TN/AG/SCC/W/30  
WT/CFMC/58  
 
14 February  2019 
(19-0882) Page: 1/17 
Sub-Committee on Cotton    
 
IMPLEMENTATION OF TH E DEVELO PMENT ASSISTANCE ASP ECTS OF THE  
COTTON -RELATED DECIS IONS IN THE 2004 JUL Y PACKAGE AND  
PARAGRAPH 12 OF THE HONG KONG MINISTERIA L DECLARATION  
ITEM 2C - COHERENCE BETWEEN TRADE AND DE VELOPMENT ASPECTS:  
UPDATE ON THE DEVELO PMENT ASPECTS OF COT TON 
Report of the 30th Round of the Director -General's  
Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton1 
29 November  2018 
1  INTRODUCT ION 
1.1  The 30th Round of the Dire ctor-General's Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton  
(DGCFMC)  was held on 29 November  2018, under the chairmanship of Deputy Director -General 
Ambassador Alan Wm. Wolff.  
1.2  The Chairman  welcomed , on behalf of the Director -General, all participants including experts 
from capital and the Cotton -42 (C-4), and noted  that the agenda of the day was particularly dense , 
thus fully justifying the extension of the duration of the meeting to one full day . He noted that the 
number of interventi ons inscribed on the agenda were a tangible sign of increased interest in the 
work of the DGCFMC  (seven presentations under item 6 on "cotton projects", and eight presentations 
under  "item 8 on cotton by -products") . He further highlighted the  uncontroversi al nature of the work 
conducted in the DGCFMC and its great potential for achiev ing concrete development -oriented 
results  for people depending on cotton production, transformation and trade in beneficiary countries .  
1.3  He made reference to a video interview he gave, available  on the cotton pages of the 
WTO website  (https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/agric_e/cottonday2018_e.htm ), in which  he 
stressed that the positive  tone and s ubstance of DGCFMC discussions marked the engagement of all  
DGCFMC  participants towards making a difference. He recalled that the meeting was the 30th Round 
of the DGCFMC, and the 10th year of the Evolving Table on cotton development assist ance in its 
current format , and further called for even more progress going forward, in particular for  
project -specific discussions under item 6, as well as for the cotton by -products discussions under 
item 8.  He concluded  by highlighting two new developments pertaini ng to the work of the WTO 
secretariat: first, a novel communication stra tegy being implemented , compris ing of infographics, 
marketing tools such as logos and thematic folders, a new eLearning course to be published in  the 
course of  2019, short videos and p eriodic posts on social media; and second, a new flyer on "ten 
years of cotton development assistance at the WTO, progress and challenges", showcasing  data 
analysis based on the information published in the Evolving Table. He gave the floor to the secretar iat 
to further  detail  those developments.  
1.4  Ms Marième Fall of the Agriculture and Commodities Division  presented the new cotton 
communication strategy  and general improvements to the work of the DGCFMC . She noted the link 
between the project presentations u nder item 6 and the changes being notified in the Evolving Table, 
which allowed for increased transparency a s well as  the benefit of adding qualitative discussions as 
a complement to the quantitative data available in the Evolving Table. She also highlight ed the 
presence and active participation of the private sector in the meeting – again another new element 
                                                
1 This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  
2 Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali.  TN/AG/SCC/W/30 • WT/CFMC/58  
 
