate of conformity with international standards.
Packaging, marking and labeling
Packages and bags used for the import of wheat flour, rice and sugar should indicate the following details:
- name and address of the importer
- weight
- country of origin
The information on the labels must be written in french. The CAR uses the metric system.
