ITC targets Indian clothing, food and beverage sectors for Standards Map training

An ITC team are currently in India demonstrating how Standards Map, the centre's new trade intelligence web tool, can apply to India's booming apparel industry and food and beverage sector.

Joseph Wozniak, ITC's Trade for Sustainable Development (T4SD) program manager, is explaining the relevance of the Standards Map to two of India's most important industries. Following an introduction on the issues, challenges and market opportunities involving private standards, participants will learn how to use the Standards Map and how to interpret the data it provides on requirements, verification and certification.

In a specialised workshop on 10 January in New Delhi, Wozniak presented a comparative analysis of clothing-related standards in the tool and showed how to compare and contrast codes of conduct using different criteria such as economics and environment. Participants from the industry, including representatives from the Apparel Export Promotion Council, then got hands-on, online, experience using Standards Map.

Bimal Arora, from GIZ who co-organised the workshops, said, "I was impressed with the wealth of knowledge on standards compiled in the web tool. For our invitees and training participants such as exporters and certification bodies seeking market access in other countries, the training on understanding and navigation of the of the web tool was specially suitable given the vast amount of information contained in the Standards Map."

Wozniak will do the same training on the 11 January in Mumbai, this time concentrating on India's food and beverage industry. The country is the world's second-largest food producer, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation.
 
ITC's T4SD, which focuses on voluntary or so-called private standards, provides access to comprehensive information on non-governmental voluntary standards and aims to increase opportunities for sustainable production and trade. It addresses these challenges by collecting, organizing and disseminating information on standards initiatives and related topics.