TN/AG/SCC/W/39  
WT/CFMC/66  
 
13 July 2021  
(21-5495) Page: 1/19 
Sub-Committee on Cotton    
 
THEMATIC SESSION ON COTTON BY -PRODUCTS DEVELOPMENT  
IN LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES (LDCS)  
28 MAY 2021, 10:00 -13:00 (ROOM W/INTERPREFY)  
Report  
1  INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON, DIRECTOR OF THE AGRICULTURE 
AND COMMODITIES DIVISION MR EDWINI KESSIE  
1.  The chairperson  welcomed all participants to the Thematic Session on Cotton By -products 
Development in Least -Developed Countries (LDCs), organized in the context of the May 2021 
WTO Cotton Days. He reminded participants that the s ession stemmed from the WTO -ITC-UNCTAD 
Joint Initiative on Cotton By -Products (hereinafter, the "Joint Initiative on CBPs"), as endorsed by 
WTO Members at the 29 November 2018 meeting of the Director -General's Consultative Framework 
Mechanism on Cotton (DG CFMC)1. 
2.  He addressed a special welcome to all those who were connected from capital and expressed his 
gratitude for their participation considering the time difference.  
3.  Considering that it was the first Thematic Session on Cotton By -Products that he was c hairing on 
behalf of the DG, as well as on behalf of the incoming DDG in charge of Agriculture, he reminded 
participants of the origin of the Joint Initiative on CBPs.  
4.  He stated that, under the 2015 Nairobi Ministerial Decision on Cotton2, developed coun tries and 
developing countries in a position to do so had committed to grant, to the extent provided for in 
their respective preferential trade arrangements, duty -free and quota -free market access for exports 
of cotton and cotton -related agricultural produ cts from LDCs. Further, he noted that these 
"cotton -related agricultural products " were listed in the Annex to the Nairobi Decision, and included 
important products such as cottonseed oil for human consumption and cottonseed cake used as 
phosphorus -rich an imal feed.  
5.  He recalled that the Cotton -4 (C-4) and other cotton producing LDCs, in referring to the list of 
cotton -related agricultural products annexed to the Nairobi Decision, had, at various DGCFMC and 
trade -related Dedicated Discussion meetings, highli ghted several supply -side constraints hindering 
their ability to fully exploit the production and trade potential of these cotton -related products. 
The C-4 had also underscored that value addition and trade for cotton by -products was one key 
component of t heir "Route du Coton" programme3. 
6.  He recalled that in the spring 2018 meeting of the DGCFMC, UNCTAD had reported on three years 
of work and success stories related to the development of cotton by -products in various COMESA 
countries and Tanzania, as descr ibed in document WT/CFMC/57. He also mentioned that ICAC 
referred frequently to the unexploited potential of various by -products in their presentations.  
7.  He noted that later that year, at the November 2018 meeting of the DGCFMC, the C-4 had 
requested that t he WTO, UNCTAD and ITC work jointly towards supporting the creation of additional 
 
1 TN/AG/SCC/W/30  - WT/CFMC/58 . 
2 WT/MIN(15)/46 - WT/L/981.  
3 WT/CFMC/W/73.  TN/AG/SCC/W/39 • WT/CFMC/66  
 
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  revenue streams from the production, processing and trade of cotton by -products, in particular in 
LDCs. This request gave birth to the so -called "Joint Initiative on Cotton B y-Products", endorsed by 
the DGCFMC at that same meeting in November 2018.  
8.  He further added that the complementarities between the work of the three agencies, as well as 
the need to streamline initiatives on cotton and avoid overlaps, were among the considerations that 
led to support the desirability of joint inter -agency work in the context of cotton development 
assistance in general, and cotton by -products in particular. In addition, in line with the Nairobi 
Decision on Cotton, whereby Ministers rec ognized the role to be played by the Enhanced Integrated 
Framework (EIF) in strengthening the cotton sector in LDCs on the basis of priorities and needs 
identified by LDCs, the EIF had provided a grant (USD 204,000) to support the preparation of 
feasibilit y assessment studies in a pilot group of African LDCs.  
9.  He highlighted that, since then, various workshops and thematic sessions had been held in the 
context of the Joint Initiative, including in the margins of DGCFMC meetings, to share technical 
informatio n and best practices, and report on progress made and enhance dialogue between 
partners, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders.  
10.  He then presented the agenda of the day while specifying that item 2 would be an update by 
the C-4 on their initiative for a Ge neral Council Declaration on Support for Cotton by -Products 
Development in LDCs, submitted by the C-4 and Côte d'Ivoire in document WT/GC/W/808 for 
consideration by the General Council session of 16 -17 December 2020. Item 3 would be a 
presentation of the a ctivities undertaken as part of the EIF -funded Joint -initiative project, an update 
of the new EIF -funded feasibility assessment work in Malawi and Togo by UNCTAD, and a 
presentation of ITC's study published at the end of 2020 on potentials and challenges f or CBPs 
development across various African countries (WT/CFMC/W/90). Item 4 would be dedicated to ITC 
and UNCTAD's presentation of their proposed workplan for capacity building activities to be 
implemented in the next phase of the Joint Initiative, as refl ected in document WT/CFMC/W/89.  
11.  The agenda was adopted as proposed and the Chairperson concluded his introduction by 
announcing two new developments in the area of communication: i) first, a new webpage  on the 
Joint Initiative on Cotton by -Products hosted by the WTO website; ii) second, a video  produced by 
the W orld Economic Forum on the potentials and challenges linked to the development of cotton 
by-products in Africa.  
12.  The Chairperson  gave the floor to the Secretariat to briefly present the new webpage on the 
Joint Initiative on Cotton By -Products and play the World Economic Forum's video on the potentials 
and challenges linked to the development of cotton by -products in Africa. The Chairperson then 
proceeded by opening the floor for comments by Members and participants.  
13.  The representative of Mozambique  thanked  the Chairperson for giving them the floor. She 
expressed her gratitude and commended the WTO for its work and for continuously organizing this 
meeting given its importance. She further thanked the WTO for the presentation and assistance in 
developing the cotton sector. She also commended ITC, WTO, UNCTAD and all those involved in the 
work to continue to support Mozambique's national development.  
14.  The representative of Burkina Faso  thanked the Chairperson and welcomed his chairmanship. 
He further thanked the Chairperson for the update on the information related to cotton by -products 
development in LDCs. He thanked and congratulated the WTO for creating the new webpage 
dedicated to c otton by -products. He indicated that this was a testimony to the WTO's commitment 
to supporting LDCs' cotton sectors and, more broadly, their agricultural sectors. He mentioned that 
the webpage was an important source of information for their countries and  that the C-4 would 
collaborate with the WTO to improve it and provide information that would help ensure that the 
webpage remained up to date.  
15.  The representative of Côte d'Ivoire  thanked the Chairperson and congratulated him for his 
chairmanship. He comm ended the WTO for the initiative that had been implemented, highlighting 
that decisions on cotton by -products were being put into action. He also welcomed the creation of 
the webpage on cotton by -products. He thanked again the Secretariat for the webpage a s it would 
allow Members to benefit from the work performed on this subject.  TN/AG/SCC /W/39 • WT/CFMC/66  
 
