The system will allow tracing of the animals journey from birth until it is slaughtered and will open the way for exports to Europe.
Prensa.com reports: "The bills 342, which establishes the National Livestock Traceability Program, and 677, which creates the Promotion and Modernizing of Agriculture and Agribusiness (Promagro), were approved on their third reading in the National Assembly."
Taiwan's embassy in Guatemala has announced a program to assist exporters to certify their products.
An article in Prensalibre.com reports that "Adolfo Sun, Ambassador of Taiwan, said the first sector to benefit will be meat producers, so that they can certify their production and enter the Asian market."
As well as meant there are also plans to promote technical assistance to comply with the certifications for other food products and manufactured products, adapting products to suit cultural differences and increase the country's sales in Asia.
The Nicaraguan livestock sector's use of the Agreement with the European Union depends on the full implementation of the traceability of every kilo of meat exported.
With the support of the Inter-American Development Bank local livestock traceability will be promoted by the Trazar-Nic project.
The project which is also being sponsored by the Association of Producers and Exporters of Nicaragua (APEN), is directed by the engineer Leonardo Garcia, who was interviewed by Ricardo Guerrero from Elnuevodiario.com.
A bill, approved on its first reading by the Agricultural Affairs Committee, aims to ensure safe consumption, control theft and increase the value of livestock.
From a press release issued by the National Assembly of Panama:
The Agricultural Affairs Legislative Commission approved on its first reading Bill 342, which establishes a National Traceability Program, which also seeks to better prevent the theft of livestock.
The adoption of the standard correlated with international standards for the meat trade continues to be delayed in the Legislative Assembly.
Meanwhile the industry and administrative authorities are preparing a visit to Uruguay, one of the world's leading exporters of beef, which is "the only country in the region that has made all of its livestock production traceable."
The Nicaraguan meat industry is still not clear on what they need to obtain the certifications required by the European market.
In order for Nicaraguan products to reach the European market they must comply with health and quality certifications, not only on behalf of the farmers but also the agricultural authorities. Exporters hope that this will be resolved in less than a year and a half, meaning that the benefits of the agreement could be taken advantage of in 2015.
The implementation of the system can no longer be delayed without undermining agricultural exports to the European Union.
Oscar Osorio, the Minister of Agriculture, hopes that the bill on Agricultural and Animal Traceability will be approved in three months, enabling the country to meet the international demand and thereby ensure food security. However, this project is not even on the agenda for discussion by the Panamanian Congress.
Nicaragua will need a minimum of a year to implement an adequate traceability system which will allow it to export meat to Europe.
"First certification must come from Europe, which says that they accept our system of traceability, and we must be prepared (to export) when the time comes," said the president of the Nicaraguan Chamber of Beef Exports (Canicarne) Juan Sebastián Chamorro.
The unification of standards for agricultural and livestock traceability has pushed back the legislative process.
"The traceability Law is delayed, but it is progressing," said Sebastian Mirones, Director of Agriculture, at the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA). According to Mirones, the delay in the passage of this law, vital for accessing markets such as the United States, is due to the fact that initially two traceability laws were going to be presented, one for livestock and one for the agricultural sector, but it was decided to unite them into one single legislation. In addition, there is the lack of resources for small farmers to implement the system.
This year Panama will stop the export of 1580 tons of beef to the European Union for failing to meet the requirement of implementing livestock traceability.
One requirement for Panama to export meat through the Treaty of the European Union with Central America, is for the country to have a traceability system, however, the project is being held up in Congress.
While some sectors are tracing their animals on a voluntary basis, the country does not have a law which allows the government to manage a national livestock traceability system.
"A traceability system is very important for a country, and adopting a system like this involves a series of changes ranging from the perspective of producers, to new technologies and investment techniques for all those involved", explained Alejandro Diaz, an international specialist in agricultural health.
The country does not have a unique product tracking system suited to current demands, where traceability is critical in order to compete in the market.
International buyers as well as laws in the European Union and the U.S., require exporting countries to have a traceability system, through which the entire product journey and details can be known, in order to find out how to act in the event of any irregularities.
A voluntary agreement is already underway with the European Union to reduce trade in timber goods made from illegal logging.
The first round of negotiations have been conducted on a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU, and the FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) in order to reduce trade in manufactured goods made from illegal timber logging.
The Central American Federation for the Beef Industry is promoting the creation of traceability protocols that would allow them to export meat to the EU.
Regional leaders in the cattle industry and beef marketers "came together to promote the creation of a traceability protocol that would allow them to export meat to the EU."
Christopher Navas, president of the Federation, said: "We met to discuss the problem of the meat sector in Central America, seeing as the agreement for a free association with the European community has been signed, and that gives countries in the region the right to export a quota of meat. However, to do this we have to meet certain requirements. "
Discussion will start next Wednesday on the scope of Bill No. 342 "Establishing National Livestock Traceability".
A statement by the Legislature reads:
Subcommittee will consult with farmers
The Agricultural Subcommittee of the National Assembly, chaired by Deputy Tito Rodriguez, will meet next Wednesday to discuss the scope of Bill No. 342 "Establishing a National Livestock Traceability Program".