18th Oceania Customs Organisation (OCO) Annual Conference

 

The 18th OCO Annual Conference was held in Funafuti, Tuvalu from 1 to 3 June 2016. Attending the conference on behalf of the Pacific Community (SPC) was economic statistician Nilima Lal, who mentioned customs records as the main and generally preferred data source for the compilation of international merchandise trade statistics. She also referred to the urgent need for regionalising the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System to enable all countries to use the latest standard. SPC is pleased that the conference “agreed to establish a working group comprising relevant technical agencies and members to explore available options to address Harmonized Coding System deficiencies”. The purpose of the conference was to look at OCO operations and adoption of latest developments by Pacific customs organisations.  Host country, Tuvalu, was most hospitable and the conference was a great success.