- 2 - 
 
  for the DGCFMC , falling within the broader WTO strategy of enhance d dialogue with the private 
sector.  She concluded by mentioning the new elements of the cotton communication strategy, 
including a new logo, a dedicated webpage on the WTO cotton days, folders and bookmarks, video 
interviews of key players addressing a specific theme related to cotton, as well as the two flyers on 
Cottonportal.org and on  cotton development assistance at the WTO.  
1.5  Mr Fabrizio Meliado of the Agriculture and Commodities Division presented the new flyer on a 
decade  of cotton development assistance monitored by the WTO, covering the period 2008 -2017 
and referring exclusively to data on cotton -specific projects  published  in the Evolving Tables during  
that time-period . The flyer also included a snapshot of cotton -specific  development assistance flows 
up to 2017.  He noted that the flyer was intended to take stock  of trends, challenges and opportunities 
based on  the data available in the Evolving Table. In particular, the aggregated figures reported in 
the flyer showed that the C -4 as a group had been the main beneficiar y of cotton development 
assistance projects  in the period under review , with 119 cotton -specific projects completed out of a 
total 182 projects. The flyer also included a world chart  showing  countries in different shades of 
green  depending on the number of cotton projects implemented in their  territorie s. He also illustrated 
a breakdown of donors  and development assistance partners depending on their  institutional nature: 
bilateral donors ; multilateral agencies ; and south -south  partners.  Accordingly, the most  active 
players as donors in the period under review  were bilateral donors.  He concluded  his presentation 
by noting that the flyer would be updated in the future,  particularly because an upward and very 
positive trend in terms of cotton specific commitments and project turnover had been registered in 
the year 2018 but  had not been captured in the first version of the flyer .  
1.6  The Chairman thanked the secretariat for both presentations and  noted that the new flyer was 
a positive reflection, in  a usable handy form, of the work of the DGCFMC and the releva nt progress 
that ha d been made in funding projects that c ould make a real difference, not only for the C -4 but 
for all  beneficiary countries.   
2  STATEMENT BY THE C-4 COORDINATOR  
2.1  The Ambassador of Benin , speaking on behalf of the C -4 and the other cotton -producing 
countries, thanked the Chairman and the Agriculture and Commodities Division , as well as all the 
partners in development assistance,  for the various initiatives taken to  facilit ate more dynamic 
discussions at the DGCFMC.  
2.2  He noted that 30th round of the DGCFMC was a very important event,  which  provided an 
opportunity to take stock of the recent work done to revamp discussions and enhance project 
effectiveness, in particular thanks to the dynamism and the  new methodological approach of the 
secretariat. He assured that the C -4 and all cotton producing countries would have redoubled their 
efforts towards promoting the development of the cotton sector.  
2.3  He thanked all the development assistance partners, and called for other partners, inc luding 
development banks and financial institutions, to further support the cotton sector. He noted the  
added  value brought to DGCFMC discussions with the inclusion of the topical  "item 8 technical session 
on cotton by -products " and reaffirmed the support of African countries for an initiative on cotton by -
products, aimed at responding to a request for technical assistance expressed by African countries, 
and in particular LDCs . He noted that such initiative would have made  it possible for  those countries  
to develop new value chains using the by -products of cotton production and transformation, such as 
cottonseed oil, cakes,  and handicrafts  made of husks and stalks , such as toothbrushes and similar 
tools.  
2.4  He highlighted  that enhanced attention to the sector of cotton by -products would bring value 
addition in terms of new sources of income for farmers and processors, an increase in  local value 
added,  ability to  access new markets, improved trade balances thanks to more ex ports or import -
substitutions  of like products , and also reduced waste in cotton value chains. He affirmed the 
necessity of technology transfer and know how to understand the appropriate processing technique  
for cotton by -products , as well as the need to establish networks between suppliers and distributors  
and relevant enabling  policies. These considerations, he added, supported the importance of 
technical assistance and transfer of technology for cotton production  towards  industrial 
development , including  with the involvement of the private sector.  TN/AG/SCC/W/30 • WT/CFMC/58  
 
