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Turkmenistan’s Struggle for Compliance vs Regulations: A Review of the Country’s Standardization Efforts
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As Turkmenistan continues its journey towards international trade standards, the country has taken small steps to conform to global regulations. In this review, we’ll explore Turkmenistan’s standardization efforts and compliance with international regulations.
The Role of “Turkmenstandartlary”
The main state standards service, “Turkmenstandartlary”, plays a crucial role in regulating and overseeing conformity assessment, product certification, and publication of technical regulations. This organization is responsible for ensuring that products manufactured in Turkmenistan meet international trade norms.
Labeling Products
Products manufactured in Turkmenistan are labeled with a barcode starting with number 483, indicating the country’s commitment to international trade norms.
Standards and Metrology
Standards and metrology in Turkmenistan are governed by the Law on Standardization and Metrology of 1993 and a series of by-laws. The country relies on the National Standards of Turkmenistan (TDS) and General Interstate Standards (GOST), which were developed by the Euro-Asian Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (EASC).
Membership in International Organizations
Turkmenistan is a member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) since 1993. Additionally, the country created a national organization for bar coding in 2015.
Compliance with International Regulations
Imported goods must undergo testing and certification by Turkmenstandartlary to ensure adherence to quality standards. Bilateral agreements on the acceptance of national state certificates facilitate simplified procedures for issuing conformance certificates for imported/exported goods.
Sanitary Certification Requirements
Turkmen legislation requires products to be certified, and gauging equipment needs calibration by Turkmenstandartlary. The country introduced a sanitary certification requirement for food products in 1998, which is conducted by the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Inspectorate (SSEI).
Private Sector Food Safety Laboratory
In March 2019, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan (UIE) opened the first private sector food safety laboratory in Turkmenistan.
Accessing Proposed Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures
For more information on proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, stakeholders can use ePing, an online platform provided by the World Trade Organization (WTO). This platform offers access to notifications made by WTO members under the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).
Contact Information
For more information or assistance with standardization efforts in Turkmenistan, please contact:
- Main State Standards Service “Turkmenstandartlary”
- Address: 12 Galkynysh Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 744004
- Tel: (993-12) 49-58-59
- Fax: (993-12) 51-04-48
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