Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute. Final Report Round Table Discussion (5) Consumer Protections in Palestine in the Food Sector

Transcription

1 Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute Final Report Round Table Discussion (5) Consumer Protections in Palestine in the Food Sector June 2013

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3 Executive Summary Consumer Protections in Palestine in the Food Sector Introduction This round table aims to evaluate the current system for the consumer protection in Palestinian in the food sector through gathering the relevant parties, especially the official authorities from Ministries such as the Ministries of Economy, Health, Agriculture, Finance and Environment as well as representatives of the food industry and civil society organizations that are active in the field of consumer protection in addition to the media and experts in the field of consumer protection. Presenters: Dr. Samir Abdullah - Chairman Dr. Akel Abu Qari': Expert of Economic and Social Affairs Mr. Abdul Hafiz Nofal: Economic Adviser - Ministry of Economy. Mr. Salah Haniyeh: Head of the Palestinian Consumer Protection Society. Mr. Fouad Al-Aqra': Director-General of the Union of Palestinian Food Industries. Background paper: The Institute has already prepared a background paper on the topic, which was distributed with the call of the meeting, in order to give an idea for the invitees about the consumer protection system with a focus on the food sector. The following is a summary of the paper: Summary of the keynote speakers' Presentations Dr. Samir Abdullah opened the meeting by indicating that there is a real problem regarding the issue of spoiled food and that recently, there is an increase declaration about the quantities of spoiled food that is destroyed. This meeting does not aim to diagnose the problem of spoiled food, but rather takes the said problem as gateway to diagnose the adequacy of the consumer protection system in terms of the legal and regulatory framework and also in terms of the institutional capacities for the implementation of these laws. The meeting also considers the role of the civil society in consumer protection as well as the role of the media and the educational system in raising awareness on this topic. Dr. Akel Abu Qari' Presentation At the beginning of his speech, Dr. Akel referred to the goal of the meeting that is diagnosing the reality of the consumer protection system in the food sector. Recently, there is a significant increase in the number of announcements about the destruction of spoiled food in large quantities and of different types of food (meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts and canned food). Such increase provokes concern and indicates a serious problem that must be dealt with. Dr. Akel also confirmed that the legislation is one of the most important pillars of consumer protection. In Palestine, there is Consumer Protection Act No. 21, which was issued in In addition to the laws, there are official governmental departments working in the field of consumer protection, including: General Administration of Consumer Protection of the Ministry of National Economy, which is considered the main executive department that monitors products in the Palestinian market. There is also the Palestinian Council for Consumer Protection, a coordinating council; the Institutions of specifications and standards that define all the products that are made in Palestine or enter to it including food; the customs controllers of the Ministry of Finance, which controls the goods entering to Palestine on the borders; a department for water health of the Ministry of Health, which tracks corrupt food and water; central laboratories of the Ministry of Health the mission of which is to test samples that have been detected and give the result of the tests; the Control and Inspection Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, which seize fresh products at the borders before entering the Palestinian market; the Pesticide Department of the 1