- 3 - 
 
  2.5  He thanked China for having invited the delegations of the C -4 countries to the Shanghai 
International Import Expo held in early November 2018 , for which  logistic support for the members 
of the  C-4 delegations  had been provided by the organizers; he also acknowledged the  continued 
support of China for  allowing  the participation of  the C -4 national cotton sector focal points in the 
meetings of the DGCFMC.  
2.6  The Chairman  commented that , a time of stress for the WTO , the DGCFMC constituted a  great 
opportunity for Members and delegations to make the future of the organization bright er, by making 
a positive net contribution to the system. In th at connection, he noted that the C -4 had been able 
to focus DGCFMC discussion s in a way that could be most productive for targeting assistance and 
seeing a way forward with completeness and eloquence.  
3  COTTON PRODUCTION AN D TRADE TRENDS  
3.1   The Chairman  introduced Agenda item 3 by inviting  to the podium  Mr. Kai Hughes, Executive 
Director of the International Cotton Advisory Committee  (ICAC ). The Chairman  noted that given the 
thematic nature of ICAC presentations at the DGCFMC, ICAC had suggested to change the title of 
its intervention under item 3 of the agenda, from "cotton production  and trade trends", to "new 
developments in the global cotton market". Participants agreed to this amendment of the 
agenda effective as of the 31st round of the DGCFMC, to be held in the spring of 2019 .  
3.2  The Executive Director of the ICAC, Mr. Kai Hughes  noted that his presentation would focus on 
the crucial issue of increasing yields, particularly in Africa, as a matter of specific interest for 
beneficiaries of cotton development assistance. He first provi ded information on the estimated total 
number of c otton farmers in Africa who directly depended on  cotton (3.5 million), of which 80% 
were men. The countries with the highest number of women -farmers were Tanzania, Zimbabwe, 
Burkina Faso and Chad.  
3.3  He reported that cotton production in Sub-Saharan Africa a mounted to 12 % to 14% of world 
cotton production, with a concentration in West -African countries (accounting for approximately 77% 
of African cotton production). Cotton produce was mostly exported (80% of total produce was 
destined to the international mar ket), making it  a vital source of export revenues for countries such 
as Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon (accounting as a group for 74% of cotton 
exports from Africa).  
3.4  He focused on the issue of yields, noting that the world average yield of cotton lint per hectare 
of cultivated land was above 700 kilograms, whereas the average yield in Africa was approximately 
half the world average. He stressed that the project ed demand for cotton was projected t o increase  
in connection with the increase of the world population , creating further opportunities for cotton 
producing countries who could meet such increased demand .  
3.5  He underscored that i ncrease s in yield s in Sub -Saharan Africa could result in additiona l two 
million tons  of lint production . Such increase could come from various interventions, ranging from 
improved plant architecture, harvest index, plant geometry, water usage, canopy and pesticide 
management. In addition,  as cotton farming was mostly rai nfed in Africa,  further efforts were needed 
to understand how climate change had affected the monsoon patterns . He further discussed some 
practical examples of yield increasing policies and their potential results, using countries such as 
Uganda as case st udies. He concluded by noting that in 2016 Africa had exported textile and apparel 
goods accounting for only 6% of total  exports of  manufactured goods from the continent, thus 
constituting another area of potential growth for African countries, as well as an interesting topic 
for future  ICAC  thematic presentations  at the DGCFMC . 
3.6  The Chairman  noted that the particularly low yield in Africa was a matter of primary 
importance that would deserve a dedicated discussion or a technical workshop to be 
organized in partnership with ICAC .  
3.7  The representative of Benin  noted that the presentation given b y ICAC was an enhancement of 
the previous presentation, and strongly supported the focus on plant architecture to meet the 
challenge of  increasing  yields. On the other hand, he stressed that yield comparisons should take  
into account the differences between rainfed agriculture vs. irrigated crops,  which made  costs of 
production possibly higher in the countries belonging to the latter  group.  TN/AG/SCC/W/30 • WT/CFMC/58  
 
