TN/AG/SCC/W/21  
WT/CFMC/49  
 
12 August 2014  
(14-4686)  Page: 1/6  
Sub-Committee on Cotton    
 
  
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE ASPECTS OF THE  
COTTON-RELATED DECISIONS IN THE 2004 JULY PACKAGE AND  
PARAGRAPH 12 OF THE HONG KO NG MINISTERIAL DECLARATION 
ITEM 2C - COHERENCE BETWEEN TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT ASPECTS:  
UPDATE ON THE DEVELOPMENT ASPECTS OF COTTON 
Report of the 21st Round of the Director-General's  
Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton1 
20 June 2014 
 
 
 1  INTRODUCTION 
1.1.  Pursuant to paragraph 12 of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, this is the Seventeenth 
Secretariat Progress Report to the Sub-Committ ee on Cotton on the Development Assistance 
Aspects of Cotton. Since the last Progress Report, there have been several developments. First, on 
26 May 2014, the Director-General circulated the 17
th version (WT/CFMC/6/Rev.16) of the 
Evolving Table on Cotton Development Assistance and the 9th version (WT/CFMC/21/Rev.8) of the 
Table on Domestic Cotton Sector Reforms, under cover of his letter addressed to Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives. Second, the 21
st Round of the Director-General's Consultative 
Framework Mechanism on Cotton (DGCFMC) took  place on 20 June 2014. Third, WTO Members 
have maintained an active interest on all aspects of the cotton dossier, as mandated in the 1 August 2004 General Council Decision and in the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.       
2  TWENTIFIRST ROUND OF THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL'S CONSULTATIVE FRAMEWORK 
MECHANISM ON COTTON  
2.1.  The Chairman (DDG David Shark)  welcomed all participants to the 21
st Round of the 
DGCFMC, in particular the C4 participants, as well as Ambassador John Adank, Chairman of the 
Committee on Agriculture in Special Session (CoA  SS) and of its Sub-Committee on Cotton (SCC). 
STATEMENT BY THE C4 REPRESENTATIVE 
 
2.2.  Ambassador Prosper Vokouma, from Burkina Faso, speaking on behalf of the C4 countries 
and other cotton-producing countries from Africa, LDCs and ACP, stressed that the Cotton Issue 
should be a priority on the post-Bali Agenda in order to translate the Bali Ministerial Decision on Cotton into concrete results. He underscored that, even if a rise of 3% in cotton exports from the 
Francophone countries was forecast for the 2014-15 season, both appropriate cotton development 
assistance and a significant reduction of trade distortions were needed for meaningful poverty-
reduction in rural areas. He announced that the C4 would soon be submitting some new federative projects on cotton at the regional level. Ambassador Vokouma said that the First Dedicated 
Discussion on Cotton Trade-related Developments, to take place in the afternoon, should enable 
interested parties to engage and make progress in the negotiations on the three pillars in relation to cotton. 
                                               
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and without prejudice to 
the positions of Members and to their rights and obligations under the WTO. TN/AG/SCC/W/21 • WT/CFMC/49 
 
