Association Development. Both countries have demonstrated a great need for associations that are able to coordinate the activity of processing companies, to offer consulting assistance and to contribute to product marketing. XXXX is willing to develop a working relationship with any food processing enterprise that participates in this project. Such a relationship can include affiliation of any national industry associations with WFLO’s sister organization, the International Association of Refrigerated Warehousers (IARW). This will provide those participants with access to WFLO’s reference information and collaboration with members of affiliated organizations. In addition, this document will later mention the potential of partnering with existing projects. Linkages with such projects promoting association development would be particularly useful. That being said, the need to establish new associations for industry stakeholders also has been identified as a critical issue in many sectors. The Moldova Seafood NGP stated that the establishment of a fish industry federation is necessary to create an integrated system of fish branch management, coordination and organization to unify manufacturers, processors of fish products and trading enterprises. The Ukraine Seafood NGP favored the foundation of an association of fish processors to unite fish-catching, fish processing and trade enterprises. The Moldova Poultry NGP identified the need to create a poultry association that would facilitate: the export of poultry products, poultry processing, receiving of international credits and investments and standardize meat processing technology to export poultry products. Moldova Meat NGP recognized the lack of an association of animal and fodder producers and meat processors as a major constraint to their industry. Unfortunately, the legal environment is not favorable for association activities. Not only does Ukrainian legislation not allow associations to be registered as a group of legal entities, but also the procedure of registration itself is not easy. While such legislative reform might be beyond the Project’s capability, WFLO has the educational resources to increase a processor association’s ability to demonstratively address its member’s needs. The Director of the Odessa State Academy for Refrigeration (OSAR) suggested that the organizational development of a Seafood Association could be linked establishment of a “techno-park” in the Southern Ukrainian region. The Institute of Cattle Bre...