- 4 - 
 
  3.8   The national cotton sector focal point  of Burkina Faso  thank ed ICAC for the topical presentation. 
He supported the views expressed by the representative of Benin and added that improving cotton 
yields constitute d a real challenge in the C -4 countries. Yields in Burkina Faso had stagnated for 
several years at 1,000 kilos/hectare of seed cotton, so the country would benefit enormously from 
projects and programmes focussing on yield  enhancement . He called on the WTO, in partnership 
with the C -4, to help Burkina Faso meet the challenges of yield enhancement . 
3.9  The national cotton sector focal point of Mali  intervened to appreciate  the high quality of the 
presentation provided by ICAC, and further illustrated the key differences between irrigated cotton 
and rainfed cotton  and their relative impact on yields . He stressed that the quantity of inputs such 
as pesticides were lower in rainfed cotton cultivated in Africa, thus obtaining a crop that w as more 
environmentally -sound and balanced.  
3.10  The representative of Côte d'Ivoire  thanked ICAC for the presentation and recommended 
that the result of the research on yield enhancemen t be disseminated , so that the producer 
countries could access information on yields and compare the different approaches to make informed 
choices in the future.  
3.11  The representative of Nigeria  appreciated  the value of the presentation made by ICAC. He 
referred to the  overall  issue of the sustainability of cotton production, as it relate d to the broader 
discussions made at the DGCFMC on cotton development assistance. He further noted the need to 
leverage on the opportunities provided by cotton, but also to no t forget about important challenges 
such as climate change impacts and increased pollution from microfibres, as well as several other 
environmental issues affecting cotton production in Africa.  
3.12  In response to the various interventions and comments by Members, the ICAC representative  
stressed that  increasing  yields was a very complex subject which also embrac ed issues of 
sustainability , but that such sustainability issues would deserve a dedicated  discussion. He noted  
that addressing the issue of yields was a pathway towards the development of the cotton sector and 
had the merit of being an issue of crucial importance for various countries. He recalled that 55% of 
world's cotton production was rain fed, with that consideration applying in particular to the African 
continent, where only very few countries used irrigation. He finally underlined that ICAC's yield 
figures refer red to lint cotton.  
3.13  The Chairman  thank ed the ICAC representative  for a valuable and informative intervention , 
and not ed in particular that the presence of ICAC at the meeting was remarkable in the light of the 
annual plenary meeting of ICAC, which would have taken place only one week after in Abidjan . He 
noted that, considering  the various issues that had been discussed in respect of yields 
improvement, the secretariat would consult with Members and experts, in particular ICAC, 
as to the feasibility of conducting a specific workshop on yields. He recorded agreement 
on this proposed way forward .  
4  DIRECTOR -GENERAL'S EVOLVING TABLE ON CO TTON  DEVELOPMENT ASSISTA NCE 
4.1  The Chairman  introduced  item 4 of the agenda  by recalling  the circulation on 15 November  2018 
of the  updated version of the Evolving Table  on cotton development a ssistance  ("ET"), in document 
WT/CFMC/6/Rev.2 5. He invited the secretariat of the Agriculture and Commodities Division to 
highlight the main updates in  the revised  version.  
4.2  Mr. Kossivi Balema  of the Agriculture and Commodities Divisio n mention ed that the ET had been 
recognized by cotton industry experts as a unique transparency -enhancing tool in the world of 
commodities. He added that the ET had become a reference for monitoring cotton projects and 
programmes through quantitative information based on the submissions received from Members and 
multilateral agencies.  
4.3  He briefly summarized the content s of the ET in Part I (active cotton specific projects ), Part II 
(active agriculture and infrastructure -related projects ) and Part III (contact details of national cotton 
focal points in beneficiaries' countries ). He also noted that all completed projects were listed  in the 
Annexes of the ET . TN/AG/SCC/W/30 • WT/CFMC/58  
 