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  2.3.  The representative of Uganda, on behalf of the LDCs Group associated herself with the 
statement made by the C4. She urged development partners to enhance disbursements flows and 
encouraged all cotton-producing countries benefitting from development assistance to provide information to the Table on Domestic Cotton Sector Reforms. She highlighted that the LDCs 
expected that the First Dedicated Discussion on Cotton Trade-related Developments would lead to 
substantive discussions and make headway on that track. She mentioned progress on the trade aspects would serve as a litmus test of Members' commitment to address the concerns of cotton 
producers, in particular the LDCs.  
2.4.  The representative of Bangladesh supporte d the statements made by the C4 and the LDCs 
Group and underlined that his country was one of the main importers of cotton. He said that the 
cotton issue represented the human face of the WTO, so it was the Members' responsibility to find 
an expeditious and fair outcome to this matter. 
2.5.  The representative of Lesotho, on behalf of the African Group, endorsed the statements by 
the C4 and the LDCs and encouraged donors to accelerate implementation of commitments listed 
in the Evolving Table. 
2.6.  The representatives of Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Mozambique, Pakistan and Zambia 
expressed support for the C4, LDCs and African Group's statements and suggested that WTO 
Members should give priority to resolving the cotton issue. 
TRADE POLICY ASPECTS OF COTTON 2.7.  The Chairman of the CoA SS and of its Sub-Committee on Cotton, Ambassador John Adank of 
New Zealand, provided an overview of the state-of-play on the three pillars within the agriculture 
negotiations. He stressed that there was an urgent need for Members to show full engagement on 
some specific issues and put forward concrete proposals with a view to agreeing on a clearly defined work programme by the end of the year. 
2.8.  Referring specifically to cotton, he recall ed the Bali Ministerial Declaration whereby Ministers 
reaffirmed their commitment to further work and progress on cotton with the 2008 modalities' text 
as a reference point for future work. Ministers also agreed to enhance transparency and 
monitoring in relation to the trade aspects of cotton and to that effect, WTO Members would meet 
twice a year in dedicated discussions to examine re levant trade-related developments on cotton in 
the areas of market access for LDCs, domestic support and export competition. 
2.9.  Ambassador Adank highlighted the importan ce of the first such Dedicated Discussion on 
Cotton Trade-related Developments, to be held in the afternoon, which was the first concrete step 
of one clear deliverable from MC9 and constituted a key event in the context of the wider post-Bali 
agenda. 
COTTON PRODUCTION AND TRADE TRENDS 
2.10.  The Executive Director of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), 
Mr. José Sette, presented an analysis of cotton technology transfer, with particular focus on its 
dissemination from technology holders to farmers, as opposed to the usual discussion of 
transferring technology amongst countries. He show ed that cotton was lagging behind other crops. 
Mr. Sette enumerated a number of reasons why technology transfer was not being carried out successfully, amongst which: insufficient number of extension workers; lack of understanding of 
input interactions; ineffective communication; inadequate collaboration between the public and 
private sectors; poor cost-effectiveness; insufficient training of trainers, and lack of familiarity with 
local culture and traditions. 
2.11.  Concerning the cotton logistics' situation in Africa, Mr. Sette emphasized that transit time 
and inland transportation in Africa were higher than for most leading export competitors, except Brazil. Congestion in ports was also a high concern. He stressed that there was no readily-
available data for Africa on logistics costs from farm to gin and further research was needed. 
Nevertheless, such costs looked likely higher in Africa than in other regions. TN/AG/SCC/W/21 • WT/CFMC/49 
 
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  2.12.  As regards global market trends, he said that African cotton production and exports were 
slightly on the rise. World cotton production was still higher than consumption and that had a direct impact on global stocks, which were still increasing. International cotton prices were still too high in comparison with polyester. Finally, he underscored that government support was at the 
same level as when the Doha Round was launched. 
2.13.  The representative of Pakistan welcomed the informative presentation by ICAC which 
showed that delivering technical assistance and transferring state-of-the-art technology was 
indeed a challenge. She also referred to the data on global stocks, mill use and its direct 
relationship with cotton imports, which she considered was very useful to the discussions in the Consultative Framework. 
2.14.  The representative of China commended ICAC's presentation and said it gave a clear picture 
on where assistance to African countries should focus. He underlined that China's assistance to 
cotton producers in Africa was targeted principally  at technology extension, technology transfer 
and inland transportation improvement. He stressed that there would not be a sharp fall in cotton 
prices in the coming years. 
2.15.  The representative of Burkina Faso thanked Mr. Sette for his very detailed presentation and 
praised the ICAC's database on cotton, which he considered the best available.  
DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S EVOLVING TABLE ON COTTON DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE 
2.16.  The Chairman, in introducing item 5 of the agenda, made reference to the seventeenth 
version of the Evolving Table (ET), circulated to  Members by the Director-General on 26 May 2014 
and contained in document WT/CFMC/6/Rev.16. He invited Mr. Gerardo Melogno, from the 
Development Division, to highlight the key points of the latest revision of the ET. 
2.17.  Mr. Gerardo Melogno noted that the latest version of the Evolving Table had been prepared 
on the basis of inputs from Brazil, Canada, the European Union and some of its member States, 
Japan and the United States. Inputs had also been received from several multilateral 
organizations, namely: the CFC, FA O, IMF, ITC and the World Bank.  
2.18.  He pointed out that in Part I of the ET, re flecting the ongoing activities of cotton specific 
development assistance, the total value of commitm ents had slightly declined to US$335 million, 
whereas the total value of disbursements stood at  US$92 million. He highlighted that the ratio of 
total disbursements to total commitments had decreased from 33% to 28%. Responding to the concerns expressed by the LDCs and African Grou ps, he stressed that the widening gap between 
commitments and disbursements in this Part was due to new projects having being initiated with 
little or no disbursements so far and many others having been completed. An additional reason was because certain donors had not submitted any updates on their long-standing projects. He 
reminded the development community that sending the related information was crucial to render 
the Evolving Table as accurate and meaningful as possible. 
2.19.  With respect to Part II, which sets out information on ongoing activities in the broader 
framework of agriculture and infrastructure-related  development assistance, he said that the value 
of commitments had slipped from US$4.86 billion in  the previous version to US$4.78 billion in the 
revised version. The total value of disbursements had significantly increased to attain US$2.62 billion, making the ratio of total disburse ments/total commitments to jump to 55% from 
45% previously. 
2.20.  As regards information on completed activities, he reported that the total value of 
commitments in Annex 1, listing activities under cotton specific development assistance, had 
increased to US$420 million and the actual disbursements related to those activities amounted to 
US$397 million. Turning to the completed activities in Annex 2 under the framework of agriculture 
and infrastructure-related development assistance, the total value of commitments and 
disbursements had increased markedly to reach US$1.85 billion and US$1.82 billion, respectively.   
2.21.  Mr. Melogno commended donors for their in creased reporting of activities but highlighted 
that the positive trend should continue and be amplified to make it an all-inclusive exercise to reduce the gap between commitments and disburse ments. With respect to the notification of TN/AG/SCC/W/21 • WT/CFMC/49 
 
