General Standards
Standards organizations
The Eritrean Standards Institution (ESI) is an autonomous statutory standardization body in Eritrea, having separate judicial personality. ESI is the county's unique body for standardization, quality assurance and metrology. It has an independent laboratory department to conduct testing for quality assurance purposes.
The agency has its head office in Asmara and branch offices in the ports of Massawa and Assab. The Eritrean Standards Institution is administerde by 11 members from different ministries and institutions. The chairman of ESI is the Minister of Trade and Industry. ESI operates through four departments: Standardization, Quality Assurance, Metrology and Testing Departments.
The ESI has developed more that thousand national standards for different fields of economic activity such as agriculture, food, building, chemical, mechanical and electrical engineering products; 446 standards have been already published, the rest await publication. The agency relies on and uses international standards, especially ISO, EIC and Codex Alimentarius in developing Eritrean Standards.
The Eritrean Standards Institution main functions include:
- prepare and revise mandatory Eritrean Standards (ES) and follow up their implementation
- examine or test products to ensure conformity to ES and affix Standard Mark to products which conform to ES
- maintain national Etalons and certified reference materials and operate their dissemination through the provision of calibration service
- provide consultancy services and training in standardization, quality assurance and metrology
- establish documentation centre and libraries to ensure the flow up-to-date scientific and technological information pertaining to standardization, quality assurance and metrology
- assist local manufactures, importers and exporters and other business enterprises in producing and supplying national and international competitive products and services
Product certification and quality assurance
The Quality Assurance and certification operation of the ESI is governed by the "Standards Mark and Fee Regulations Legal Notice No. 34/1997". Under these systems manufacturers or suppliers of products, processes or services that conform to relevant Eritrean Standards (ES) are granted permits to use the ESI standards mark, which is a mark of conformity to ES or a certificate of conformity. The mark or certificate is an assurance to the consumer that a product, process complies with the requirements of the relevant ES.
In accordance with the "Weights and Measures Regulations" issued under legal Notice No. 35 of 1997, the ESI has been undertaking legal metrology activities, particularly on commercial scales, weights, length measures, fuel trucks and trailers, underground and surface tankers, volumetric measures and fuel dispensers in the country.
Conformity assessment and accreditation
ESI has established Chemical, Microbiological and Engineering Laboratories for quality assurance of products to assess the conformity requirement as stipulated in the standards.
The Testing Laboratories are not accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 requirements for competency for testing and calibrations of laboratories, which might spell double on credibility of the certificate.
ESI helps the business people and particularly importers and exporters by providing information on standards and regulations. It provides documents on request to exporters and others.
Contacts
Eritrean Standards Institution
E-mail: eristand@tse.com.er
Address: 171-P.1 House No. 9, P.O. Box 245, Asmara, Eritrea
Tel: +291 1 122005
Fax: +291 1 120245