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  2  UPDATE ON DRAFT GENERAL COUNCIL DECLARATION ON SUPPORT FOR COTTON BY -
PRODUCTS DEVELOPMENT IN LDCS  
16.  The Chairperson  introduced agenda item 2 while specifying that the floor would be  given to 
Ambassador Sougouri, Permanent Representative of Burkina Faso to the United Nations and the 
WTO, and Coordinator of the C-4. He indicated that the ambassador would update Members on the 
draft General Council Declaration on Support for Cotton By -Products development in LDCs, contained 
in document WT/GC/W/808, submitted to the General Council meeting in December 2020 by the  C-4 
and Côte d'Ivoire.  
17.  Ambassador Dieudonné W. Désiré SOUGOURI, Permanent Representative of Burkina Faso to 
the United Nations and the WTO , thanked again the WTO for all the work undertaken in relation to 
cotton by -products. He reminded participants that he was making his statement on behalf of the 
Group of the four countries that were co -sponsors of the sectoral initiative in fav our of cotton  (C-4), 
as well as Côte d'Ivoire and all thirty -six African cotton producing and exporting countries.  
18.  He expressed his gratitude to the Chairperson and his team for their commitment to cotton at 
the WTO and for facilitating consultations among  Members to reach consensus on the adoption of 
the draft General Council Declaration on cotton by -products development in LDCs.  
19.  He emphasized that cotton and its by -products represented an important source of revenue for 
LDCs, and that numerous women and youth depended directly or indirectly on the sector, which 
furthermore contributed to job creation and poverty reduction.  
20.  He informed participants that in Africa, 35 million farmers depended on cotton and its 
by-products for their livelihood, 10 million o f whom were in C-4 countries where revenues from 
cotton represented between 8 % and 12 % of the GDP and up to 40 % of total export revenues. He 
emphasised that these figures showcased the importance of cotton and its by -products for African 
economies and popu lations.  
21.  He regretted that due to their low levels of development, these countries were unable to 
sufficiently exploit the potential of the sector, even though the promotion of under -utilized parts of 
the cotton plant could lead to job creation and the ge neration of revenue to fight poverty.  
22.  He specified that, through the Draft General Council Declaration, the C-4 aimed at creating an 
enabling environment for the implementation of projects for the development of cotton by -products 
to increase the revenues  of more than 20 million smallholder farmers, including women and youth, 
reinforce production capacities and ensure job creation, considering in particular the difficult context 
linked to the impacts of COVID -19. 
23.  He further added that the declaration would  allow cotton producing LDCs to build a more 
competitive and resilient cotton sector, better equipped to face international market shocks, 
especially considering the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The draft, he added, 
included an action plan  that could help countries face current challenges.  
24.  He mentioned that the C-4 had been pleased with the comments on the draft by WTO Members 
during previous consultations and that they had taken good note of the observations formulated by 
some Members. He  specified that the C-4 would welcome constructive discussions with all 
stakeholders to improve the text, so as to reach a consensus among WTO Members for the adoption 
of the Declaration.  
25.  He further called on the commitment and support of all WTO Members and development 
partners to support the adoption and implementation of the action plan contained in the draft 
Declaration.  
26.  Finally, he closed his statement by indicating that the C-4 thanked all Members for their 
cooperation and contribution to improving the draft and reassured them of their availability to 
continue consultations to reach consensus.  
27.  The Chairperson  thanked Ambassador Sougouri for his statement and opened the floor.  TN/AG/SCC/W/39 • WT/CFMC/66  
 
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  28.  The representative of Chad  thanked the chair and indicated that his state ment was on behalf of 
the LDC Group, as Chad oversaw the coordination of the group. He indicated that they fully supported 
the adoption of the document and the statement made by the C-4's Coordinator.  
29.  Regarding the draft General Council Declaration to sup port the development of cotton 
by-products in LDCs, he underlined two important elements: i) the increase of productivity which 
represented a challenge and an objective; ii) processing. He further added that the development of 
cotton by -products in LDCs wa s very important and he reiterated their support for a holistic approach 
looking not only at the different aspects of cotton but also at the advantages of cotton by -products. 
He highlighted that the LDC Group considered that cotton represented a special op portunity to 
increase agricultural productivity, revenues and improve the livelihoods of millions of cotton farmers 
throughout the continent. He further emphasized that cotton played a considerable economic and 
social role in LDCs' development.  
30.  He stated that the LDC Group fully subscribed to decisions made by the Ministers of the C-4 on 
the necessity for the C-4 to take up modernization programmes of their production systems and 
reinforce productivity through the development of training and research servi ces but also through 
better access to fertilizers and financing, and structural transformation of cotton. He added that 
LDCs, similarly to the C-4 countries, had lots of potential such as multiple resources to attract 
investments. He also mentioned that LD Cs had large land areas and a young population which 
constituted an extraordinary potential. The development of all this potential called simultaneously 
for public and private investments as well as for the acceleration of policies for diversification and 
structural transformation of LDCs' economies: this would enable low -income economies like the LDCs 
to unleash their potential and advance towards sustainable development. He also called on all 
WTO Members to support this initiative.  
31.  The representative of China  thanked the Chairperson and expressed his agreement with the 
intervention made by the representative of Chad. He recalled the discussion of the previous day on 
cotton development during the DGCFMC and the collaboration on cotton development with the  C-4, 
Africa and LDC Members. He highlighted two priority areas, i) productivity improvement through 
new technologies and ii) identification of ways to add value to cotton products, with emphasis on 
cotton by -products utilization.  
32.  He reminded participants of the General Council session in December 2020, during which China 
supported the Director General's statement on cotton, and recalled the suggestions included in 
WT/GC/W/808. He thanked international organizations and WTO Members for their contributions 
and hard work. He further mentioned that China had experts conducting research on cotton 
by-products. He reminded participants that he had made a presentation in 2019 during a WTO 
technical workshop on cotton by -products that specifically focused on by -products development and 
utilization in China. He specified that China was actively collaborating and working with partners 
from the C-4 and other cotton producing LDCs, given that China was aware of the opportunities for 
collaboration on cotton by -products an d on technologies, and the need to identify ways to improve 
cotton productivity in LDCs.  
33.  The Chairperson  thanked China. He also thanked the C-4 for the update on the document as 
well as all the delegations who took the floor under agenda item 2. He indicat ed that it was his 
understanding that the proponents would continue to engage in consultations on this document, 
which was expected to be an important outcome on cotton at both the General Council 
and MC12  levels.  
3  PHASE I OF THE WTO -ITC-UNCTAD INITIATIVE ON COTTON BY -PRODUCTS  
34.  The Chairperson  introduced agenda item 3 by recalling that activities in Phase I of the Joint 
Initiative had been carried out under an EIF -funded project which officially started in August 2019 
and came to an end in December 2020. He also specified that this part of the work had been 
coordinated by the WTO Secretariat, in close consultation with UNCTAD and ITC, and that national 
experts had worked very hard to collect data and analyse the potential for cotton by -product 
development in their respective countries. This resu lted in five new feasibility studies for Benin, 
Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Mozambique.  TN/AG/SCC /W/39 • WT/CFMC/66  
 
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  35.  The preliminary findings of these studies had been validated during national workshops 
organized by the WTO Secretariat in each of these countries between the end of September  2020 
and the beginning of October 2020. He took the opportunity to thank all those who had provided 
comments on the draft studies and indicated that the final studies as amended at the national 
validation workshops had been circulated at the requ est of each concerned country as follows:  
(a) Benin: WT/CFMC/W/85;  
(b) Burkina Faso: WT/CFMC/W/84;  
(c) Chad: WT/CFMC/W/86;  
(d) Mali: WT/CFMC/W/87;  
(e) Mozambique: WT/CFMC/W/88 . 
36.  He then gave the floor to Fabrizio Meliadò of the WTO Agriculture and Commodit ies Division, to 
make a joint statement under sub -item 3a of the agenda on behalf of the Secretariats of the WTO, 
ITC and UNCTAD.  
37.  Mr Fabrizio Meliadò  told participants he felt honoured to make a statement on behalf of the 
Secretariats of the WTO, ITC and U NCTAD, the three partner agencies of the "Joint Initiative on 
Cotton By -Products". He recalled that in its first phase, in 2019 -2020, the activities conducted under 
the Joint Initiative aimed at laying the groundwork for the fulfilment of the Initiative's ultimate 
objective: "increasing revenues for farmers and small processors by supporting the production,  local 
transformation and trade of cotton by -products in partner countries".  
38.  He indicated that the first phase of the initiative yielded several importan t outputs, in particular 
due to the EIF -funded project on "Technology Transfer for the Development of Cotton By -Products 
in 8 Pilot African LDCs". Some of the results included:  
• the preparation of country -specific feasibility studies in 5 African LDCs: Ben in, Burkina Faso, 
Chad, Mali and Mozambique;  
• the organization of national validation workshops in individual C-4 countries and in 
Mozambique, in partnership with key local stakeholders from the public and private sectors;  
• the organization of the Partners' Conference in October 2019, in the margins of the 
WTO Launch of World Cotton Day;  
• a request by Malawi and Togo to join the Initiative and conduct feasibility assessments in their 
cotton sectors and markets. The two feasibility assessments were in progress under the 
coordination of UNCTAD, and were covered in more detail under the next item of the agenda;  
• the organization of various thematic sessions and workshops in the margins of the WTO cotton 
days, during which the following Members reported on their exp eriences and strategies for the 
development of cotton by -products in their respective national contexts: the C-4 countries, 
both individually and as a group; Brazil; Cameroon; China; E uropean Union; Mozambique; 
Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe (in th e context of the UNCTAD project that served 
as the main pilot for the work done under Phase I of the Joint Initiative); Turkey; U nited States 
of America . In addition, at various WTO cotton meetings, the International Cotton Advisory 
Committee had also repo rted on the potential further to develop by -products in Africa; 
ICAC had also published briefs and articles on specific by -products over the past two years.  
• the publication of various briefs and knowledge products, including by providing relevant 
inputs t o various WTO and UN publications;  
• participation at various events, such as the EU Development Days or meetings of WTO bodies 
where the Agriculture Division had been invited to present about the nature and progress of 
the work under the Joint Initiative, w ith a specific focus on Technology Transfer in the field of 
Agriculture.   TN/AG/SCC/W/39 • WT/CFMC/66  
 
