Overview

In 1992, the Department of National Trade Measurement and Standards (DNTMS) was established by the Trade Standards and Quality Control Decree 1992 to ensure that Fiji’s products and services standards are aligned to international standards. 

The DNTMS forms technical committees of representatives from government, businesses, industry, academia, and consumers.  The committee through a process of consensus develops standards for Fiji, and makes recommendation to the Minister for Commerce, Trade, Tourism, and Transport, on Fiji standards specifications, including processes, practices, quality, composition, labeling, and codes of practices.

Ministry for Commerce, Trade, Tourism, and Transport (https://www.mcttt.gov.fj/)

Standards

There are 11 mandatory standards (technical regulations) and 75 voluntary standards in place, covering areas such as building and building material, telecommunication cabling, occupational health and safety, and electrical installation.  However, the DNTMS has a Memorandum of Understanding with Standards Australia International and the majority of the standards were adopted from Standards Australia as best practice standards.  The Department of National Trade Measurement & Standards is a full member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the Pacific Area Standards Congress and is affiliated with the International Electrochemical Commission (IEC).

Testing, Inspection and Certification

There are no conformity assessment bodies.  The National Trade Measurement Laboratory is the only national metrology laboratory.  However, manufacturers needing products tested send them to accredited laboratories in Australia or New Zealand, or to the University of the South Pacific’s Institute of Applied Science (USP/IAS) laboratory, which is ISO 17025 certified.  Water bottled in Fiji must be accredited.  The Bottled Water Standard requires that facilities bottling water in Fiji provide test results from approved laboratories for accreditation.

The Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism, and Transport as part of its export strategy issues the “Fijian Made” brand license for products that comply with local product content as per the Industry Emblem Decree and Regulations 2011.  The brand categories, aimed at promoting and raising the profile of Fijian made products locally and internationally, include Fijian Made, Fijian Product, Fijian Packed, Fijian Crafted, Fijian Grown, Fijian Assembled, Fijian Designed, and Fijian Sewn.  By 2018, a total of 591 companies, and over 3,639 products were certified to carry the Fijian Made logo.

Publication of Technical Regulations

All technical regulations are published in the Fiji Islands Gazette and available on the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport website. Proposed technical regulations are circulated widely to relevant stakeholders for review.  The standard development process takes a minimum of 12 months to publish the standard, with national standards reviewed after every 5 years.

Contact Information

Department of National Trade Measurement and Standards

Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport

P.O. Box 2118

Government Buildings, Suva

Phone: (679) 3305-411

Fax: (679) 3310-810

Use ePing to review proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures

The ePing SPS&TBT platform (https://epingalert.org/), or “ePing”, provides access to notifications made by WTO Members under the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), distributed by the WTO from January 16, 1995 to present.  ePing is available to all stakeholders free of charge and does not require registration unless the user wishes to receive customized e-mail alerts.  Use it to browse notifications on past as well as new draft and updated product regulations, food safety and animal and plant health standards and regulations, find information on trade concerns discussed in the WTO SPS and TBT Committees, locate information on SPS/TBT Enquiry Points and notification authorities, and to follow and review current and past notifications concerning regulatory actions on products, packaging, labeling, food safety and animal and plant health measures in markets of interest.

Notify U.S., operated and maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) since 2003 to distribute and provide access to notifications (and associated draft texts) made under the WTO TBT Agreement for US stakeholders, has reached its end of life.  Per obligation under the TBT Agreement, each WTO Member operates a national TBT (and an SPS) Enquiry Point.   National TBT Enquiry Points are authorized to accept comments and official communications from other national TBT Enquiry Points, which are NOT part of the WTO or the WTO Secretariat.  All comment submissions from U.S. stakeholders, including businesses, trade associations, U.S domiciled standards development organizations and conformity assessment bodies, consumers, or U.S. government agencies on notifications to the WTO TBT Committee should be sent directly to the USA WTO TBT Inquiry Point.  Refer to the comment guidance at https://tsapps.nist.gov/notifyus/data/guidance/guidance.cfm for further information.