4 Ministry of Agriculture, which is responsible for registering, monitoring and importing chemical pesticides. Dr Akel added that in addition to the aforementioned government institutions, there are also NGOs that work in the field of consumer protection, the most important of which is the Palestinian Society for Consumer Protection that was founded in late Moreover, Dr. Akel stressed on the consumer s primary role in the process of consumer protection and control. This role is reflected in reporting cases of spoiled food purchased by citizens. He also pointed out to the important role of the media in the field of consumer protection. This role is ramified to: education and guidance; communicating with the consumer to report cases of spoiled food; investigation, probe and follow-up. Mr. Abdul Hafeez Nofal Presentation - Ministry of Economy Mr. Abdul Hafeez started his presentation by referring to the existence of another set of actions corresponding to the issue of the "ways and means of framing the bodies concerned with controlling and organizing the internal market". He pointed out that the Ministry of Economy has produced a set of these procedures and issues in order to protect the consumer, including: forming the Palestinian Council for Consumer Protection; establishing relevant associations; emphasizing the role of civil society; and coordinating with the customs controllers and other relevant authorities. Mr. Nofal said that in spite of all these measures, things do not go so far in the right track with regard to the issue of consumer protection as a result of the presence of intractable problems at the moment, the most important of which are: the ease and flexibility of movement of goods from the Israeli market to the Palestinian market; the absence of Palestinian control over the border crossings and borders; and the openness of the Israeli and Palestinian markets to each other. The Ministry of Economy plays an important role in this topic. However, the Palestine still need greater efforts in this concern. There is also a need for greater dialogue with the Israeli side. Mr. Abdul Hafeez added that after more than 18 years on the emergence of the Palestinian Authority, the share of the Palestinian food industries still ranges between merely 18-25% of the need for the Palestinian market, while the Palestinians import nearly 75% of their food needs from the Israeli market or other international markets. He also drew attention to the large increase in the prices of key commodities. In this context, he pointed out to a recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - FAO, which excludes to a large extent the possibility of any decrease in the prices of food commodities due to the fact that the rapid population increase exceeds the increase in the production of these goods. Finally, Mr. Abdul Hafeez stressed that the issue of spoiled food is an issue of great importance and needs care and attention. However, it must be noted that the number of cases in Palestine is limited, and thus this issue should not be exaggerated or provoke panic among citizens or create confusion among producers and put them in a position of self-defense without justification. In this context, media were requested to check the veracity, causes and size of discrepancies from the concerned and responsible parties before disseminating incidents and news. Mr. Salah Haniyeh Presentation - Palestinian Consumer Protection Society Mr. Salah Haniyeh, head of the Consumer Protection Society in Ramallah Governorate, confirmed the importance of answering the question "whether the problem of spoiled food is a transient phenomenon in the Palestinian market or just a steady problem". In the context of the answer, he pointed out that the quantities of spoiled commodities that have recently been seized give an indication that there is a real problem that must be dealt with more seriously since it concerns tons not kilograms. Mr. Salah also raised the issue of overlapping of powers between the institutions working in the field of consumer protection, which opens the door wide for spoiled food promoters to continue their business. He said that despite the fact that Article 27 of the executive regulations issued in 2009 and followed the release of Consumer Protection Act refers to the staff of judicial control aims to unify the mechanisms of supervision and inspection of goods and services, and the formation of a committee from the staff of the judicial control chaired by the Ministry of National 2

5 Economy and the membership of the Ministries of Health, Finance and Agriculture with the mission of monitoring the market on a regular basis, this committee have not been formed until now. He also pointed out to the lack of any clear plan to confront spoiled food, as this confrontation is based on individual cases and rely on reports issued by the media. The aim of raising this point is to refer to the lack of a routine inspection procedures. He stressed as well that the most important issue is the legal and judicial procedures, since the Palestinian judiciary still deals with Penal Code of 1960, which is not deterrent for spoiled food promoters. Under this Act, sanctions against spoiled food promoters ranges between Jordanian Dinars and the maximum penalty is a prison sentence not exceeding three years. In addition, the Palestinian judiciary - since 1994 until today did not issue any judgment against any of the spoiled food promoters. Although Mr. Salah confirms that the Consumer Protection Association bears part of the responsibility in the shortage and imbalance in the process of consumer protection, he stressed the need to refer to the Association's achievements, including the preparation of a strategy for consumer protection, which included the obstacles, available opportunities and the mechanism of addressing a phenomenon such as promoting spoiled food. In this context, Mr. Salah refers to the lack of an ongoing and strong relationship with government institutions, particularly the Ministry of Economy. In conclusion, Mr. Salah lists some of the obstacles facing the work of the Consumer Protection Association, the most important of which are: the lack of legal deterrent sanctions to the issue of promoting spoiled food. Weakness of the possibilities of the Consumer Protection Association; the weakness of the Consumer Protection Association's capacities; not forming a judicial committee as set forth in the regulations of the Consumer Protection Act. Mr. Fouad Al-Aqra' - Union of Palestinian Food Industries Mr. Fouad began his speech by confirming the keenness of the Union - since its inception until today - to protect the consumer. Therefore the Union introduced several programs to improve the quality of food products and committed to certain specifications for food products that are considered the best in the region. In this context, he called for the need to emphasize that spoiled foods from national sources that are destroyed do not exceed 2%, and the rest are Israeli or imported products. This explains the high proportion of the lack of supervision and inspection of the imported food products or those coming from Israel to the Palestinian territories. He also pointed out that according to a recent study issued by Birzeit University, 70% of the Israeli and imported products are contrary to the Palestinian label. In another context, he stressed on the need to have consumer awareness programs, particularly in schools, and to train the teams working in consumer protection, as in many cases, workers in these teams exaggerate the news about the existence of irregularity in the label and thus destroy large quantities of food although these quantities are not spoiled. This will promote a kind of panic among citizens. In this context, the impact and role of the media in this case, which is a doubleedged sword, should be clarified. Mr. Fouad also focused on two important issues, namely: the urgent need for rehabilitation of Palestinian laboratories; and the need to create a bridge of trust between the Palestinian consumer and the National commodity. Finally, he reaffirmed the issue of overlapping in powers and its role in deepening the problem not solving it. In this context, Mr. Fouad suggested the need to develop a strategy to protect the Palestinian consumer by all parties, including the Consumer Protection Association and the Union of Palestinian Food Industries. Summary of the Discusion Bassem Khoury, Chairman of Dar Al-Shifa Pharmaceutical, and former Minister of Economy Is there a problem or it is just a passing phenomenon? I believe there is a problem. The rise in the percentage of certain diseases in Palestine compared to other countries indicates a serious problem. I am talking here is about diseases resulting from the quality of eating, drinking and clothing - such 3