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  39.  He specified that the links to all these activities were now available through the new webpage 
on the Joint Initiative, hosted by the WTO website. He noted that the purpose of all th e work done 
under Phase I of the Joint Initiative was essentially to assess the potential for investments and 
technology transfer to create additional revenues from the local processing of cotton by -products 
(e.g. edible oil, soap, animal feed, fertilizers  etc.), particularly for smallholder farmers and 
processors.  
40.  He further added that the novel data and analyses conducted as part of the project supported 
the view that great potential existed to develop cotton by -products in African LDCs, with concrete 
benefits to the livelihoods and resilience of millions of smallholder farmers, women, and small 
businesses, as well as the possibility to take an important step towards more sustainable waste 
management in Agriculture value chains, and the use of cleaner ener gy at the household and small 
industrial levels.  
41.  He observed that realizing this potential required meeting the necessary conditions, including 
improved production, processing and trade infrastructure, implementation of reforms to the benefit 
of farmers, i nvestment facilitation initiatives, and finally, the availability of appropriate technologies 
and know -how. Additionally, meeting these conditions required effective collaboration between 
national stakeholders at all levels, national and international inve stors, and capacity -building 
initiatives facilitated by the international development community.  
42.  In conclusion, he highlighted that local ownership, greatly facilitated by the active cooperation 
of EIF national structures, and demand -driven activities, had  been the guiding principles 
underpinning all the work so far and they would continue to be so for all potential future actions 
under the Joint Initiative.  
43.  Regarding the next steps, he briefly mentioned that ITC and UNCTAD, in consultation with the 
WTO and  based on an open partnership approach, had prepared and submitted to interested donors 
a programme document fully based on the priorities expressed by partner LDCs during Phase I of 
the Joint Initiative. Finally, he indicated that the proposal, contained in WTO Document 
WT/CFMC/W/89, was available for consultation through the new CBPs webpage.  
44.  The Chairperson  thanked the Secretariat for the joint statement and thanked WTO's partner 
agencies ITC and UNCTAD for their proactive participation and engagement in  all the activities and 
initiatives mentioned in this statement, as well as the EIF for their continued support. The 
chairperson then proceeded to give the floor to Mr Janvier Nkurunziza, Officer -in-charge, 
Commodities Branch, UNCTAD, to make a presentatio n on the state of play of UNCTAD's feasibility 
assessment work under way in Malawi and Togo.  
45.  Mr Janvier Nkurunziza, Officer -in-charge, Commodities Branch, UNCTAD , reminded participants 
that UNCTAD was a Member of the Joint Initiative and was the Main Implementing Entity (MIE) of 
the two projects in Malawi and Togo.  
46.  He recalled that the project in Malawi and Togo started in the first quarter of 2021 and would 
be co ncluded at the end of 2021. He specified that two consultants had been recruited (one in 
Malawi, one in Togo) and were actively collecting information. The objective was to produce 
feasibility studies for cotton by -product development in Malawi and Togo. N ational stakeholders 
would validate the feasibility studies with a view to identifying priority cotton by -products for 
development.  
47.  In Malawi, he indicated that field visits which started in the north of the country in Karonga 
district were under way, and would be followed by visits in the south, where cotton concentration 
was higher. Key Informant Interviews (KII) were also conducted with relevant stakeholders and 
experts, including cotton smallholder farmers, and the public and private sectors. Public sec tor staff 
involved included those from the Ministry of Agriculture's Department of Crop Production and 
Development and its Department of Agriculture Research Services; the Ministry of Trade; the 
Ministry of Industry; and the Cotton Council of Malawi (CCM).  He added that private sector interviews 
would focus on cotton associations (of smallholder farmers), ginners, edible oil millers, and stockfeed 
producers. The following would be consulted:  TN/AG/SCC /W/39 • WT/CFMC/66  
 
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  • farmers associations: Cotton Farmers Association (COFA) with its m ember associations drawn 
from the cotton growing districts ; 
• cotton seed suppliers: Qutton Malawi ; 
• ginners: Mapeto, Afrisian Limited, Agri -Value Chain, ADMARC, and Malawi Cotton Company ; 
• oil millers: Capital Oil Refinery Industries ; 
• oil millers  associations: Edible Oil Manufactures in Malawi ; 
• other support institutions (including for technology replication): African Institute of Corporate 
Citizenship (AICC), Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM), Academic and Research Institutions ; 
• trade schools special izing in training weavers/textile producers: Malawi Council for the 
Handicapped (MACOHA), St John of God, and SOS technical.  
48.  He mentioned that the sampling of the household survey of cotton farmers would consist of 14 
major cotton producing districts in Ma lawi and that the total number of households employed in 
cotton production in the 14 districts was about 200,000. Finally, the sample size would be 
383 households, distributed according to the population size of the cotton producing districts and 
would be selected at random in each of the 14 districts.  
49.  Regarding the work in Togo, he informed participants that, to develop the economy and create 
employment through national production, the Togolese government had assigned a new mission to 
the Ministry of Comme rce: promoting the consumption of local products. The Ministry of Commerce, 
Industry and Local Consumption of Togo has thus developed a strategy to promote the consumption 
of Togolese goods and services. As part of the implementation of this strategy, UNCT AD had 
supported the Ministry of Commerce by conducting a feasibility study to identify opportunities for 
increasing revenues from cotton. Particular attention was paid to the role of smallholders and women 
'agripreneurs' in the development of cotton by -products, in order to increase their resilience in the 
face of external shocks, such as the COVID -19 pandemic.  
50.  He stated that the project that begun on 15 February 2021 started by taking stock of the cotton 
sector and its by -products in order to develop act ion plans. The work was based on a literature 
review and on information gathered from meetings with stakeholders directly and indirectly linked 
to cotton and its by -products. He added that the mission began with a scoping workshop with the 
national monitor ing committee, under the coordination of the EIF structures in Togo. Despite 
difficulties related to respect for measures imposed in the light of the COVID -19 pandemic, meetings 
with farmers, research centres, the federation of cotton growers and structure s involved in the 
processing of cotton co -products were continued in Lomé as well as in inland regions.  
51.  He indicated that the first national tour allowed researchers to establish an initial diagnosis of 
the situation of production, marketing and cotton by -products. This first diagnosis would be 
reinforced by a second national tour, in order to establish a more complete inventory of the situation 
of cotton and its by -products and to propose concrete actions for their development.  
52.  As next steps, he specified that the consultants would continue to collect data in the coming 
weeks and draft the feasibility studies through the summer. He also mentioned that the feasibility 
studies would be presented for validation to national stakeholders at workshops in the last  quarter 
of 2021, subject to COVID restrictions. Further, national stakeholders would decide on the countries ' 
priority cotton by -products to be prioritized. They would then include these priorities in National 
Action Plans, with policy recommendations to support them, for example on investment and 
financing for better processing technologies.  
53.  Finally, he noted that the findings of the two EIF feasibility assessments - together with the 
assessments already completed by the partner agencies - would form the basis for the second phase 
of the WTO -ITC-UNCTAD Joint Initiative capacity -building activities. The second phase of activities 
would be tailored to support the National Action Plans and the selected cotton by -products.  
54.  The Chairperson  thanked Mr Nkurunziz a and specified that this on -going process also 
constituted an opportunity for the partner LDCs to strengthen their development cooperation 
network both internally and internationally. He then opened the floor for ITC's presentation on their TN/AG/SCC/W/39 • WT/CFMC/66  
 
