. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/W/508
22 July 2003
(03-3915)
General Council
24-25 July 2003Original:  English
CRISIS SITUATION CREATED BY THE LONG-TERM TREND TOWARDS
DECLINE IN PRICES OF PRIMARY COMMODITIES TO THE
TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
WHICH ARE HEAVILY DEPENDENT
ON THEIR EXPORTS
Draft Text on Commodity Issues for Inclusion in the Declaration
or other Instrument that may be Adopted at the Cancún Meeting
Communication from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania
The following communication, dated 16 July 2003, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Kenya.
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As you are aware, Kenya Uganda and Tanzania have tabled a non-paper
(WT/COMTD/W/113) before the regular Committee on Trade and Development (COMTD)
highlighting the long-term trend towards decline in  prices of primary commodities to the trade and
development of countries which are heavily dependent on commodity exports.
During consultations held on 3 July 2003 by the Committee on this issue, Kenya on behalf of
the other two delegations indicated that the three delegations were working on a language on the
commodity issues for inclusion in the declaration or any other instrument the General Council will be
preparing for the Fifth Session of the Ministerial Conference.
In this regard, I would like to request you to include the above mentioned subject in the
checklist of issues for Cancún and in the agenda of the next General Council meeting to be held on 24
July 2003.
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1. We (the Ministers) recognize the urgent need to pay priority attention during the course of the
negotiations to the serious problems of commodity dependence, long-term declines and sharp
fluctuations in prices of commodities of export interest to developing countries (such as coffee, cocoa,
cotton, hard fibres, jute, sugar and vegetable oils and beef).  These problems seriously impede the
development and poverty alleviation efforts of many developing and least-developed countries andseriously limit their ability to service and repay their foreign debts.
2. We therefore direct the Committee on Trade and Development, Special Session of the
Committee on Agriculture, Working Group on Trade, Debt  and Finance, Working Group on Trade
and Transfer of Technology and Working Group on Trade and Competition Policy, to find during the
course of the negotiations solutions to these problems through, inter alia , elimination by developedWT/GC/W/508
Page 2
countries of trade-distorting domestic and of export subsidies, as well as reduction and where possible
elimination of tariffs, in particular applicable to processed products.  We also direct the above WTO
bodies to take account of the special characteristics of world commodity markets affecting the
development process, and pay priority attention to enhancing trading opportunities for developing
countries and to supporting their efforts to improve competitiveness, to secure prices that areremunerative and equitable for producers and to add value to their commodity exports.
3. We recognize that the solutions to many of the problems besetting commodity markets and
the pursuit of cooperative efforts to manage supplies must be sought during the ongoing negotiations
in WTO, by governments in cooperation with international commodity bodies, Commonwealth
Secretariat, UNCTAD and other relevant international trade organizations and international financial
institutions, within a favourably applied and supportive legal framework of WTO rules.  Adequate
attention shall be paid in the work and negotiations  in this area to the need to ensure that for
commodities (such as sugar and beef) for which certain developed countries have established special
arrangements for providing favourable and equitable prices to imports from a number of developing
countries, satisfactory solution is found to protect their trade interest.
4. Attached, please find the draft language for discussion during this meeting.
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