UNIDO's ETRACE Project in Egypt (2004- )

UNIDO - Traceability of Agro- Industrial Products for the European Market Project (ETRACE) aims at enhancing competitiveness, exports, product quality and safety and national image in order to lead the way for the Egyptian agro-industry to stand at the forefront of the global economy. The Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in cooperation with the United Nations Industry Development Organization UNIDO, set up in Egypt the first and only multi-faceted project in the Middle East that assists fresh produce exporters, NGO’s, farm associations and public institutions in their efforts to ensure high quality, safety and traceability of fresh produce complying with the international regulations on food safety including the European legislation on food safety 178/2002.

UNIDO/ETRACE project provides technical and financial assistance to farms, exporters, dealers, traders and other operators in the agro-industrial sector in their efforts to align their systems with the requirements set by the importing countries to avoid the creation of trade barriers. Traceability allows importer and authorities to trace all the steps taken during the preparation and distribution of food products, particularly in cases of health emergencies that require recall, thus functioning as a risk management system that ensures transparency, improves supply-chain management and allows smooth and cost-effective exchanges of information.

Since July 2004, the UNIDO Traceability Project (ETRACE) has trained more than 330 persons from the private, public, farm associations and NGOs sectors covering Cairo and other various governorates. By January 2006, applications for the fund were made available through the Industrial Modernization Center (IMC) and MTI in cooperation with pounds are financed through the Italian Debt Swap mechanism with an agreement signed between the Italian and Egyptian governments.

Approximately 27 million to be granted to the Egyptian companies working in the sector in order to implement automated traceability systems utilizing Computers, Barcodes, Printers, Scanners, and traceability software, etc…which are related to the implementation of traceability systems for fresh produce exports

UNIDO traceability team conducted more than 95 field visits in the past 18 months to stakeholders’ fields and pack-houses to assist companies in establishing traceability systems, and provided companies with traceability manual and assisted them in its implementation.