Clearing the Channels: Ethiopian PCA for Pumps and Pump Accessories

PCA NewslettersDecember 13, 2023

Agriculture is crucial to the economy of Ethiopia, accounting for 40% of gross domestic product, 80% of exports and around 75% of the country's workforce. Pumps and pump accessories for the Ethiopian market are regulated to protect the agricultural sector, and to safeguard public health, and the environment, against substandard products.

Ethiopia’s Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration (MOTRI) and Ethiopia Conformity Assessment Enterprises (ECAE) executed a Memorandum of Understanding on November 20, 2013, to mandate ECAE with the responsibility to ensure pumps and pump accessories imported into Ethiopia are tested and inspected to the applicable Ethiopian standards. On behalf of MOTRI, ECAE appointed SGS to verify conformity with these standards and technical regulations for water pumps and relevant accessories.

Consignments of applicable products must obtain a Certificate of Conformity (CoC) issued by SGS before shipment. The CoC is a mandatory customs clearance document in Ethiopia. Consignment of these products arriving without a CoC will be subjected to a penalty, or importers might be forced to ship the product back to the country of origin.

To obtain a CoC, the consignment of pumps and pump accessories must be inspected and tested. In the case of any discrepancies found, ample time is normally given to undertake corrective actions. However, failure to act may lead to the issuance of a Non-conformity Report (NCR).

Test reports which may be admissible for assessment conformity must be issued by laboratories and certification bodies. Options for these are as follows:

SGS Laboratory and certification bodies accepted by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) certification scheme
Laboratories accredited by ISO/IEC 17025
Product certification bodies accredited for related products by a full member of IAF/ILAC
Manufacturer laboratories, if all of the following are supplied:

Detailed and full test reports meeting the required standard
Quality management system (QMS) certification documentation (e.g. ISO 9001)
Quality control report documentation (routine tests), demonstrating the effectiveness of the conformity system
A list of test equipment (i.e. the names of the apparatus, related test, manufacturer, model number etc.) demonstrating the availability of the necessary equipment to perform the required tests

Please note that used pump products are not allowed entry into Ethiopia. However, special consideration may be granted to donor agencies and/or investors shipping used water pumps and/or pump accessories for their own use into Ethiopia.

We look forward to supporting your PVoC needs for Ethiopia.

Learn more about Ethiopia – Product Conformity Certificate (ECAE).

This article can also be found in our PCA Newsletter (Q4/2023) – which keeps you up to date with developments in technical barriers to trade and product conformity assessment.