PMB Calls for Stronger Certification Systems to Boost Sierra Leone’s Export Competitiveness

The Executive Chairman of the Produce Monitoring Board (PMB), Raymond Katta, has emphasized the urgent need to strengthen Sierra Leone’s national product certification systems to enhance trade, industrial development, and export competitiveness.

He made the remarks while serving as keynote speaker on the second day of a two-day Product Certification Excellence Training organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization at the Brookfields Hotel in Freetown. The training brought together key stakeholders in the country’s trade and standards ecosystem, including the Director of Operations at PMB, Didan Sankoh.

Delivering his keynote address, Katta stressed that global markets are increasingly standards-driven, making product certification not optional but essential for market access, consumer trust, export credibility, and international competitiveness. He noted that Sierra Leone’s agricultural products must consistently meet both national and international standards if they are to compete effectively on the global stage.

He further underscored the importance of inspection systems as a core pillar of a functional certification framework, alongside testing and conformity assessment mechanisms. According to him, strengthening these components would improve compliance, traceability, quality assurance, and overall confidence in Sierra Leone’s agricultural exports.

Katta highlighted the strong alignment between UNIDO’s mandate on inclusive and sustainable industrial development and PMB’s statutory responsibility to regulate, monitor, supervise, and promote the country’s produce sector. He said the collaboration supports national priorities such as export diversification, value addition, industrial growth, and long-term economic transformation.

On ongoing institutional reforms, the PMB Executive Chairman revealed plans to pursue the accreditation of the Board’s inspection body in line with international standards, describing it as a critical step toward enhancing Sierra Leone’s quality infrastructure and global export credibility.

He also announced a landmark initiative to establish Sierra Leone’s first Sensory Cocoa Laboratory, which he said would significantly improve product quality assessment, boost value addition, and strengthen the global competitiveness of Sierra Leonean cocoa.

Turning to specialty agriculture, Katta placed particular emphasis on Coffee Stenophylla, describing it as one of Sierra Leone’s most unique and high-potential coffee varieties capable of penetrating premium international markets. He explained that a nationally accredited certification system would help preserve its authenticity, traceability, and market value while reducing reliance on foreign certification bodies.

He further called for strengthened collaboration between PMB, UNIDO, the Sierra Leone Standards Bureau, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and other development partners to ensure the effective establishment and sustainability of a national product certification framework.

The engagement reaffirmed PMB’s commitment to advancing credible certification systems, strengthening regulatory oversight, improving traceability and compliance, and enhancing the competitiveness of Sierra Leone’s agricultural exports for the benefit of farmers, exporters, businesses, and the wider national economy.