IGTC President Gary C. Martin was in Rome and Geneva this week for meetings with international organisations, governments, industry bodies and IGTC Corporate Stakeholders on key IGTC files.

During meetings at the UN's FAO HQ and the WTO, the President promoted the IGTC's work to communicate the commercial requirements and economics of the world’s food, feed and processing industries from a global perspective.

May 9, Rome
Mr. Martin attended the first Industry Advisory Group (IAG) for the IPPC/STDF ePhyto hub project - a centralized server to facilitate exchange of electronic certificates between NPPOs. 

During the meeting, the IGTC confirmed its support for the eHub and highlighted the innovation that is taking place across the global grain trade, with important developments in e-documentation to increase the security of transactions and cost efficiencies. 

May 10-12, Geneva
The IGTC briefed a wide range of stakeholders including government representatives to the WTO, Corporate Stakeholders and the World Bank. Priority issues included:

1. International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) development of a new International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) for Grain, with a sharp focus on phytosanitary measures.
2. Innovation in Electronic Document Management, E-docs. 
3. ‘Low Level Presence’ - accommodating the presence of grain produced with GMO Seeds.
4. New plant breeding techniques
5. Cartagena Biosafety Protocol
6. International Labelling mandates and guidance for agri-bulks (UN GHS Sub-Committee)
7. Enabling the Business of Agriculture project with the World Bank

During the meetings, the IGTC was congratulated on the targeted focus of its policy agenda and a growing awareness emerged of the Coalition’s role in global grain trade debates.