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  National Cotton Sector Focal Points, he stated that their number had increased marginally to reach 
11 and therefore more submissions were needed. He urged other cotton proponents to communicate the names and coordinates of their national focal points to improve the dialogue and information flow with assistance providers.   
2.22.  The representative of the EU made reference to the EU/Africa Partnership Programme which 
was in its 10th year, having assisted African partners in cotton production, drawing up better 
defined regional strategies and enhanced textile manufacturing. He said that the EU had 
consolidated its projects into fewer but larger and better structured ones, involving many 
stakeholders. He underscored that as most of th e EU's projects spanned between three to five 
years, it was normal to have a commitments/disbursements' gap in the ET. 
2.23.  The representative of the United States informed participants that, following its recently 
completed project in favour of West African countries, the US would start a follow-up programme 
in favour of African producers. She encouraged recipient countries to submit reports on completion and coordination of projects to help better target US development assistance. She also urged 
beneficiaries to speed up reforms for the privatization of their cotton sector. 
2.24.  The representative of Chad referred to the EU/Africa Partnership Programme, noting that 
the activity underway, with an implementation period of 2012-16 and valued at €11 million, was 
the continuation of the previous All ACP Programme to help structure the cotton sector in Africa. 
The focus would be on three strategic thrusts, namely: enhancing competitiveness, increasing 
value added, and developing regional integration. 
2.25.  The Chairman concluded the discussions under  item 5 by expressing appreciation to the 
development community for its engagement and in creased reporting, making the Evolving Table 
more meaningful.  However, he underlined that there were still challenges to be addressed collectively, including the necessity to step up implementation so as to bridge the 
commitment/disbursement gap and for all cotton proponents to identify their focal points.    
SOUTH-SOUTH COTTON COOPERATION 2.26.   The representative of India recalled that  his country was running a Technical Assistance 
Programme for Cotton to strengthen the value chain in favour of Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, 
Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda. He mentioned several activities which had already been completed: regional training on extension; modern crop technology; organic cotton production and field schools; post-harvest management and value addition on crop residues, and ICT-based pest and 
disease surveillance systems. Further projects included, inter alia : setting up of a bio-pesticide 
laboratory in Uganda; a regional knowledge cluste r on post-harvest technology in Benin, and a 
workshop to strengthen the textile sector in Nigeria.  
2.27.  The representative of China made reference to his country's ongoing cooperation 
programmes started in 2012 for US$20 million in favour of the C4 countries. He stressed that 
those assistance programmes, which covered extension training, technology transfer, capacity 
building, and provision of irrigation equipment and small farm machinery, were being duly 
implemented. He noted that China would continue in the future its support to the C4 and other 
developing countries on cotton development assistance within the framework of South-South Cooperation. 
2.28.  The representative of Brazil mentioned th at Brazil's first project in favour of the C4 
countries valued at US$5 million would be completed in July, and that Togo had been included 
amongst the beneficiaries. He also highlighted that his country was finalizing details to start 
another project for US$5 million benefitting cotton producers in Malawi and Mozambique. 
2.29.  The Chairman underlined that South-South Cotton Cooperation constituted a welcome 
element of development cooperation in the mult ilateral trading system. He encouraged other 
Members in a position to do so to deepen  and extend that kind of cooperation. TN/AG/SCC/W/21 • WT/CFMC/49 
 