- 5 - 
 
  4.4  He reported that the latest update of the ET was based on  notifications by  Brazil, Canada, the 
European Union , German y, India, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United  State as well as from 
multilateral agencies such as the Common Fund for Commodities, the International Trade 
Centre  (ITC) , the FAO,  the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and 
the World Bank.  He noted that project -specific information  as well as the contact details of national 
cotton sector focal points (Part III of the ET)  was also available through  the Cotton  Portal website 
(http://www.cottonportal.org/cotton ). 
4.5  He presented data from the  latest revision of the ET , which showed an increase in the number 
of projects  (from 26 to 29 in total), and stability in the number of Afri can and other beneficiaries 
(32 in total). The total value of committed amounts  for active cotton -specific projects  had increased 
to US$238.2 million, with disbursements increasing to 106.1 mill ion. The ratio of total disbursements 
to total commitments stood at 44.5%.  He concluded his presentation by  noting that the 
secretariat was working on the establishment of a new database capturing data contained 
in all the E T, so as to  allow for quicker statistical analyses of historical trends . 
4.6  The representative of Chad  thanked  on behalf of the C -4 the secretariat for the presentation of 
the latest version of the ET , as well as  development partners, both under North -South and 
South -South cooperation , for the support provided to the cotton sector in African countries and 
LDCs, and particular  for the  C-4 countries. He further submitted that the ET revision showed a 
decrease of the ratio of disbursed  to committed  amounts in Part I, wher eas an increase in the total 
number of projects in that Part of the ET had been recorded; he sought a clarification of these figures 
from the secretariat, and concluded his presentation by stressing the need to focus project 
interventions on the creation o f progressive and viable infrastructure for cotton production , 
transformation and trade; in this connection, he encouraged the inclusion of such interventions , as 
well as of consideration of cotton by -products, in the implementation of the Cotton Roadmap P roject 
(WT/CFMC/W/73).  
4.7  The representative of Côte d'Ivoire  highlighted the considerable changes brought up by the 
updated version of the ET and thanked all relevant development partners  for their development 
strategies  of the cotton sector  in the beneficiary countries . He argued that  cotton development was 
key to his country's national development strategy, but that difficulties arose f rom the  lack of 
support , as the sector was particularly important for women and rural development. Infrast ructure 
and development techniques for crop  had to become  the focus for such support.  He finally thanked 
the secretariat for regularly updating the ET.  
4.8  The representative of Nigeria  thanked the secretariat for the updated version of the ET, and 
supported t he statement made by Chad. He appreciated the r ole of the ET as a 
transparency -enhancing tool. He noted that all players in cotton development assistance have 
different roles that are fully complementary. He further thanked partners and  indicated that Nige ria 
had various cotton development programmes in place. He engaged to increase the number of 
national cotton sector focal points currently listed in Part III of the ET. In concluding his intervention, 
he called for an assessment of the impact of the variou s projects  listed in the ET; in 
particular, he highlighted the link with the textile sector, citing the case of Nigeria, and 
called for a mechanism to show project impacts in the ET and in the context of its future 
revisions. He suggested that the C -4 coul d formulate a specific recommendation in this 
respect .  
4.9  The representative of the EU  thanked the secretariat for the revision of the ET. She reiter ated 
some of the comments made by the representative of Nigeria, particularly in respect of 
the importance of  focusing on project effectiveness . She strongly supported Nigeria's 
suggestion to concentrate efforts  on such impact assessments . 
4.10  The Chairman  thanked the representatives of the donor community who  had provided inputs  
to update the ET and  stressed the importance of transparency in  the work of the WTO  in general  
and in the DGCFMC in particular. He called upon all Members to  broaden their involvement and 
deepen their contribution to cotton projects, and noted the proposal made to pay greater  attention 
to impacts and effectiveness of projects. He proposed  to utilize part of the next round of the 
DGCFMC  to invite academia and development partners to present their analysis of impacts 
and effectiveness, preceded by  the standard process of consult ing Members . TN/AG/SCC/W/30 • WT/CFMC/58  
 
