Strengthening development of a Quality System in Peru

(Lima, May 22, 2008).- To support the project "Plan to develop a National Quality System in Peru," the Andean Development Corporation today signed a non-reimbursable cooperation agreement with the Peruvian Exporters Association (ADEX).

CAF Assistant Representative Ricardo Campins said that implementation of the plan would develop standardization of productive activities and conformity assessment, as indispensable components of the quality system that Peru requires to participate fully in international trade. The system will measure and improve the quality of export products.

"The project, which is sponsored by the CAF Competitiveness Support Program (PAC), will prepare a plan to establish an international quality system which includes a new institutional framework and a methodology to guarantee implementation."

Campins added that with the impact of a National Competitive Quality System, Peru would improve its possibilities of successful participation in the international economy.

The system will benefit business by facilitating technological innovation, improving productivity, and strengthening a business culture marked by specific quality and competitiveness benchmarks, the CAF official said.

"CAF is committed to the agenda to support the public and private sectors of the country in order to exploit the export offer in all foreign markets and associate Peruvian producers with a quality seal," he added.

ADEX President José Luis Silva said that this private sector initiative to prepare and execute the project would be the basis on which the government would take the legal and administrative actions needed to establish such an important system.

He added that the agreement was part of the "Business Competes" program, launched by the export association to strengthen the competitiveness of companies through initiatives and projects which contribute the strategies and knowledge needed to increase productivity, reduce costs and maintain continuous quality improvement.

"After the signing of the free trade agreement with United States, the task is now to implement the agreement and prepare Peru to benefit from the opportunities of the opening of the new market. In this respect, the project is strategic because it addresses a very important issue for the country’s competitiveness. It is also demonstrative because it is an initiative which has the consensus of the private and public sectors which should serve as an example to other institutions involved in the area," Silva said.

ADEX is a business organization founded in 1973 to represent and provide services to its 1,550 members: exporters, importers and export service providers. The association’s strength lies in the diversity of its members, which are large, medium and small companies, associated under 25 sectoral committees. The issue of quality certification for sustainable export promotion has been one of the main items on the ADEX agenda. In the light of recent trade agreements, the association has presented this initiative as an urgent task for the sector and for the country.