Do fresh produce exporters in Sub-Saharan Africa benefit from GlobalGAP certification?

Abstract: This paper presents analysis of a survey of fresh produce export firms in ten countries of sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on the determinants of GlobalGAP certification and the returns in terms of expansion of export sales revenue. [...] This trend has sparked a vibrant debate over the role of public and private institutions in governing food safety and quality and the wider social and environmental impacts of the agri-food system (Henson and Humphrey, 2008), and the impact of standards’ regimes on the structure and modus operandi of global value chains. [...] Indeed, it is evident that GLOBALGAP has global aspirations, describing itself as: “A private sector body that sets voluntary standards for the certification of agricultural products around the globe.”1 The importance of the GlobalGAP standard in the context of imports of fresh fruit and vegetables is difficult to gauge given that specific data on certified and non-certified products are not avail [...] The almost sole focus of studies of GlobalGAP in the context of developing countries has been on the impacts on smallholders, with little or no appreciation of the wider implications for the fresh produce sector and export firms therein (with the notable exception of Jaffee, 2003). [...] The change in production costs is assumed to be a function of firm F  , market  M. and a vector of standard-specific factors  STD , where the latter accounts for the incremental costs associated with standards-related activities such as audits and certification; the sunk cost of certification is assumed to vary with respect to the vector of standard-specific factors.