- 6 - 
 
  4.11  He further encouraged all beneficiaries to share the contact details of their national focal 
points, as reported in Part III of the ET . He concluded by restat ing the special importance  that the 
Director -General attache d to the  WTO w ork on cotton .  
5  SOUTH -SOUTH COTTON C OOPERATION  
5.1  The representative of China  made a presentation on the recent cooperation with the C -4 in the 
context of the 2018 Shanghai International Import Expo (SIIE), as well as on other support 
programmes for the cotton sector in African countries. The presentation underlined that the Chinese 
interventions in support o f African cotton focused on enhancing the capacity of African cotton to 
move up through the cotton production value chain. He added that China had invited the delegations 
of the C -4 at the level of ambassadors and accompanying experts with a view to raisin g the profile 
of African cotton in the Chinese market and allowing for the creation of business contacts. Various 
meetings and presentations were organized with business representatives, as well as televised 
interviews and workshops on trade and developmen t topics.  
5.2   The representative of Pakistan  made a statement on experience -sharing  with the C -4 on cotton 
production , including production technolog ies and research.  He reported that th ose activities had 
been very useful in terms of interactions with various  actors such as policy makers, regulators, 
private sector and associations involved in the cotton production technolog y process  in Africa . He 
reported that further areas for cooperation were being identified by the relevant stakeholders.  
5.3  The representative  of Mali  intervened to thank China and Pakis tan, as well as all other 
south -south partners, as key stakeholders assisting the cotton sector in Africa and in the C -4. He 
noted that any extension of the south -south partners' group would be welcomed by the C -4. He 
echoed China in underlining  the usefulness  of the participation of the delegations of the C -4 in SIIE, 
praising the high quality of the various events organized in connection with the C -4 visit to Shanghai. 
He further  noted that new stakeholders were  increasingly involved in the cotton sector in African 
countries and in the C-4. He also thanked  developing  countr ies such as Brazil, China, India, Pakistan 
and Turkey for their commitment to the development of the African cotton sector  and encourag ed 
further cooperation under the South -South platform.  
5.4  The representative of Nigeria  intervened to acknowledge  the contribution of Brazil, China, India 
and Pakistan  to the development of the cotton sector in Africa. He stressed that the C -4 should be 
the priority, but that there could also be other beneficiaries in need of assistance , including countries 
in the early st ages of development of their cotton sector .  
5.5   The representative of Brazil  renewed the commitment of Bra zil to supporting the cotton sector  
in Africa, as shown in the latest version of the Evolving Table and the relevant changes notified by 
Brazil. Brazil had projects on -going with the C -4, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania and Togo. Brazil also had 
on-going projects in partnership with the FAO benefit ting a group of Latin -American partners. A 
project focussing on the development of market outlets for cotton by -products was also on -going in 
partnership with the World Food Programme, to the benefit of a group of African countries. He 
reported about furth er projects being developed by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency, which had 
also conducted technical missions in the C -4 countries, as well as in Cameroon, Senegal, Ethiopia 
and Zimbabwe.  
5.6  The representative of Mozambique  thanked the WTO's Director -General f or maintaining the 
DGCFMC, as well as all other partners in development. She made a call for partners to support 
the participation in the meetings of the DGCFMC of more national cotton sector focal 
points .  
5.7  The representative of Côte d'Ivoire  thanked the B razilian Cooperation Agency and noted the 
benefits his country had drown from the cooperation with Brazil and its experience.  
5.8  The representative of Togo  intervened to express gratitude for the organization of the DGCFMC 
and acknowledged the contribution o f Brazil to the development of the cotton sector in Togo. He 
noted that the main objective of the partnership  with Brazil was to improve production and 
productivity. He reported that at one of the latest project meetings it had been  noted that more than 
900 farmers had been trained, leading to an increased yield of seed cotton in Togo, generating a net 
income of about 17mln CFA francs. The project's outlook  would focus on the exchange of good TN/AG/SCC/W/30 • WT/CFMC/58  
 
