Distinguish certifications that gate access from those that improve price, because exporters routinely invest in the wrong one first. Access-gating requirements are decided by the destination and the product. For food entering the EU, HACCP-based food safety controls are effectively mandatory, and EUDR due-diligence evidence with geolocation data is required for cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soy, rubber, cattle and timber and their derived products. Plant products need phytosanitary certification. For the Gulf and much of Southeast Asia, Halal certification is access-gating on food. For the United States, FDA registration applies to food facilities. Price-improving certifications are different in kind: EU or USDA organic, Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance raise achievable price and open specific buyers, but a buyer will not accept an organic consignment that fails food safety, so sequence matters. GlobalG.A.P sits between the two, functioning as a de facto requirement for many European retail buyers even where no law requires it. Two practical points: certification is per-facility and per-product rather than a company status, so a certificate covering one line does not cover another; and audits are recurring, so budget the surveillance cost rather than treating it as one-off. Start from the specific destination market and product, then work backwards — certifying for a market you have no buyer in is the most common wasted expense.