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  new publicatio n "Beyond the Fibre: Capturing Cotton's Full Value in Africa" 
(document  WT/CFMC/W/90).  
55.  Mr Matthias Knappe , ITC, recalled that ITC had published the report "Beyond the Fibre: 
Capturing Cotton's Full Value in Africa" in relation to cotton by -products. This report had been 
translated into French and Spanish and distributed to all WTO Members at their request.   
56.  He explained that the presentation had four major chapters: 1) review of the most important 
by-products (i.e. oil, cakes and meal) for which internatio nal market and price development existed, 
considering that the derivatives could represent 30 % of the value of seed cotton;  2) presentation of 
the various by -products of the plant and usage by African countries as well as opportunities derivable 
from them;  3) challenges and opportunities; 4) recommendations for countries and private sector 
stakeholders in the countries concerned.  
57.  He explained that the publication and further presentation would look into the different by -
products and their use on the contin ent, including: cottonseed oil which competed with vegetable 
oils that were mainly imported for human consumption; cottonseed hulls as a source of energy or 
blended with meal for animal feed; cottonseed cake used for feed; linters, which were a source of 
cellulose used in goods such as bank notes, paper, yarn, plastics; cotton stalks which could be used 
for compost, or as boiler fuel in compressed form such as pellets, briquettes and particle boards, 
among others; and finally edible mushrooms that could be grown on cotton stalks.  
58.  Gerald Estur, Independent consultant, ITC  indicated that more than 60 % of African cotton was 
produced in French speaking African countries. He mentioned that cotton was mainly synonymous 
with cotton lint, a raw material for textile  production which primarily explained its production. 
However, he insisted that all parts of the cotton plant had value, and that it was not only a textile 
plant but also an oleaginous plant. He explained that the basis was seed cotton, from which more 
oleaginous seeds (cottonseeds) could be obtained (approximately 55 %) than lint (40 % in volume). 
On five million hectares, Africa produced five million tonnes of seed cotton with an average yield of 
1 tonne per hectare which could and should be improved. From current production, Africa produced 
2 million tonnes of lint and close to 3 million tonnes of cottonseeds.  
59.  He then explained that the primary use of cottonseeds was to retain one part of the production 
for next season's planting, considering that cotton w as an annual crop, although it was originally a 
perennial crop that was gradually adapted to be cultivated annually. He added that less than 10 % 
(or approximately 150 000 tonnes) of cottonseeds were used and treated to be used as planting 
seeds. Fuzzy seed s or whole cottonseeds were valuable feedstuff, particularly for dairy cows. He 
specified that they were increasingly used as such, and gave the example of the USA where more 
than half of cottonseeds produced were not processed into oil but rather used as livestock feed. He 
also mentioned that in Australia, large scale oil mills closed as firms estimated that it was more 
profitable to export unprocessed cottonseeds, particularly to China. In Africa, seeds that were not 
kept for planting were processed into oil, which was currently the main way in which cottonseeds 
were processed.  
60.  He added that part of the fibre was under -used in Africa, and took two forms. Firstly, residues 
remain after ginning (gin motes), which in large part were not recycled in Africa ev en though they 
contain cellulose that can be used for nonwoven products (e.g. for absorbent cotton). Production of 
these was estimated at around 150 000 tonnes. He explained that these gin motes were immature 
fibres that were not long enough to be spun, an d that this product was derived from the first phase 
of processing the seed: the ginning. Secondly, the remainder on the seed was a shorter part of 
cellulose (fuzz): the linters. These represented between 4 -8% of the weight of the seed. Delinting 
was the p rocess of removing fuzz from the seed, and could be done mechanically or by using acid. 
As with gin motes, linters could not be spun but could be used to produce absorbent cotton, among 
other things. In Africa, linters were generally exported due to the ab sence of local value -added 
industries.  
61.  He continued by explaining that once delinted, the cottonseed was surrounded by a hull. To 
produce oil, the kernel had to be separated from the hull. He estimated that the hull represented 
20-30% of the seed weight a nd had multiple purposes: livestock feed, fertiliser, use in the refining 
industry, use in chemical industries, etc. He informed participants that, for a long time, the 
designation of "co -products" was used, but that reference should instead be made to "by -products" TN/AG/SCC /W/39 • WT/CFMC/66  
 
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  or "products derived from cotton". He further added that, in Africa, most hulls were used as an 
energy source in processing units and cotton oil mills, but that a large part was still wasted.  
62.  He indicated that cottonseed oil was the by -product with the highest value, even though cotton 
was a relatively inefficient oilseed, considering that its oil content ranged between 5 % and 20 % of 
the kernel weight. He informed participants that two processing methods were used to extract 
cottonseed oil: mech anically or chemically by using solvent. The solvent extraction method was 
much more efficient but the technology was more sophisticated, more capital intensive, and only 
suitable for large processing capacities. He mentioned that in Africa, a large share of the oil was 
produced in traditional facilities with low extraction capacity. Cottonseed oil was used for food and 
was the principal source of edible oil for populations in cotton producing areas in West Africa. He 
specified that cotton oil was healthier  than palm oil as it was cholesterol -free, had low levels of 
saturated fats, 70 % unsaturated fatty acids, had no trans fatty acids, and was rich in vitamins, 
notably vitamin  E.  
63.  He informed participants that three types of technologies were used to produce  cottonseed oil 
in Africa: artisanal, semi -industrial and industrial technologies, with the latter competing on domestic 
markets with imports of edible oil, mostly palm oil. Considering current processing capacities in 
Africa, total production of cottonsee d was equivalent to around 425 000 tonnes of oil. It was possible 
to use cotton oil to produce biofuel, but it was not an economically viable option in Africa given that 
the entire continent was not self -sufficient in edible oil.  
64.  He added that, after extr acting the oil, by -products included cottonseed cakes and meals that 
could be used to feed livestock or as natural fertilizer. He informed participants that cottonseed meal 
had a protein content of about 40 % and that meals obtained from non -decorticated or  partially 
decorticated seeds were richer in fibres, which was an important component of livestock feed. He 
further added that mechanically extracted cottonseed cakes and meals were richer in oil compared 
to those extracted using solvents, given that solve nts extracted more oil. Historically, cotton seed 
was not a viable source of protein for humans due to gossypol, which is toxic to monogastric non -
ruminants. He stated however that varieties developed in the USA now had very low gossypol 
content, and there fore allowed human consumption of cottonseed cakes and meals, thereby 
potentially representing a significant development for Africa. He indicated that in Africa, total 
production of cottonseed was equivalent to about 1.2 million tonnes of cottonseed meal t hat 
competed on the domestic market with imported meal, mainly soybean. Further, he mentioned that 
cottonseed meal was cheaper than soybean meal despite the fact that both had similar nutritional 
value.  
65.  He stated that apart from cottonseed, the plant itself could be used. One hectare of cotton 
generated 2 -3 tonnes of stalks meaning that in Africa, the five million tonnes of seed cotton could 
generate around 12,5 million tonnes of biomass. He mentioned tha t the structure of the cotton plant 
was similar to that of wood so the same usage could be drawn from the two: source of heat, fuel, 
manufacture of particle boards, paper, cellulose derivatives and as substrate for growing 
mushrooms. It was the only by -product which could allow smallholders and other producers to add 
value to cotton at the farm level.  
66.  He then presented a table of current cotton market conditions in Africa and specified that this 
was retrievable through the presentation. He explained that t he estimated total value was based on 
the assumption that - the entire production was processed in each product category, even though 
that was not the case currently. For example, even though not all cottonseed production is currently 
processed into oil, t he table showed that 425,000 tonnes of cottonseed oil production would have 
an estimated value of USD 425 million.  
67.  Mr Matthias Knappe, ITC,  elaborated on the potential benefits of cotton by -products. He 
explained that CBPs had the potential to compete wit h lint as a source of income and could contribute 
to the profitability of the sector, generate income and employment, reduce poverty, and improve 
human and livestock nutrition. CBPs could also contribute to the circular economy and the reduction 
of emissio ns, and that there was significant room for improvement in this respect.  
68.  He mentioned that the publication recommended identifying and assessing how value could be 
added to products through processing and marketing, as had been done in the first phase of the 
joint initiative by WTO, ITC and UNCTAD and continued in Malawi and Togo. He added that the paper TN/AG/SCC/W/39 • WT/CFMC/66  
 
- 10 - 
 
  also highlighted how marketing and branding could create a positive image in local and regional 
markets about products derived from cotton (especially oil ), thereby improving their ability to 
compete with imported oil. He pointed out that there was a need to raise awareness among 
stakeholders of the potential to add value to cotton through the development of by -products; to 
increase transparency in the cott on sector, including in relation to the full value of the seed and the 
rest of the plant; and to ensure government support for establishing by -products processes (e.g. 
including by -products in national and regional strategies given that currently by -produc ts were 
mentioned but not fully addressed in the strategies). He further added that there was a need to 
include policy guidance and incentives for developing edible oil and meal industries that could 
compete with imported products. There was also a need fo r capacity building of well -organized 
stakeholder groups, including farmers associations at national and regional levels, ginners 
associations, oil millers associations etc. Finally, he stated that discussions at the WTO could also 
serve to promote South -South cooperation, as there was plenty to learn from other developing 
countries.  
69.  In his concluding remarks, he indicated that cotton was both a fibre and food crop, and that the 
price of by -products relative to lint had increased over time. The upward pric e trend was likely to 
continue, as demand for edible oil and for livestock and poultry feeds was growing in Africa. He 
indicated that this growing market could be a complementary source of revenue for all value chain 
actors, but especially the producers. H e noted that, while technology existed, modern technology 
was sometimes lacking or was not known to market actors: it thus needed to be adapted to the 
African continent as shown by the studies conducted under the joint initiative. He informed 
participants that the ITC publication was available through the ITC website in French, Spanish and 
English and also through the new WTO webpage dedicated to cotton by -products.  
70.  The Chairperson (Mr Cédric Pene, Counsellor, Agriculture and Commodities Division, in 
replacement of Mr Edwini Kessie)  thanked Mr Knappe and Mr Estur for their presentation and opened 
the floor to sub -item 3rd of the agenda, to give the opportunity to participants to comment or pose 
questions on the three presentations.  
71.  The representative of Ma li indicated that he was making his declaration on behalf of the Malian 
delegation, which was participating remotely. His intervention aimed to share Mali's experience 
developing cotton by -products.  
72.  He reminded participants that cotton was a commercial cr op destined for the production of fibre, 
the raw material used by the textile industry. He added that in Mali, as in other African LDCs, fibres 
were produced for export and generated vital revenues. However, these revenues were exposed to 
external shocks t hat had repercussions on international cotton prices.  
73.  In this context, it was important to seize all opportunities that could generate additional 
revenues by investing in the processing of other parts of the cotton plant such as the seed, the 
stalks, and hulls. The development of cotton by -products could help smallholder cotton farmers face 
external shocks linked to fluctuating prices and improve their access to technologies, know -how and 
support.  
74.  He indicated that in Mali, the development of cotton by -products and co -products was mainly 
constituted of cotton ginning plants, followed by industrial textile units, processing units for the 
production of oil and animal feeds, units for the processing of linters into cotton bale wrappers and 
mops, and the produ ction of white and black soap paste by women's economic interest groups.  
75.  Seed cotton processing allowed for production of the fibre and seed, he noted. In 2019/20, 
Mali's seed cotton production was estimated at 385 000 tonnes, including seeds. He specifie d that 
the sale of cotton seeds was exclusively reserved for local crushing units, and that Mali had nearly 
a hundred of these units, which were approved by the ministry in charge of industry. The total 
crushing capacity of these units greatly exceeded nat ional cottonseed production, thus forcing the 
units to import cotton seeds from the region (Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea Conakry and Togo). He 
further informed participants that cottonseed crushing generated three products: vegetable oil, 
animal cake, and black paste for soap production. A tonne of crushed cottonseed produced 100 litres 
of vegetable oil, 15 kilograms of black paste, and 880 kilograms of cake. Additionally, 60 % of the 
waste from crushing was recovered, cleaned, and sold to local units that t ransformed it into cloths 
and cretonne packaging for the national textile company " Compagnie Malienne pour le TN/AG/SCC /W/39 • WT/CFMC/66  
 
