To ease the free movement of goods from one nation to another, and eliminate potential Technical Barriers to Trade, the World Trade Organization (WTO) put in place requirements and regulations on goods and monitors the implementation over all its country members.

For the country to grow economically, production of quality goods and services to meet the requirements and compete on market is essential. Of this concern, Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) makes control of prepackages control to verify compliance with quantity requirement of products in Rwanda.

Pre-packages control service


Since 2010, the Legal Metrology Unit of Rwanda Standards Board established a mandatory quantity control system of prepackaged products.

A Prepackaged product is defined as a single item consisting of a product and the packing material into which it was put before being offered for sale and in which the quantity of product has a predetermined value, whether the packing material encloses the product completely or only partially, but in any case in such a way that the actual quantity of product cannot be altered without the packing material either being opened or undergoing a perceptible modification.

The established system for prepackages follows the average system as established by the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML R 87 and OIML 79). Currently, the system has continually improved and RSB controls quantities packed in Volume (water, juices, sodas, Paints, beers, etc…..), Mass (Maize and wheat flour, Rice, Sugar, Paints with high viscosity etc…..) and in Number (pens, match boxes, tooth picks etc……) using calibrated reference equipments with high accuracy.

In addition, according to our capability of good practice we cover the packing sizes ranging between 10g and 50kg.
 
By October 2016, reports showed that this service was delivered to more than 115 customers from industries, supermarkets, importers and exporters.

Below is graph A showing the pre-packages control from July 2010 to June 2014.


Source: RSB - Prepackage control database.

Referring to the graph A, in the year 2010-2011 products controlled were many compared to following years , the reason being that the service was free of charge and it  also acted  away of creating awareness to the public about the new service delivered. Consequently, over the following years the number decreased as service was charged until todate. As shown in the graph, the products being controlled are increasing every financial year   and RSB target is to keep the focus to ensure prepackages control contribute to customer rights protection (value for money), trader and processor protection from losses associated with underweight or overweight.

In the year 2013-2014 reports show that Food and Paint products were controlled, and below is the graph B showing their status.
Source: Prepackage control database.

In graph B, food products passed by 80% and Paints by 57.5%, and food products failed by 20% while      paints failed by 42.5%. The root causes are many, and among them, the weighing system being used was found to be insufficient i.e. some users didn’t know the proper weighing and the kind of balances being used were inappropriate. Corrective actions were taken to industries for failing products to find ways to improve, one of them is that RSB organized awareness seminar to all beneficiaries.

Contribution to the national economy growth

Metrological control of prepackages is very paramount to consumers and the government. Quality products lead to a high demand which increases frequency of exporting and productivity; hence the producer earns his/her value for money and government revenues increases.
 

Consumer protection  

The pre-packaging service has become the solution to consumers whereby most consumers could buy deceptive goods unknowingly and pre-packages control is the right track towards bringing a sustainable solution. In addition, pre-packages control reports are considered as founded evidences by courts of Law in cases of claims.  

The sustainable contribution of control of prepackages to economic growth and to protect consumer will be attained by creating strong platform for service awareness to the public and to keep strengthening its system for better accuracy of the equipments being used.