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  REGIONAL STRATEGIES ON COTTON 
2.30.  The representative of the COS-Coton (Steering and Monitoring Committee of the EU/Africa 
Partnership Programme), participating for the first time in the Consultative Framework Mechanism 
on Cotton, referred to the EU/Africa Partnership Programme, which had the FAO and the ITC as 
the two implementation agencies. The Prog ramme focused on enhancing African cotton 
competitiveness and institutional capacity; supporting cotton local transformation, textiles production and regional strategies; opening new markets, and reinforcing research on cotton 
production and inputs. 
2.31.  The representative of the Central African Republic, speaking on behalf of the Economic 
Community of Central African States (ECCAS), said  that ECCAS member countries had finalized an 
integrated market-based strategy for central Africa involving the public and private sectors to 
support the cotton sector and expand the textile industry, aimed at striking a balance between 
enhancing sustainable cotton production and reinforcing the cotton value chain. He stressed that the cotton sector was pivotal to stop rural migratio n, enhance food security and reduce poverty. It 
was also a fundamental tool in terms of regional integration and post-conflict economic 
reconstruction. He highlighted that development assistance to the cotton sector in central African countries represented only one tenth of the total commitments listed in the Evolving Table. He 
underscored that the ECCAS was ready to share wi th development partners the detailed project 
sheets of the regional strategy it had compiled. 
2.32.  The representative of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) 
presented its regional strategy for cotton. Its main objectives were: to increase quality cotton 
production; enhance competitiveness, diversify prod uct lines and expand trade in textiles; improve 
manufacturing efficiency and diversify markets in clothing; develop synergies and coordinate 
donors' intervention to avoid duplication of programmes; connect to the clothing value chain and 
add value in the region; build capacity of nati onal associations; promote cotton by-products; 
support small and medium enterprises, and induce a paradigm shift from cotton production to a value chain approach targeted at job creation, value addition and inclusive growth. 
2.33.  The representative of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) highlighted 
that its regional strategy, called "Agenda for the competitiveness of the cotton-textile sector", 
which was originally set up in 2003 had been revamped in 2010, in partnership with the West African Development Bank, Central Bank of West African States and the Regional Consular 
Chamber. He encouraged donors to align their inte rventions within the framework of that strategy 
to spur regional integration. He made reference to the 20 projects that had been prepared in that regard, amongst which: project to support the en hancement of the productivity and quality of 
cotton; project for the transformation and promotion of the cotton-textile sector, and project for 
the production and certification of non-contaminated cotton.  
DOMESTIC COTTON SECTOR AND OTHER REFORMS / NATIONAL COTTON SECTOR FOCAL 
POINTS 
2.34.  The Chairman made reference to the ninth version of the Table on Domestic Cotton Sector 
Reforms for Enhanced Development Assistance which had been circulated on 26 May 2014 as 
document WT/CFMC/21/Rev.8, with new contributions from Burkina Faso and Mali, as well as the 
continuation of the prevailing initiatives in Benin and Chad. He pointed out that a late submission 
from Benin would be reflected in th e following revision of the Table. 
2.35.  He highlighted that the Secretariat had rece ived the name and coordinates of one additional 
focal point, increasing the total number to 11. Wh ile he welcomed the new input, he urged those 
proponent countries which had not already done so to designate and notify their National Cotton Sector Focal Points in order to make the list more meaningful to  foster dialogue and exchange of 
information amongst the development community, Geneva negotiators and actors in the field. 
2.36.  He expressed appreciation to China, which through its Programme made possible the 
participation of the focal points from Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali at the 21
st Round Consultations. TN/AG/SCC/W/21 • WT/CFMC/49 
 
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  3  CONCLUSION 
3.1.  The Chairman concluded the meeting by un derlining the emphasis that Director-General 
Roberto Azevêdo placed on the cotton dossier. He highlighted that the Secretariat would continue 
to monitor and report to Members in the Evolving Table on new developments in relevant 
activities. Concomitantly, progress in the implementation of domestic cotton sector reforms would 
continue to be monitored. He underscored that the Secretariat was fully dependent on the relevant information provided by the development community and beneficiaries to be able to present the 
most accurate and comprehensive data in the Evolving Table and the Table on Domestic Cotton 
Sector Reforms. He therefore urged all actors to step up their submissions in that regard. He emphasized that South-South Cotton Cooperation had been consolidated as an important aspect of the implementation of the mandate on the deve lopment assistance aspects of cotton and that 
there was wide recognition of that important dimension of the work in the DGCFMC. The significant 
contributions of Brazil, China, India and Pakistan  were acknowledged with due appreciation.    
3.2.  The Chairman encouraged all parties to keep on improving the dialogue and information 
exchange, to amplify the positive dynamics of constructive engagement in the development 
dimension of the work in the WTO. He suggested that the next round of consultations takes place 
before the end of the year and that it be held ba ck to back with the next dedicated discussion to 
examine relevant trade-related developments on cotton in the context of the Committee on 
Agriculture in Special Session. The Secretariat would consult with regard to the specific dates. 
 
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