6 as leukemia. What also proves that there is a connection between these figures and the quality of eating and drinking is the difference in these figures in the West Bank than in Israel and Jordan for example. Another important issue is those cases where food had been confiscated for being spoiled and were not destroyed but rather re-consumption. In my opinion, the basic problem is the lack of institutionalizing how to address this problem as well as the absence of a law that imposes manufacturing food under a certain Palestinian specification. There are only mandatory technical instructions that Palestinian factories are committed to implement, but the said mandatory instructions are not sufficient. Taher Dwayyat Al-Salwa Company for Food Products I believe that this is a temporary phenomenon. In this context, we should thank the Consumer Protection Association for its efforts to confront such a phenomenon. In another context, I would like to point out to the importance of not raising this issue and the cases of destroying food through media in a terrifying manner that may confuse the consumer. D. Hazem Shunnar - Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of National Economy I have a set of questions. First, what is the reason for the increased seizures? Is it due to increased regulators activity, or increased smuggling operations? In the event that the reason is the increase in smuggling operations, is it the result of lack of non- deterrent sanctions? Second, is it right to publish all cases of destruction? What is the impact on citizens, especially that destruction processes affected all varieties: meat, water and nuts, and this created a barrier between the citizen and food products. Omar Kabha - Ministry of National Economy What the Palestinian consumer faces most is the large number of spoiled food promoters. The main provider of food in the Palestinian territories is Israel and approximately 80% of these foods are produced by the settlements. When talking about the regulatory work, we must initially refer to the basic pillars of the regulatory work, that is: the well trained Inspector; laboratory; regulatory legislation; technical and logistical capabilities. There is a lack of regulatory capabilities, specifically in the numbers and types of laboratories. There are some tests that cannot be conducted in the Palestinian laboratory such as "aflatoxin". As for the legislation, there is a need for the development of Consumer Protection Act, but until changing it, it must be abide by. Mansour Badr - Ministry of Transport and Communications In my opinion, the issue of food is very important and touches the Palestinian national security. Sanctions related to the promotion of spoiled food are not dissuasive. Another important issue is that corruption is not limited to food expiration date, but rather extends to the process of storing and transporting food which may lead to the corruption of food, and thus the issue of storage should also be considered. Nizam Ataya Reef Company We cannot talk about food in isolation from their prices, as they are correlated. There are no references or economic policies for pricing. Pricing is left to the market - the main and only determinant. As for products of the settlements, despite the enactment of a law that prevents dealing with the products of the settlements, the actual application of this law is almost zero, and describing such phenomenon as transient, this is not true. In my opinion, the problem of spoiled food is a serious and dangerous. Bilal Falah, Doctor of Economics - Polytechnic University During the meeting, it was mentioned that the national product suffers from the problem of promotion against the Israeli product. I would like to point out that some traders have overcome this problem by promoting their goods as Israeli goods during the packaging process. In this context, we must draw attention to the many cases in which imported foods do not have Arabic translation, especially the ingredients of the products. This is an issue that affects food security. Mohammed Al-Masri - Ministry of Agriculture In the framework of this meeting, we should recall the National Initiative for Food Safety, which is an effort worth mentioning and was designed by a scientific methodology based on four pillars: First: legislation. In this context, we need to have a Palestinian Food Law that regulates all 4

