Ukraine Speeds Up Grain Exports with Digital Phytosanitary Certificates

The German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation have worked together to implement an electronic phytosanitary certificate system in Ukraine, known as ePhyto. The goal was to simplify and speed up grain exports from Ukraine, a major supplier of grains to many countries.

The old paper-based system was slow and inefficient, requiring physical travel to offices to obtain certificates and creating additional delays, costs, and safety risks for exporters. To address this issue, the Ukrainian government linked its national phytosanitary certification system (PHIS) to the global ePhyto hub of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat.

ePhyto replaces paper certificates with secure digital versions that confirm plant and plant product health and safety requirements. This has led to a faster, cheaper, and more reliable process for exchanging certificates between Ukraine and around 100 countries.