India sets new quality standards in the global potato trade

The Indian representative led the new standard for potatoes at a joint meeting of international organisations in Mexico. The Commission for the Codex Alimentarius Guidelines (a collection of food safety and product quality standards of the United Nations), composed of members of the FAO and WHO, has adopted the new standard proposed by India. The standard and the guidelines for potatoes will contribute to greater safety, quality and fairness in international trade, says Indian Agriculture Commissioner Malhotra. In addition to protecting consumers from inferior food, these standards can now also be used as a reference for any disputes in international trade chaired by the WTO.

There is currently a wide range of shapes and colours of tubers on offer. The new standard defines the quality, size, minimum requirements and tolerances for each variety and grade. Potatoes are grown in more than 100 countries worldwide and produce 380 million tonnes annually, half of which is for fresh consumption. The underground tuber fruit provides safe and reliable nutrition for millions of people in South America, Africa, Europe and Asia. India produced about 53 million tonnes of potatoes in 2018-19 and exported about 350,000 tonnes, which corresponds to a trade value of the equivalent of 50 million US dollars.

Meanwhile, in its study “World Potato Map 2019”, the Dutch Rabobank analysed the worldwide trade in potatoes as food and seed potatoes. In the frozen processed potato products segment, the trade volume has more than doubled in the last 10 years. The volume increased from 3 million tonnes in 2007 to over 7 million tonnes in 2017. The strongest growth was in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, with four main producers: the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada and the USA. For seed potatoes, the Netherlands increased its exports to 1 million tonnes in 2017, with half of domestic production going to export. Other European countries such as France and Germany were also able to increase their exports, while analysts also see opportunities for regions in North America and Asia to establish seed tuber production due to the limited acreage in Europe. The main share of fresh potatoes is traded in Europe, with the Netherlands and Belgium again the main markets. However, the importance of countries such as China, Pakistan, India and Egypt is also growing.

As the largest European potato exporting nations, the Netherlands and Belgium are now obliged by the new standards to apply the same rules and guidelines as their competitors. In India, the BIS standardization body is responsible for monitoring food quality standards. We, India Certification, happily advise you on the certification of your products and accompany you throughout the approval process through local branches.
For more information on how India certification could affect your company or concrete information on BIS certification, please visit our website and our news section.
Since 2005, the MPR International GmbH has been helping companies around the world obtain certifications for the Chinese and Indian markets. If you would like more Information regarding the certifications, please visit our website or contact us via email or phone +49 69 271 376 9261.
You can also take a look at our free India certification brochures, which you can download here as PDF files.

Proposals for new products requiring BIS certification

The lists of products that fall under the mandatory certification of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) have been published in phases since 2012. The lists were already foreseen in 2012, but were to enter into force adjusted in response to previous experience. In this way, the Indian government is trying to ensure that the advancing standardization of its product quality requirements meets international market requirements.

Consequently, these lists have been updated regularly ever since. After the third phase was published in 2017, the government now wants to launch phase IV. To this end, it has brought into public discussion a list of products to be subject to BIS certification in Phase IV, which has been adapted and updated in the light of experience to date.
The following product groups are included in this updated list:

Sl. No.	Item	Indian Standard
01.	LED Modules	IS 16103
02.	Lighting Chains (Rope Lights)	IS 10322
03.	Keyboards	IS 13252
04.	Induction Stoves	IS 302-2-6
05.	Automatic Teller Cash dispensing machines	IS 13252
06.	Hard Disk Drives (External)	IS 13252
07.	Solid State Storage Devices (above 256 GB & External)	IS 13252
08.	Electric Musical Systems with i/p power>50W	IS 616
09.	Switch Mode Power Supplies with o/p power 48 V (max)	IS 13252
10.	Television other than Plasma/ LCD/LED TVs	IS 616

One of the noteworthy changes of this phase is that now stereo and other music systems of 50W and above are also subject to certification, not only systems of 200W and above. In addition, LEDs for lighting purposes must be certified, while built-in LEDs for non-lighting purposes are exempted. In contrast, many products such as desktop computers, internal hard drives, speakers and some other products have been removed from the original list.
This list is still only provisional and for now left to public discussion. An update may be expected in 2021.
BIS certification is required for many industrial and consumer electronic products. Factory inspections are also required for some products.
If you would like to know which approval requirements in India your products are subject to, please do not hesitate to contact us by email or phone at +49-69-271 37 69 261. We will make sure that all your certification needs are covered.

Unification of certification standards in India

If you have dealt with product certification in India, you probably noticed that there are a lot of different certifications and for some products there are even several different mandatory certifications. That this is not welcomed by producers has been known to the Indian government for quite some time now.