7 interference in other laws; Second: control and inspection devices; Third: the Palestinian laboratories and equipment. On this issue, Palestine suffers from a big gap; Finally: the necessary funding to carry out the regulatory process. We must return to the previous efforts and to this initiative. However, it must be noted that the reason that led to the faltering of this initiative is a political dispute between two ministers in the Palestinian Authority. Therefore, reviving this initiative needs a political decision by the higher levels. Also, and before the completion of this initiative, a "status report" was prepared on the level of food safety and communicable diseases in the Palestinian society and scientific basis has been adopted in the preparation of this report. Therefore, these reports must be executed on a regular basis and those basis, which are global basis, must be adopted. Bilal Barghouti, a legal adviser - Aman Foundation The focus on the issue of transparency in the operations of prosecution and follow-up will ease the aura of intimidation and terror among citizens regarding the issue of spoiled food. There are also problems related to oversight institutions, starting with the multiplicity of these institutions as well as the conflict and overlapping of powers. In this context, I would like to emphasize that the legislative framework needs to be repaired and re-straightened. Here, I would like to point out that the Consumer Protection Act is good, but it needs some amendments and development. Finally, we should skip the diagnostic phase and begin to handle the problem. Ja far Al-Ra ee Al-Jebrini for Dairy Products There is a need to raise awareness in the Palestinian street about the importance of boycott of Israeli goods. There is also an ethical need to boycott the goods of the occupying power. It must also be noted that the production line of the Israeli goods which are exported to the Palestinian territories is different from the goods sold in Israel. This matter should be considered and awareness should be raised in this concern. Moreover, it is very important to talk about supporting the national product and to confirm its ability to compete with if not surpass the Israeli product in some cases. Dairy products is a good example of this superiority, where the Palestinian dairy products managed to earn the trust of the Palestinian consumer. We must work to change the stereotype that the Israeli product is better than the Palestinian product. There is another important issue. The entry of Israeli goods to the West Bank is uncontrolled. In this context, and given the difficulty of controlling and supervising the entry of goods, distribution of these goods can be controlled. Ahmed Mardawi - the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics I would like to discuss two points. First, cafeterias of schools. There are some goods that are prohibited to be sold in school cafeterias and sold outside schools. Initially, this is an evidence that these goods or products are harmful. However, merely preventing them in schools does not solve the problem of their harm because students can purchase them outside the school, and thus, they must be prevented at all places. The second point is related to pesticides. It is not enough to determine the types of pesticides. There must be control on the mechanism of using these pesticides. Recommendations: 1. Eliminate the existing weaknesses in consumer protection by introducing a more penal code, establishing a controlling judicial committee, and employing technical staff. 2. Change the stereotypical negative perception of national products. 3. Activate the necessary mechanisms to boycott settlement products and track their distribution in the Palestinian market. 4. Media should cover incidents and allegations of spoiled foods in a careful, responsible, and objective manner. 5. Review and amend the Consumer Protection Law, especially the articles relating to transparency and accountability. 6. Reactivate the National Initiative for Food Safety based on four pillars: 1) introducing a food law, 2) providing control and inspection devices, 3) equipping laboratories and employing capable staff, and 4) securing the funding needed to carry out the regulatory process. 5

8 7. Expand the control process to reach the storage and transportation practices for food products. 8. Strengthen the control of foods at school cafeterias to insure maximum protection for students health. 9. Determine the types of authorized agricultural pesticides in addition to controlling the mechanisms of using them. Attendance Record for the Round Table (5) Name Mansour Bader Fatinma Khiat Omar Kabaha Basim Khoury Abdelhafiz Nofal Taher Dwayyat Shatha Abdul Samad Bilal Al Falah Salah Haniyeh Bilal Barghouti Shaker Sarsour Shadi Mahmoud Asim Abu Hanish Wajdee Nasir al-din Imad rugby Adnan Abu Hummus Khaled Al-Tawel Amani ahmad Ahmad Mardawi Nizam Ataya Ismael Amqi Bassam Walweel Mohammed Al-Masri Foad Al-Aqraa Mirfat Sadeq Hazim Shunnar Institution Ministry of transportation Arab bank Ministry of national economy Pharmacare PLC Ministry of national economy Salwa Food Co. Friedrich Ebert Palestine Polytechnic University Palestinian society for consumer protection AMAN Palestine Monetary Authority Reef finance Reef finance Al-Jebrini Dairy & Food Industries Co Palestine TV PADICO Ministry of national economy Ministry of local government PCBS Reef finance P.L.O Palestinian federation of industries Ministry of agriculture Palestinian food industries union Aljazeera net Ministry of national economy 6