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World trade in agricultural, fisheries and forestry products totals some $480 billion annually (average 2000-2002, FAOSTAT). This trade is an important source of foreign exchange earnings and a crucial component of food security.

FAO is committed to providing its Member States with trade-related assistance, as mandated in the World Food Summit Plan of Action. In support of the new WTO negotiations on agriculture, FAO has strengthened its programme of technical assistance aimed at enhancing the capacity of Member States - especially developing countries and economies in transition - to participate effectively in the multilateral negotiations and to derive maximum benefit from global trade.

FAO's trade work dates back to well before the Uruguay Round of negotiations and addresses broader policy and market issues of relevance to agriculture, fisheries and forestry. FAO's approach is multidisciplinary in that it involves capacity building for trade, including analytical as well as operational field activities with a direct impact on supply-side capacities.

There are four main elements of this programme:

Forestry

The total value of forest product exports amounts to about US$136 billion per year (average 2000-2002, FAOSTAT), of which about 15 percent originates in developing countries. Most wood products are classified as industrial goods in the WTO Agreements and therefore are not covered under the Agreement on Agriculture. However, in addition to wood products, forestry is concerned with non-wood products such as mushrooms, spices, colourings, gums, sago, fruits, nuts, rattan and medicinal plants, many of which enter trade under categories covered by the Agreement on Agriculture.

The SPS and TBT Agreements have a special relevance to forestry. The SPS Agreement addresses issues of concern relating to trade in unprocessed or slightly processed products such as logs, sawnwood, wood chips and particles. These products are regularly the subject of trade disputes concerning phytosanitary issues. Forestry biodiversity, biotechnology and genetic issues also have linkages with the SPS Agreement.

The provisions of the TBT Agreement are of significance to trade in wood products such as sawnwood and wood-based panels, which are often used as structural materials for buildings and furniture and therefore have safety implications. Additionally, of considerable interest to forestry are TBT technical regulations and standards covering packaging, marking and labelling, especially those connected with certification and ecolabelling, all areas where there are many uncertainties for forest products at present.

FAO's Forestry Department has the mandate to develop policies, strategies and guidelines, to provide advisory and technical services to FAO Members, and to collect, analyze and disseminate information in the relevant fields of competence to FAO Members. It promotes national and international action for the effective conservation, sustainable management and efficient utilization of forest and related resources as an integral element of land use systems.

The Forest Harvesting, Trade and Marketing Branch is the main unit dealing with trade in forestry products. Inter alia, the unit monitors and advises on developments in trade and marketing of forest products, conducts special studies and capacity surveys for the analysis of trade and marketing conditions and provides technical assistance to FAO Members in related fields of activities.

Resources and analyses on SPS/TBT-related issues on forestry can be found at the Forestry Department site.

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