It is not surprising then that the government is working hard to implement a “One nation, one standard” policy, so Ram Vilas Paswan, India’s Minister of Consumer Protection. According to this policy, certifications, which are currently still being carried out by about 50 independent authorities, will all fall under the purview of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

The BIS is already responsible for the majority of published product standards, but there are some important industrial sectors such as food and automotive for which independent authorities (FSSAI and ARAI, respectively) issue their own standards. This creates overlaps, which means that different standards may apply to certain products and they must be tested and certified separately.
The new directive is based on the ‘one nation, one ration card’ policy which will take effect on 1 June 2020, according to which people in need can obtain food throughout India with the same ration card, and is intended to remedy this situation.

For some product groups, the Ministry of Consumer Protection has also set a deadline of one year, although experience has shown that this is rarely met in India. In addition, there are a huge number of product standards and to have them all under one authority takes time. Nevertheless, the next few years should make the certification process easier for many producers.
In order not to give the BIS a monopoly on standardization AND implementation, negotiations are currently still underway on whether a separate supervisory authority should be set up or whether the existing certification authorities should be given a certain supervisory role for their respective sectors.
For more information on how India certification could affect your company or concrete information on BIS certification, please visit our website and our news section.

Since 2005, the MPR International GmbH has been helping companies around the world obtain certifications for the Chinese and Indian markets. If you would like more Information regarding the certifications, please visit our website or contact us via email or phone +49 69 271 376 9261.
You can also take a look at our free India certification brochures, which you can download here as PDF files.

Deadline for BIS Certification of Steel Products in India is getting closer

As published in our news from December 2019, the Indian government strengthened the regulations of steel imports into the country. The BIS certification scheme, published July 22, 2019 in the Gazette of India by the Ministry of Steel was extended.

Depending on the product category, BIS Certificates need to be obtained immediately or within a certain period of time. By April 2020 the final implementation period for the last category of steel products will be determined and all listed products will need to be BIS certified to be imported into India.
The process of BIS Certification includes a factory inspection by the Indian authorities and product tests in an accredited Indian testing facility. After successful completion of these steps the certification will be granted and the products may be marked with the ISI mark. The BIS Certification is valid for one year and an annual follow up factory inspection is required to maintain the validity. After the first two years the validity will be expanded to two years. Additionally, yearly marking fees will need to be paid.
If you have products affected by this regulation or have uncertainties about it, please feel free to contact us. We can check the BIS certification requirements for your case individually. You can send us an email or call us any time +49-69-2713769261.
For more information regarding the BIS certification, please read our free information booklet “BIS Certification – The Booklet“.

MPR International GmbH will Present Lectures about BIS Certification at Workshop Export BRIC + SA

The Exportwirtschaft ICS GmbH – International Compliance Support – is a company that has set itself the task of developing customer solutions to reduce the complexity of foreign trade processes. The emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China are in focus since they are so-called BRIC countries which provide around a quarter of the world’s economic output.
As much as these countries resemble each other in terms of growth, there are so many differences in terms of import and certification requirements. Saudi Arabia is also part of this group of countries with complicated technical regulations. This is exactly what this year’s “Workshop Export BRIC + SA” is about. The conference will take place on March 25th, 2020 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. MPR International GmbH will contribute with two specialist lectures on China and India certification. The main focus will be the BIS certification for India.

Many manufacturers are not aware in advance whether their products are subject to certification. Some also face the issue of certification only just when their goods are already stuck in customs. This workshop will focus on specific instructions and solutions for the strategic and operational export business. Workshops on the individual countries will take place in parallel where practical examples will be demonstrated. The topics About China certification and India certification are covered by consultants from MPR International GmbH.
The CCC certification is the best known and most important for the Chinese market. This is a mandatory certification for a wide range of different products, such as household electronics, lighting and toys. In addition, there are many other certifications that could be required, for example SELO for pressure vessels, SRRC registration for wireless, NAL for telecommunications products or the China Energy Label (CEL) for some electrical devices.
If you consider all of the types of certification for the Indian market, the most important certification is BIS certificate. This is mandatory for construction products, household products, electronic products but also dairy products. There is also AIS certification for automotive, WPC certification for wireless products & radio, TEC certification for telecommunications and IT, and PESO certification for the oil and gas industry.
The Workshop Export BRIC + SA is aimed at companies that are new to this topic, as well as those who want to deepen their knowledge. All interested parties can register with Exportwirtschaft ICS GmbH for the Workshop Export BRIC + SA. The event takes place in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
You can find more information about the event and opportunities to participate on the website of the Exportwirtschaft ICS GmbH (German).
Since 2005, the MPR International GmbH has been helping companies around the world obtain certifications for the Chinese and Indian markets. If you would like more Information regarding the certifications, please visit our website or contact us via email or phone +49 69 271 37 69 261.