Trade Facilitation Unit

Accessing markets can be difficult, but BAHFSA is here to help. If you are looking to access markets outside of the Bahamas please contact us and we will provide you with the information to help you overcome barriers to sanitary and phytosanitary barriers to trade.

ePing

What is ePing?

Before you export agricultural products, you need to meet Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) requirements but finding them can be hard. ePing is an online platform that enables private and public stakeholders to access and discuss Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) requirements for exporting and importing agricultural goods. ePing makes it easy to find the SPS requirements you need to meet before you export in a timely manner. This reduces the likelihood that your goods will be confiscated at the border.

What is the value added of ePing?

Given the high volume and diversity of regulatory measures notified by our international trade partners, reaching more than 4,000 in 2017, it can be a challenge for interested stakeholders, especially SMEs, to track and react to changing product requirements. By registering on ePing, Bahamian exporter can receive daily or weekly email alerts containing Sanitary and Phytosanitary SPS requirements covering products/markets of interest to them. Exporters can also use the ePing website to search for Sanitary and Phytosanitary SPS requirements meeting certain criteria. In addition, ePing can assist national enquiry points in managing and reaching out to domestic stakeholders or other Enquiry Points to discuss specific notifications and/or provide complementary information (such as translations). All these features can in turn facilitate the formulation of timely comments on notifications and/or adaptation to new requirements. Exporters can also use ePing to raise specific trade concerns related to notifications.

Awareness of regulatory trends in other markets can also assist regulators as they in turn develop measures to address similar policy objectives. Ultimately, ePing aims to assist public and private sector stakeholders, including SMEs, in benefitting from the SPS/TBT transparency framework of the WTO, facilitate trade and avoid unnecessary trade disruptions.

Who should be interested in ePing?

ePing is of potential interest to all types of stakeholders, including government agencies, standardizing bodies, producers, exporters, importers, service providers, small and medium-size enterprises, multinationals, international organizations, research institutes, NGOs etc.

Example of a scenario for using ePing

Ana is a trader, who exports product A. Ana would like to know when the countries/territories to which she exports are planning on introducing/changing SPS or TBT regulations affecting Product A.

Ana can make use of ePing through the following actions:

  • Subscribe to receive email alert messages listing notifications related to product A issued by countries/territories to which she is exporting.
  • Contact her national Enquiry Point, whose details are available on ePing, to seek further information regarding specifics notifications.
  • Search SPS & TBT notifications, which affect product A and which have been circulated in the past three years (for older records, go to specialist databases SPSIMS and TBTIMS). Export results to Excel.
  • Save any particular notification of interest as a "Favourite", for ease of reference, follow-up action and setting of reminders.
  • If her country's Enquiry Point has activated the natinoal discussion forum, view and exchange comments with other national users on notifications of interest.
  • If her country's Enquiry Point has activated the file sharing function, read/add files related to a notification (such as translations into local language or an interpretation of the technical details contained in the notification).
  • Check if any comments or files have been posted on the international Enquiry Point discussion forum regarding a specific notification.
  • Share notifications of interest with others via ePing.

ePing Overview Video