Ecuador: Ministerial Agreement No. 023 of 2024 – General Traceability Guidelines for Agricultural, Livestock and Forestry Production

Ministerial Agreement No. 023, signed on May 7, 2024, by Ecuador's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and published in Official Gazette No. 564 on May 23, 2024, establishes the General Traceability Guidelines for Agricultural, Livestock and Forestry Production. Its objective is to facilitate the implementation of traceability systems across agricultural, livestock and forestry value chains, strengthen oversight of production processes and contribute to animal and plant health and food safety. The agreement applies nationwide and is mandatory for operators engaged in production, collection, distribution, transportation and marketing when traceability requirements arise from national regulations or export-market conditions. It establishes mechanisms for operator identification and registration, assignment of unique identification numbers, product identification, recording of origin, destination and commercial movements, information storage and data exchange among operators and competent authorities. It covers backward, internal and forward traceability, as well as interoperability, transparency, information security and data harmonization. Physical or digital records may be used, and production units are subject to georeferenced registration. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and its competent entities coordinate implementation, monitoring and the development of complementary instruments. The agreement aims to facilitate compliance with commercial and sanitary requirements, strengthen value-chain information and improve access to domestic and international markets for agricultural and forestry products.