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  Développement des Textiles (CMDT) ". The remaining 40 % was cleaned, reconditioned, and exported 
by private companies.  
76.  He observed that national demand for products derived from crushing cotton seed were greater 
than supply, and that Mali therefore imported cotton seeds, edible oil, livestock feed, and soap for 
the equivalent in foreign currency of several billion CFAF yea rly. He also underlined that increased 
national production of cotton seeds was clearly needed in order to limit the outflow of foreign 
currency, generate wealth at the national level through the creation of jobs and businesses, facilitate 
access to new mar kets, and diversify income sources. An increase in cottonseed supply could 
promote the development of meal production for animal feed, and improve the resilience of livestock 
breeders. He added that it would also contribute to the fight against poverty, fo od self -sufficiency, 
empower women and girls, and promote development of several sectors of the national economy 
such as transport, supply of agricultural inputs, industries, processing units, crafts and microfinance 
institutions.  
77.  In conclusion, he stated  that by sharing Mali's experience of the opportunities associated with 
cotton by -product development, he wished to associate himself with the C-4's call for all 
WTO Members and development partners actively to support initiatives to improve the resilience  of 
C-4 cotton sectors .  
78.  The representative of Burkina Faso  thanked the WTO, ITC and UNCTAD for their joint initiative 
on cotton by -products that aimed to enhance the value of other commercial uses of cotton, and 
congratulated them on the different presen tations that informed and showcased the importance of 
cotton by -products for the economies of cotton -producing countries. He thanked them for their 
presentation updating participants on phase I of the initiative on the feasibility studies 
on CBP developmen t.  
79.  The studies showed that the cotton sector was under -valued, given that currently only the fibre 
was exploited. A lack of technology and know -how had prevented producing countries from 
developing the other potential uses of the cotton plant. He stated t hat, as illustrated in the report, 
cotton had to be considered beyond its fibre, as expressed by ITC.  
80.  He called upon partners to support implementation of the programme "Route du Coton", which 
aims at making the most of the cotton sector. Among other thin gs, this would enable C-4 countries 
to create direct and indirect sustainable employment opportunities that would benefit their 
populations, including those in rural areas, and contribute to the fight against poverty and rural 
migration.  
81.  He thanked the EI F for supporting financially the feasibility studies in Member countries, and 
for supporting the organization of the validation workshops. He reiterated the C-4's request for 
further implementation of the initiative. He indicated that the C-4 remained avai lable to continue 
collaboration and discussions with all stakeholders to follow up on the feasibility study. In conclusion, 
he thanked the WTO for including these informative and constructive discussions on the agenda of 
the session.  
82.  The representative of  Mozambique  commended the Chairperson on his chairmanship and 
thanked the WTO Secretariat for organizing the session. He expressed gratitude for all the efforts, 
technical assistance and tremendous work carried out in all countries on this matter. He indic ated 
that the topic of by -products was important for Mozambique due to a lack of opportunity and a lack 
of exploitation of this segment of the value chain. He stated that Mozambique felt honoured and 
blessed to be part of this initiative on the development  of cotton by -products in Eastern and Southern 
Africa. He added that they were aware that other countries such as Malawi and Togo were also part 
of the initiative. He stressed that the importance of cotton by -products was undeniable and thus 
represented op portunities for cotton -producing countries and included benefits such as: new income 
streams for farmers and processors, increased resilience of farmers against external shocks, 
increased domestic value addition, access to new markets, poverty reduction, i mproved trade 
balance through importation and exportation, and enhanced cotton productivity, the latter of which 
remained a big challenge nationwide.  
83.  He specified that Mozambique had successfully concluded the feasibility study alongside cotton 
stakeholde rs and that with the alignment of the government perspective, the production of TN/AG/SCC/W/39 • WT/CFMC/66  
 
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  cottonseed oil, soap, and artisanal textiles should be prioritized. He indicated that this was very 
important for the sustainability of the cotton value chain in Mozambique, an d that the government 
was aware that this activity may require technological innovation and investments. He thanked the 
EIF for sponsoring the initiative, and invited other sponsors and partners to join and support it. 
Finally, he indicated that Mozambique  was ready for phase II and the specific project on CBPs.  
84.  The representative of the EIF Secretariat, Peter Donelan  stated that they the EIF was very 
happy to support the Phase I analytical work in Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Mozambique 
implemented  by the WTO, and that, following the requests from Malawi and Togo, was pleased to 
be supporting similar ongoing analytical work implemented by UNCTAD. He indicated that all the 
countries supported by these cotton by -product studies had been long term part ners of the EIF 
process, with cotton identified as a vital sector in their EIF supported Diagnostic Trade Integration 
Studies (DTIS) on employment, exports, and local value addition.  
85.  He reminded participants that Phase I of the joint initiative, which was supported by the EIF, 
ended in December 2020 and resulted in five feasibility assessment studies, as well as a detailed 
proposal for Phase II. He indicated that, throughout the process, the comments and technical notes 
from national stakeholders had been f ully reflected in the final versions, ensuring full local ownership 
of technical content, priority areas, and relevant policy recommendations. He added that the findings 
varied from country to country, but that the overall evidence suggested that investmen ts and 
technology transfer for the development of cotton by -products could substantially increase farmers' 
resilience to exogenous shocks such as those linked to the COVID -19 crisis.  
86.  He stated that cotton by -products represented an exciting opportunity for  LDCs to garner further 
benefits from cotton production, including new income streams for farmers and processors; 
increased domestic value addition; access to new markets; as well as waste reduction along the 
cotton value chain and the promotion of the cir cular economy. He specified that moving forward 
would require the collaborative efforts of the LDCs working with development partners to address 
the recommendations of the studies, and in this regard,  he expressed EIF's support where possible.  
87.  The represen tative of Côte d'Ivoire  expressed his appreciations for this important session. He 
thanked the WTO, ITC and UNCTAD for their joint initiative. He also thanked UNCTAD for its 
presentation. With regard to the study in Togo, he inquired about the point raised  over local 
consumption. He reminded participants of the note made during the presentation regarding the fact 
that the Ministry of Commerce took measures to promote local consumption. He asked what kind of 
measures were taken and stated that promoting loca l consumption could lead a country, in certain 
circumstances, to restrict imports. Therefore, he added that local consumption could not be 
promoted without affecting certain commitments at the WTO level.  
88.  Regarding the study presented by ITC, he indicated that they appreciated the presentation 
especially the last table referring to volumes, market prices, and value. He stated that considering 
the potential increase in production and consumption, this program would certainly succeed. 
However, he highlighted that the market was an aspect that seemed uncertain. He indicated that 
markets were free, and that in most comments the focus was made on local consumption. He 
inquired about the promotion of cotton by -products on the international market.    
89.  He mentioned h is surprise on learning that the sweet potatoes sold in Europe did not come from 
Africa, despite the fact that this product is grown everywhere in Côte d'Ivoire. He gave this example 
to highlight that not foreign CBP markets should be targeted, and not onl y local markets. He then 
expressed the wish that the studies on CBPs include existing possibilities in markets outside Africa. 
He indicated that although Côte d'Ivoire was not an LDC, it was a Member of a sub -regional 
organization composed of 8 countries, of which 7 were LDCs, and that this therefore led to the 
harmonization of policies in various areas between the countries. He also informed participants that 
at the WTO this bloc presented its trade policies jointly, and that Côte d'Ivoire was first making  a 
verbal request for phase I studies to be conducted on CBPs in Côte d'Ivoire. He added that, as 
indicated by the ambassador of Mali, Mali purchased seeds in Côte d'Ivoire: therefore, increased 
production in Côte d'Ivoire would serve other countries as we ll, thereby supporting economic 
integration.  
90.  The representative of Benin  welcomed the previous presentations and statements by different 
organizations. He commended ITC and UNCTAD for their assistance through research and studies TN/AG/SCC /W/39 • WT/CFMC/66  
 
