What makes up the cost of GLOBALG.A.P. certification?
Four items, only one of which is set by GLOBALG.A.P. Participation fees follow a public table; the audit, internal work and analyses depend on the certification body you choose and on your starting point. We do not quote prices: we show what moves them.
- System participation fees. According to the GLOBALG.A.P. fee table (version 8.0-1, valid from 1 August 2024), they combine a registration fee and a certificate license fee, charged by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat via the certification body. We found no more recent version of this table as of 6 November 2026; check the table in force when you request a quote.
- The certification body audit. It falls under the contract with the certification body: time on site, preparation, report, travel to the farms.
- Internal work. Setting up records, training crews, self-assessment or internal audits, the quality manager’s time, and possibly outside support.
- Analyses and upgrades. Water, residues and environmental monitoring at the packhouse, by laboratories working to ISO/IEC 17025; sometimes a plant protection product store, toilets or a hand-washing point to build.
The registration fee is calculated crop by crop on the area registered under first harvest, with separate bands for covered production (greenhouses, tunnels) and non-covered production. It applies to each individual producer and to each member of a producer group. The same area cultivated again with the same product within the certification cycle is registered as a further harvest, with no additional fee: for an early-vegetable greenhouse farm in Chtouka-Aït Baha, south of Agadir, that runs two tomato cycles a year, the area of the first harvest is what counts.
Individual or producer group: what changes in the budget?
The option changes how costs are split more than their total. Under Option 1, the certification body audits the entire scope every year. Under Option 2, it audits the group’s management system and a sample of members; the group itself audits every member.
Factor | Effect on cost | Effect on timeline |
|---|---|---|
Option 1, single site | Audit of the entire scope; internal self-assessment | The simplest to organise |
Option 2, producer group | Audit of the QMS and of at least the square root of the members; a QMS manager and internal auditors to fund | Internal audits of all members before the first audit |
Number of members | The external sample grows with the square root; internal audits grow with the number of members | Internal audit schedule across the season |
Central packhouses | At least the square root of the packhouses audited while in operation | The audit follows packing periods |
GFS edition | Higher registration fees than Smart in the fee table; 25% of the sample selected at random | System ready all year round: unannounced audit with no notice |
High-risk members or packhouses (GFS) | No sampling: each one is audited every year | All these members audited, in one or two visits depending on the certification body |
GRASP add-on | Assessment license fee and time for worker interviews | Assessment on the same day as the IFA audit, with workers present |
Packhouse already GFSI-certified (BIII) | GLOBALG.A.P. audit of the packhouse reduced to the points set by GLOBALG.A.P. | Less time at the packhouse |
Two details matter for a group. Under Option 2, the certificate license fee includes a base amount per certificate and a supplement per registered member. And the sample for the surveillance audit, during the certificate’s validity, covers at least half of the square root of the certified members, according to the producer group rules.
Under the GFS edition, the high-risk classification weighs heavily: a member is high-risk when a high-risk product, such as berries, is combined with a high-risk process, such as post-harvest water. In a berry producer group, a packhouse that washes the fruit is audited every year, and so is every member whose irrigation water touches the fruit: the certification body does not sample them.
What other factors move the budget?
Five factors, often underestimated:
- The number of products. Each registered product is audited during its production; adding a product while the certificate is valid triggers an audit.
- The starting level. A farm that already keeps complete application records and a water risk assessment spends mainly on the audit; one that starts from scratch spends mainly on organisation.
- Unclosed non-conformances. After a first audit, non-conformances must be closed within three months; after that, a complete audit is carried out again before any certificate is issued.
- Extending the certificate. According to the General Regulations for individual producers, validity can be extended by four months at most, but the full system participation fee remains due for the next certificate.
- Analyses. Their number follows from the risk assessment per crop and per market; a producer group can run its own residue monitoring system for its members.
The two-stage audit, with an off-site document review before the visit, does not reduce the total audit time. At best, it reduces back-and-forth.
How long does certification take?
There is no standard duration: the season calendar decides. Three rules set the floor, however well prepared you are.
Step | Time set by the General Regulations |
|---|---|
Registration with the certification body | GLOBALG.A.P. number assigned within 28 days of a complete application |
Records before the first audit | From registration onwards, covering at least three months |
First audit | During production: future production cannot be certified |
Closing first-audit non-conformances | Three months at most, otherwise the complete audit is repeated |
Certification decision | 28 days at most after non-conformances are closed |
Certificate validity | One year; renewal possible from four months before expiry |
The rule that costs the most time is this one: products harvested before registration cannot be certified. A fruit and vegetable exporter in Agadir that registers after the harvest has started loses part of the season. Register early, then run the system before asking for an audit date.
How do you control and fund the budget?
By deciding early, and by pooling what can be pooled. Before asking for quotes, check these points:
Training for farm managers, internal auditors and crews may qualify for the special training contracts (CSF) of OFPPT, Morocco’s vocational training office, under its rules and with no guaranteed amount: see our page on CSF funding. To compare with the budget of a factory-level standard, read our BRCGS, IFS and FSSC 22000 certification cost comparison. The case study of a berry producer group under Option 2 with GRASP shows these trade-offs in practice, and our GLOBALG.A.P. IFA v6 guide sets out the framework.