Prevailing standards and dimensions governing sanitary and phyto-sanitary compliance in Indian black pepper supply chain

Sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) compliance in agricultural trade has received considerable attention from policy makers, agribusiness firms, exporters and researchers for its perceived ability to contribute towards production and development of safe and quality agri-products for domestic and international markets. This paper has examined the prevailing standard practices and major dimensions governing SPS compliance along the black pepper supply chain in India. It has been found that knowledge generation and dissemination of food safety aspects are essential to upgrade domestic food safety standards as to comply with the international standards. The important dimensions include application of Good Agricultural Practices, Good Manufacturing Practices, Good Handling Practices and Hygienic Practices besides physical and financial infrastructures along the supply chain. An important policy implication of this study is that the efforts and investments should be targeted towards promotion of important dimensions governing SPS compliance along the supply chain.