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  on fertilizers and new te chnologies which allowed farmers to produce better cotton in Africa. He 
indicated that CBPs had generated interest in Benin due to its sizeable cotton output levels, and the 
potential for CBPs to reduce poverty and to improve cotton farmers' livelihoods. E xamples of CBP 
production in Benin include the processing of kernels into oil, processing of hulls into fertilizers and 
livestock feed, and processing of stalks into briquettes. It would be to Benin's advantage if the 
country could continue benefitting fro m the support of institutions present at the meeting, especially 
to improve market access, and expand large -scale production for both local consumption and 
international markets after local processing. This, he said, would lead to increased revenues and be  
a source of additional wealth for cotton producing economies, while also supporting the well -being 
of cotton farmers and the wider population. He expressed his content with everything that had been 
said during the meeting and expressed the hope that CBPs would constitute additional sources of 
revenues and wealth.  
91.  Mr Janvier Nkurunziza, Officer -in-charge, Commodities Branch, UNCTAD , provided an answer 
to the question raised by the representative of Côte d'Ivoire regarding the measures undertaken by 
Togo to  promote local consumption. He indicated that the question's scope was beyond the scope of 
the issue at hand related to cotton. He specified that the discussions aimed at highlighting the 
potential of cotton which is under -exploited. He added that if the p otential was to be exploited, it 
would not be exclusively for the foreign market given that there was unmet local demand that could 
benefit from the Togolese measures.  
92.  He further indicated that the competitivity aspect would come into play after by -produc ts are 
produced and developed. He stated that if the products became competitive, they would be exported 
and if not, they would be sold on the local or regional markets. He added that given that Côte d'Ivoire 
and Togo are integrated in the same economic ar ea, they would necessarily trade, and that it was 
with that in mind that the reference was made to Togo's adoption of measures to promote local 
consumption rather than with the view to discriminate against other products. Instead the idea was 
to broaden th eir product range and give economic actors the choice also to consume local products. 
He indicated that this could only be achieved on condition that CBPs are competitive on both local 
and international markets. He invited the delegate of Côte d'Ivoire to approach his colleague from 
Togo for more information on their specific measures given that he was not entitled to answer on 
behalf of Togo.  
93.  Mr Matthias Knappe, ITC,  thanked Côte d'Ivoire for their question related to market 
opportunities. In response, he  indicated that this aspect could be included in phase II of the joint 
initiative, and potentially in phase I of the work in Malawi and Togo. He specified that the study 
delved into instances where data was available, such as the case of oil and cake, and not into other 
by-products. He added that broadening the study would make it more complicated and require much 
more analysis, including interviews of market players in the countries concerned and potentially also 
other countries. Additionally, he noted tha t there was unsatisfied domestic and regional demand, 
and that lots of potential in the local market still needed to be satisfied. Unless there were much 
higher prices externally, it would be logical to investigate domestic and regional markets as a first 
step.  
94.  Gerald Estur, independent consultant for ITC,  complemented the answer provided by 
Mr Matthias Knappe by reminding participants that linters represented another export market, 
although the quantities produced were relatively small. Regarding the development of local 
consumption, he indicated that some countries had production deficits, nota bly for CBPs production, 
fibre and textile. He added that there was demand for food and clothing from people on low incomes, 
and that the development of local production had to contend with imports and unfair competition, 
along with widespread illegal text ile and oil smuggling, and tax distortions. To encourage people on 
low incomes to consume local products, oil was imported tax free, while local production was subject 
to VAT. With regard to competitiveness, he indicated that monetary aspect were important  in 
determining trade outcomes, as the CFA Franc encouraged the main producers in Africa to import 
rather than export. He added that these were all elements that favoured the development of local 
consumption rather than exports, and that the development of  processing for local consumption 
required protection, at the local level, against illegal and unfair imports.  
95.  The representative of Chad  wished to react to Mr Gerald Estur's last intervention regarding 
unfair competition and internal taxation. His first question had inquired how countries could escape 
from a system in which local products were taxed while imported products were not. The second TN/AG/SCC/W/39 • WT/CFMC/66  
 
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  question related to usage of the CFA Franc, and what alternatives exist to this to benefit cotton 
production and trade, given that the CFA Franc was pegged to the Euro and represented a barrier.  
96.  Gerald Estur, Independent consultant, ITC , indicated in response that he would provide an 
answer, although the topic was beyond the scope of the meeting and his competencies . In his view, 
if solutions were readily available, they would have been adopted already. However, he was 
convinced that to encourage local processing and new industries, protection was needed. He gave 
the example of the textile industries of Pakistan and India which, before joining the WTO, had applied 
quota protections. He indicated that protection was needed against unfair competition and illegal 
smuggling. Regarding local development, the monetary aspect had to be investigated, to see if real 
healthy an d loyal competitiveness existed in comparison to imports.  
97.  The Chairperson  thanked all speakers who intervened under this agenda item and proposed 
that the statements made under this item be reflected in the records of the meeting. He then 
proceeded to ite m 4 of the agenda.  
4  PHASE II OF THE WTO -ITC-UNCTAD INITIATIVE ON COTTON BY -PRODUCTS  
98.  The Chairperson  introduced this item by noting it intended to address a very important question, 
"what comes next?".  
99.  He specified that, under this item, a joint statement wo uld be delivered by the Secretariats of 
ITC and UNCTAD on their project proposal and progress made towards Phase II of the joint initiative 
on cotton by -products. He reminded participants that the project proposal prepared was available in 
document WT/CFMC /W/89 and had been circulated at the request of ITC and UNCTAD in March  2021.  
100.  He added that the proposal was based on an open partnership approach, and included a 
workplan, theory of change, and risk matrix underpinning the implementation of capacity build ing 
and technical assistance activities to provide concrete support to LDC efforts to develop and add 
value to their cotton sectors through marketing and trade in by -products. He then gave the floor to 
Matthias Knappe of ITC and to Kris Terauds of UNCTAD f or their joint statement.  
101.  Mr Kris Terauds, UNCTAD , indicated that his statement was on behalf of both ITC and UNCTAD, 
updating participants on the status of the second phase of the joint initiative on cotton by -products, 
namely the implementation of prior ity activities identified by the project countries.  
102.  He reminded participants that, as indicated in November, UNCTAD and ITC had prepared a 
detailed proposal for a second phase of technical assistance activities, which was circulated ahead 
of the meeting in  English, French and Spanish, under the document symbol WT/CFMC/W/89.  
103.  He indicated that the proposal was submitted for Members' consideration as part of a fruitful 
inter-agency collaboration, in the form of the WTO -UNCTAD -ITC joint initiative on cotton by -
products, through which assistance to Member States had been delivered since its endorsement at 
the DGCFMC meeting of late November 2018.  
104.  He specified that the current proposal incorporated the results of both a recently completed 
UNCTAD project in three c ountries in Eastern and Southern Africa, as well as pilot studies in the  C-4 
countries and Mozambique, undertaken as part of phase one of the WTO -UNCTAD -ITC joint initiative 
and presented under item 3a of this Thematic Session.  
105.  He stated that, for phase 2,  implementation activities were proposed in the eight African LDCs 
involved in the two completed projects. In addition, UNCTAD was currently conducting feasibility 
studies in Malawi and Togo, also under phase 1 of the joint initiative and that there was th erefore 
the possibility of including these two countries in the phase 2 proposal.  
106.  He then summarised the main features of the proposal by indicating that UNCTAD and  ITC 
would jointly implement this project, with each agency responsible for delivering activ ities and 
outputs according to their complementary areas of expertise. The project would also rely on 
substantive support from the WTO, donors, South -South cooperation partners and other relevant 
institutions as captured in the proposed governance framewor k, comprising national steering 
committees and overseen by a programme -level body.  TN/AG/SCC /W/39 • WT/CFMC/66  
 
