SGS, the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company, is delighted to provide details of Ivory Coast’s verification of conformity (VoC) standards program, giving businesses expert guidance on accessing this growing market.
Statistics from the International Trade Centre demonstrate that products exported to Ivory Coast were worth USD 14 billion in 2021, with a growth rate between 2020 and 2021 of 34%. China, France and Nigeria were the top three export supply markets for the country.
Ivory Coast’s VoC program began in July 2019, aiming to ensure that only high-quality products would reach this lucrative market. Its standards are set by the country’s regulatory authority.
With a minimum threshold for applicable products of XOF 1,000 or EUR 1,525, Ivory Coast’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Promotion of SMEs (MCIPPME) has published a list of product categories which are regulated by the VOC program. This is available on the website of the Ministry of Commerce: http://www.commerce.gouv.ci.
SGS provides full product conformity assessment (PCA) services for exporters wishing to obtain certificates of conformity for VoC clearance. Full documentation must be submitted to SGS, including a Request for Certification, proforma/final invoice, quality management system certification details and other conformity documents such as test reports, quality and analysis certificates and technical data sheets. Products must have undergone one, or a combination, of documentary verification and physical inspection, as well as testing in approved laboratories. If the verification process has been completed satisfactorily, and conformity assessment fees are paid by the exporter, then a Certificate of Conformity can be issued.
With many years of experience in the monitoring of maritime traffic in Africa and the Middle East, SGS’s ACI technical center in Ivory Coast also provides access to expert assessment of the necessary commercial and transport documents. There are three available certification assessment routes to demonstrate product compliance. Details of these and SGS’s full PCA services for Ivory Coast, plus a list of products which are exempt from the VOC program, are available in SGS’s PCA Newsletter, Q2 2023.
For further information, please contact:
Sosthene Compaore
Contract Manager, Trade Facilitation Services, SGS
Email: cp.media@sgs.com
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