GLOBALGAP is an association established by the leading retailers in Europe and organizes meetings between agricultural product manufacturers and retailers and works to prepare a joint protocol for the cultivation of agricultural products that will be more responsive to the modern needs of sustainable agriculture. GLOBALGAP is an initiative that European big retail supermarkets come together to implement and ensure that agricultural products placed on their shelves are safe and not harmful to human health. Today it has become a global standard that is valid all over the world. 70-80% of major retailers and manufacturers in Europe are currently members or registered to GLOBALGAP.

The GLOBALGAP standard, which was initiated as a civil society movement in Germany, has quickly spread to many countries. This is because the leading importers of vegetables and fruits in Europe require GLOBALGAP for the fruits and vegetables they will purchase. Many countries that want to take advantage of their countries in the sale of agricultural products to Europe have adopted local laws to comply with the GLOBALGAP protocol.

Although the GLOBALGAP protocol covers different agricultural products in general, it is most commonly applied in fruit and vegetable production. These works started like a civil society movement in Germany and spread to the whole world in a short time. Because the biggest market in the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables is the European Union countries and GLOBALGAP Certificate is sought as a mandatory document in the import transactions of these countries. The leading fruit and vegetable importers in Europe require GLOBALGAP Certificate for the products they purchase. It is an important advantage for manufacturers in countries that sell agricultural products to the European Union.
In addition to the Good Agricultural Practices standards, third countries also make the necessary legal arrangements to comply with this protocol. 

GLOBALGAP applies to both individual farmers and producer-farmer groups (eg cooperatives, large exporters, packaging houses, etc.); Producer-Farmer groups are also required to fulfill the elements related to Quality Management System documents and be able to manage the connections between producers.

Transparency and traceability are the most important conditions in GLOBALGAP applications. All the processes starting from the preparation of the soil to be planted until all stages of production and delivery to the consumer are under control and every activity is recorded.