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  107.  He added that in terms of management, UNCTAD and ITC would cooperate with national 
governments and focal points, and that they also proposed funding National Project Coordin ators in 
each country, to oversee delivery, monitoring and reporting of activities.  
108.  In relation to structure, he specified that the proposal included country -specific assistance, 
complemented by regional exchanges, learning and collaboration. He also noted  that the outputs 
were formulated to be adapted by each country according to their priorities and needs, as identified 
in the first phase. This would allow for a coherent approach and logical framework for all beneficiary 
countries, and for reporting on pr ogress and results in an aggregated manner.  
109.  He stated that the proposed programme of activities responded to requests from 
cotton -producing LDCs, addressing development priorities, such as: poverty reduction, value 
addition, and diversification. The approa ch was market -oriented and sustainable, with a focus on 
commercially viable cotton by -products in each country.  
110.  With regard to the logical framework, he informed participants that at the impact level, the 
project aimed at developing viable cotton by -produc t industries that would contribute to poverty 
reduction through value addition and income generation, in line with SDGs 1, 8, and 9. He also 
mentioned that it aimed at creating income opportunities for groups such as farmers, rural 
inhabitants, and women, who were contributing to objectives such as gender equality, reduced 
inequality, and rural development, or SDGs 5 and 10.  
111.  He further informed participants that by utilizing organic residues in the cotton value chain, 
by-products could contribute to environ mental objectives, such as: promoting a circular economy; 
reducing waste and greenhouse gas emissions; and supporting forest conservation. These objectives 
were reflected in SDGs 12 and 15.  
112.  At outcome level, the programme aimed to increase revenue from co tton for stakeholders, 
especially smallholders and women farmers, by developing and adding value to cotton by -products.  
113.  He stated that this outcome would be achieved through five outputs that covered a range of 
by-products, derived from different parts of the cotton plant, such as stalks and ginned seed. He 
added that the outputs would also benefit a range of stakeholders, including: farmers; seed cotton 
processors, such as ginners and edible oil millers; entrepreneurs and investors; farmer associations; 
and policy makers.  
114.  He noted that out of the five outputs, UNCTAD would implement two and ITC three. More 
precisely, UNCTAD would implement capacity -building activities aimed at coherent policy and 
coordination, through output 1, on "Increased engagement of p ublic and private sector stakeholders 
in commercial initiatives to add value to cotton by -products " and output 5, on "Improved capacity 
of policy makers to formulate evidence -based policies and ensure policy coherence in support of the 
development of cotto n by-products ". ITC would support farmers, farmer organisations and seed 
cotton processors, through: output 2, on "Enhanced capacity of farmers to collectively add value to 
their cotton by -products "; output 3, on "Strengthened capacities of farmer representative groups to 
negotiate appropriate remuneration for produced fibres and by -products "; and output 4, on 
"Enhanced capacity of cottonseed processors to improve oil recovery rates and market by -products 
effectively ". 
115.  With respect to the theory of change, he stated that they were seeking to foster new 
investments in value -added processing of cotton by -products by different stakeholder groups, such 
as: farmers, farmers associations, processors and outside investors. He added that the aim was also 
to look into improving existing by -products, processes and technologies so that existing groups 
would be able to get more out of the existing production of cotton.  
116.  The proposal also sought to overcome the main barriers facing each group, for example: 
building  the business capacity of farmers and their associations; improving productivity of processors 
and providing business and investment facilitation tools to engage outside investors.  
117.  On the policy side, he indicated that the activities aimed at building poli cy coherence along the 
cotton value chains, with a focus on developing value addition. He informed that the policy 
framework in cotton -producing countries in Africa was more robust for cotton production, while value TN/AG/SCC/W/39 • WT/CFMC/66  
 
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  addition was neglected. This could lead to a fractured governance of the value chain, with a lack of 
coordination between production and value addition, a lack of policy support for value addition and, 
in many cases, de facto incentives to export lint and ginned cottonseed. Therefore, the aim wa s to 
assist policy makers in addressing this situation, developing a coherent policy treatment of the value 
chain, and increasing value addition.  
118.  He stated that, to add more value to cotton fibre, the project would contribute to upgrading 
and "de-commodit izing" the cotton industry. He then identified the following targeted results: 
increased investments in value -added processing of cotton by -products; enhanced efficiency of 
existing operations, such as for edible oil extraction, with increased competitiven ess and revenue 
for stakeholders; poverty reduction in the project countries.  
119.  He then listed the main indicators as follows: a minimum of 10,000 farmers changing their 
business behaviour by adding value to cotton by -products; at least 5,000 farmers increas ing their 
income with earnings from cotton by -products; a minimum of 2 cottonseed processors in each 
country investing in new machinery or operational changes to improve their competitiveness; at 
least 2 new investments in cotton by -product utilization per  country; and additional value added of 
at least USD 500,000, traded in domestic, regional, and overseas markets. He added that this project 
would also contribute to increasing intra -regional trade, in line with the African Continental Free 
Trade Area, giv en that the African Union identified the cotton -to-clothing value chain, including 
cotton by -products, as a priority under the Free Trade Area. To that he added that regional trade in 
cotton by -products could therefore be a way of demonstrating the AfCFTA 's expected benefits, 
especially for farmers, women and youth.  
120.  Finally, he stated that the project 's performance indicators would be finalised with donors and 
beneficiary countries once the project activities were tailored to each country 's priorities to ac count 
for any differences in baselines among the countries, as well as to adjust to the ongoing effects of 
COVID -19 on their cotton sectors.  
121.  The Chairperson  thanked the representatives of ITC and UNCTAD for their presentation and 
opened the floor for comments and questions.  
122.  The representative of Burkina Faso  reiterated his congratulations to the chair for his 
chairmanship and thanked the WTO, ITC and UNCTAD for their presentation on phase II of the joint 
initiative dedicated to CBPs development in the countries in which the feasibility studies were 
conducted. He stated that the operational aspect to which the partners were dedicated more than 
ever needed to b e supported on the political and financial levels.  
123.  He reminded participants that the objective of the Draft Declaration submitted to the General 
Council by the C-4 constituted an action plan that the C-4 wished to see adopted and supported by 
development partners. He restated the C-4's request for support from WTO Members for the 
adoption of the Draft Declaration by the General Council. He also reminded participants of the C-4's 
availability and commitment to continue the consultations within the framework  of the WTO to 
ensure that the project gathered broad consensus for its adoption. The C-4 was open to all 
suggestions to improve the document, he said.  
124.  To coordinate the two components, the C-4 suggested the creation of a management 
committee in charge of  coordinating the implementation of the project related to technology transfer 
and know -how for the development of CBPs in LDCs. He indicated that the C-4 would continue to 
coordinate with technical and financial partners for the implementation of phase II  of the project. 
He finally reiterated his gratitude to the WTO for organizing these consultations to promote 
development aspects of the cotton sector.  
125.  The chairperson  thanked the ambassador of Burkina Faso and gave the floor to Mr Gustave 
Majambere, Dire ctor General of the "Compagnie de Gérance du Coton au Burundi" . 
126.  Mr Gustave Majambere, Director General of the " Compagnie de Gérance du Coton au Burundi " 
thanked the organizers of the meeting and expressed gratitude for the invitation to participate. He 
also thanked other participants for sharing their experiences. He informed participants that cotton 
production in Burundi dated back to 1920 and indicated that since then, two research assessments 
had been conducted to extend cotton production to other region s. He underlined that research was TN/AG/SCC /W/39 • WT/CFMC/66  
 
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  still ongoing as opportunities to expand production still existed. He specified that since the 1920s, 
cotton production was for several years mandated by the government to promote the crop, which 
was at one stage the coun try's second most important export after coffee. From 1988, the five -year 
development plan aimed at producing 12,000 tonnes of seed cotton, an objective that was never in 
fact reached. Record production of 8,800 tonnes was instead reached in 1993 but had d eclined since 
then. Factors underlying the decline included a political crisis that led cotton farmers to abandon 
planting cotton; increased demographic growth in cotton -producing areas of the country, placing 
pressure on the sector; and the city of Bujumb ura's expansion of areas reserved for cotton 
cultivation. These led to falling cotton prices, while food crop prices increased, incentivising cotton 
farmers to switch to producing food instead of cotton.  
127.  Other causes included climate change, high agricult ure input costs and inadequate access to 
equipment, with the hoe still widely used. He mentioned that, despite these challenges, Burundi had 
great potential to develop a value chain and textile industry to enhance trade and increase the 
revenues of cotton farming families. Like the cotton sector itself, cotton by -products had not been 
fully developed.  
128.  He explained that COGERCO was a public company that supervised cotton farmers. They 
purchased seed cotton production from farmers and processed it into fibre  and cottonseeds. The 
fibre was purchased by the sole textile public/private company of the country to produce different 
articles. However, the company's fibre demand was not met by COGERCO, leading to a need for the 
textile company to import the fibre.  
129.  He elaborated that cottonseeds were purchased by a crushing plant, "Rafina", to produce oil 
for human consumption, but the quantities produced were not enough to meet local demand for oil. 
Rafina also produced oilcakes for animal feed, but the local demand for that by -products exceeded 
by far Rafina's supply. He explained that cotton substrate was used for edible mushrooms, 
production of which was supported by a national programme, and cotton stalks were used as fuel.  
130.  He underlined that there were few by -products and that they were not well developed. He thus 
stressed that there was a need for development and for better technology access. Despite the 
barriers, prospects existed to promote by -products through the 2019 -2027 national strategy to 
revitalize the textile, cotton and clothing sectors, which would contribute to progress towards the 
SDGs. He indicated his willingness to share the document containing details on the national strategy: 
this included several programmes and objectives for developing cotton  and its by -products. For 
instance, objective 1 aimed at developing CBPs through increased cotton fibre production by up to 
5 000 tonnes; objective 4 aimed at diversifying CBPs through the promotion of functions related to 
creation, clothing and craftsmans hip by strengthening the technical capacities of those concerned 
and creating a favourable framework; objective 6 aimed at facilitating and attracting private 
investment along the "Cotton -Textile -Clothing" sector through the promotion and development of 
Public-Private Partnerships and private investments. He mentioned that investments were facilitated 
by the government's willingness to promote the cotton sector as exhibited by the different policies 
and legal framework. He welcomed those who wished to inves t in the sector. He reiterated his 
gratitude to the organizers for the work accomplished and congratulated and expressed support to 
the C-4 Members for their initiatives on cotton by -products development. Lastly, he expressed a 
request for the integration of Burundi as an additional beneficiary of the joint initiative.  
131.  The Chairperson  thanked Mr Majambere for his detailed presentation and stated that good 
notes had been taken of his request to circulate the national strategy document and his request to 
be part of the joint initiative. He then gave the floor to the representative of the EIF Secretariat.  
132.  Mr Peter Donelan, representative of EIF Secretariat , in response to Mr Majambere's statement, 
informed participants that the EIF was currently funding a new  Diagnostic Trade Integration Study 
(DTIS) update and would shortly submit a concept note to the EIF board for comments. He indicated 
that to develop this new DTIS update, there had been an interesting public/private dialogue process, 
a national validation  process led by the Ministry of Trade, and that there was scope to include a 
cotton analysis and the current Burundi cotton plan in the recommendations for the 2021 DTIS 
update in Burundi. He expressed his willingness to further discuss this possibility wi th Mr Majambere.  
133.  He emphasized that the draft project that was prepared with EIF support under Phase I 
entitled, "African LDCs: Cotton By -Product Development ", drew on findings from Phase I analytical TN/AG/SCC/W/39 • WT/CFMC/66  
 
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  work and responded directly to requests from cotton -producing LDCs for technical assistance to 
develop value addition and markets for cotton products, including by -products.  
134.  He indicated that EIF supported the findings of the analysis and the concept of the proposal. 
He stated that the outputs of the Phase I I proposal relating to value addition were meant to enhance 
farmer capacity, support evidence -based policy and marketing as well as improve oil recovery rates.  
135.  He indicated that currently, approving new proposals for EIF funding was constrained by the 
closing of the EIF Programmatic Phase, with a deadline in June 2021 for approving new low value 
and short -term projects as set by the EIF Board at its 30th Meeting on 25 June 2020. He specified 
that this timeline would shortly be up for review at the next EIF Board meeting and that it was too 
early to tell if the EIF Programme would be able to allocate resources to support this proposal even 
if the Board approved an extension of the time period for project approval, given funding and pipeline 
constraints.  
136.  He hi ghlighted that the evaluation process for the EIF Phase 2 Programme had started and 
that Zambia was the current chair of the Evaluation Sub -Committee (ESC). Other members included 
the WTO LDC Group Coordinator and Mali. He specified that the evaluation of the EIF Phase 2 would 
take place over the course of 2021 and was expected to be finalized before the WTO 's MC12. It 
would only be after the end of the EIF evaluation process that the EIF would be able to consider new 
projects.  
137.  Finally, he reiterated that i nvestments and technology transfer for the development of cotton 
by-products could substantially improve livelihoods and farmers' opportunities, as well as resilience 
in uncertain times, and he expressed the EIF's continued support for the initiative.  
138.  The representative of Chad  thanked ITC, UNCTAD and EIF for their presentations. He also 
thanked Mr Majambere from Burundi for sharing their experience. He indicated that Chad was 
making the statement on behalf of LDCs, indicating that the LDC Group supported t he joint initiative 
on CBPs development. He noted that the record production levels that the C-4 had experienced in 
the past were dropping due to the COVID -19 pandemic. Therefore, the approach to develop CBPs 
constituted the future of the cotton sector. He  expressed that farmers should benefit from technical 
support and that to that end, cotton companies had developed training programmes, keeping in 
mind that farmers did not have similar skills and knowledge. For example, companies have helped 
farmers to id entify when to use pesticides, or which fertilizers to use. He stressed that training and 
capacity building must therefore be integrated at scale throughout the process of transforming cotton 
into by -products.  
139.  With regard to protection against unfair comp etition, he reminded participants that, as WTO 
Members, they had to comply with WTO obligations: therefore, mechanisms had to be reviewed to 
protect against unfair competition while respecting the WTO framework. He underlined that precise 
responses on exch ange rate fluctuations had not been received, but solutions had to be found to 
avoid FCFA depreciation and a sharp drop in the prices of seed cotton purchased from farmers, thus 
avoiding production reductions. He indicated that stabilizing mechanisms exist ed in several countries 
and questioned whether there was a need to identify whether these tools should be used to address 
exchange rate fluctuations. He indicated that the two themes that related to unfair competition and 
exchange rate fluctuations were ad dressed to ITC and UNCTAD.  
140.  The representative of Côte d'Ivoire  expressed support for the presentation made by ITC and 
UNCTAD, reflected in document WT/CFMC/W/89. He pointed out that the second phase was 
essential, otherwise all of the work conducted previ ously would not achieve the objectives that had 
been set. He reiterated the support of his delegation for the presentation by ITC on behalf of the 
three Secretariats.  
141.  The representative of Benin  thanked ITC and UNCTAD for their presentation on phase II of  the 
joint initiative on CBPs, and thanked the representative of Burundi for sharing their experience. The 
results of the joint initiative included the development of viable industries to produce CBPs so as to 
reduce poverty and increase revenues for cotto n farmers. Further efforts in this area still needed to 
be made.  TN/AG/SCC /W/39 • WT/CFMC/66  
 
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  142.  He reiterated their support for the creation of a management committee to coordinate 
implementation of technology transfer and know -how on CBPs despite the very difficult times. The 
efficien cy of Phase II depended on this, he said.  
143.  The representative of Mozambique  congratulated WTO, ITC and UNCTAD for the joint initiative, 
and thanked EIF and all other donors and partners for their support. She thanked the  C-4 for their 
continuous leadership  on this matter, and expressed support for all current and future initiatives on 
cotton and cotton by -products. She thanked all presenters as well for their presentations. She 
indicated that they continued to encourage all donors and partners to continue w ith their support.  
144.  The Chairperson  thanked again ITC and UNCTAD colleagues for their continued engagement 
and availability to take the lead in the implementation of future activities. He also thanked all the 
delegations and participants who shared their v iews on the work ahead and introduced the fifth and 
final item of the agenda under which he summarized the discussions of the day and the way forward 
arising from the discussions.  
5  CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON  
145.  The Chairperson  stated that the discussions of the day had been useful and expressed his 
gratitude to all the speakers and participants, particularly those who had connected remotely, 
including at what may have been inconvenient times.  
146.  He first stated that the discussio ns had shown that the Joint Initiative on cotton by -products 
was an excellent example of inter -agency cooperation that exploits synergies and leverages the 
benefits of coordinated actions. The initiative also appeared to be well integrated with poverty 
reduction strategies and other development -oriented priorities both at the level of individual African 
countries and regionally. He indicated that one of the conclusions was that the focus should remain 
on interventions targeted at the specific needs of indiv idual countries, while also taking into account 
the sub -regional integrative potential of this line of work.  
147.  Secondly, he highlighted that with the necessary support of the donor community and technical 
partners and thanks to the transparency ensured throu gh periodic reporting and open consultations, 
the Joint initiative on cotton by -products could continue to offer comprehensive assistance to cotton -
producing countries over the next years and ensure that synergies are exploited and overlaps 
avoided.  
148.  Thirdly, he mentioned that, building on the good work done so far, UNCTAD and ITC were in 
a position to effectively cooperate with other public and private actors to assist countries in attracting 
investments and developing high -quality projects for the de velopment of cotton by -products.  
149.  Finally, he recalled that the main objective of this work was creating new income streams for 
farmers, processors and traders, increasing domestic value added and ultimately improving 
livelihood, reducing poverty and creati ng and accessing new regional and global markets.  
150.  He indicated that these objectives should guide all future actions, as per the original mandate 
given by WTO Members to the three agencies in the joint initiative, back in November 2018.  
151.  He thanked all par ticipants and suggested that all statements and outcomes of the meeting 
be reflected in the records of the meeting and made publicly available through the WTO website. It 
was so agreed.  
 
 
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