- 7 - 
 
  practices and the transfer of technologies. Investment mobilizati on was also an important 
component of the project.  
5.9  The representative of Nigeria  thanked Brazil for the presentation. He appreciated the 
interventions and the support of Brazil which embraced various African countries, with the C -4 
countries as the priority.  
5.10  The representative of Zimbabwe  thanked the DDG for organizing the DGCFMC and the ICAC 
for their insightful presentation. She further noted the importance of the cotton sector in her country 
and stressed the appropriateness of the technical mission  announced  by Brazil as a much -welcomed  
development.  
5.11  The representative of Mali  congr atulated the Brazilian  Cooperation Agency for its work in 
partnership with various African countries. He reported that , owing to the cooperation with Brazil, 
Malian farmers had been able to focus production on high quality cotton. Besides those benefits, 
various institutions had benefitted from the support of Brazil, for instance by establishing seed 
banks. Further projects with Brazil focused on the improvement of the fertility of the soil and climate 
change resilience.   
5.12  The representative of Benin  express ed deep gratitude to all the delegations who intervened 
under item 5 and thanked all technical and financial partners. He reported about further examples 
of South -south cooperation, such as with Argentina, with which an MoU was being finalized. He 
noted th at the on -going projects were part of a regional cooperation effort.  
5.13  The Chairman  thanked all the speakers  who provided updates,  and underlined that such 
updates enhanced the implementation of South -South cooperation. He also encouraged developing 
countri es to continue to strengthen South -South cooperation on cotton and recalled that the 
contributions made by  participants were re corded  and given official recognition, particularly  through 
the Evolving Table as well as the  Periodic Report on Cotton Developme nt Assistance prepared under 
the responsibility of the Director General.3 
6  COTTON DEVELOPMENT A SSISTANCE PROJECTS  
6.1  The Chairman  introduced agenda item 6 by  noting that the secretariat had received a 
remarkable number of requests  for speaking under item 6. He  briefly  recall ed that th e item had been  
added to the DGCFMC agenda  pursuant to  a request by the C -4 at the end of 2017 , and endorse d 
by Members , to give a more pragmatic  imprint to the WTO's work on cotton development assistance.  
He noted that the inclusi on of this item led to the focussing of discussions on cotton projects from 
both the beneficiaries and the donors' perspectives. He also highlighted that the inclusion of this 
item was a mean s to give effect to the 2015 Nairobi4 and 2013 Bali5 Ministerial  Decisions on cotton 
development assistance . He recalled  that item 6 was a new element of qualitative analysis of project 
impacts as well as of  the key elements  of new projects, fully complementing the quantitative 
information reported in the Evolving Table. He thanked the speakers under item 6, the majority of 
whom had travelled from capital. Finally, h e recalled that all presentations would be made available 
through the cotton page of the WTO website  
(https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/agric_e/cottonday2018_e.htm ).  
6.2  The representative of Benin  presented, on behalf of the C -4, an update of the "Cotton Roadmap " 
Project.  The comprehensive project proposal had been developed in partnership with the 
International Trade Centre (ITC), and circulated in  document WT/CFMC/W/73 dated 
23 February  2018.  
6.3  He explained that the project was of a cross -regional nature, focussing on cotton value chains 
in Africa, and that  productivi ty, infra structure, logistics, business climate,  and lack of local 
transformation capacity were amongst the main gaps targeted by the project. Ultimately, the project 
                                                
3 See for example, document WT/GC/187 – WT/CFMC/DG/8 – WT/MIN(17)/5 dated 22 November 2017.  
4 WT/MIN(15)/46, 21 December 2015.  
5 WT/MIN(13)/41, 11 December 2013.  TN/AG/SCC/W/30 • WT/CFMC/58  
 
- 8 - 
 
  would have helped to support the development of strong regional value chains based on cotton -to-
textile and cotton -related products processing.   
6.4  He highlighted the following  expected outcomes from the implementation of the project : 
1) creation of sustainable jobs and  poverty  alleviation ; 2) promotion of artisanal , semi-industrial and 
industrial cotton processing ; and 3)  transfer of knowledge and technology.  He further noted that not 
only the C -4 countries were foreseen as beneficiaries for the project; rather, project interventions 
could be extended to all African cotton -producing countries. He anticipa ted that the representatives 
of Mali and Benin would have further illustrated the specifics of project actions through  a total of 
three pilot projects, to be presented immediately after his presentation.  He also mentioned a fo urth 
potential pilot project, on cotton by -products, which was of specific interest for beneficiaries and 
which concerned the mobilization of various key partners, such as the EU and China.    
6.5  The representative of Mali, Mr Cheick O. T. Doucouré, DDG of the Malian company for the 
develo pment of textile (CMDT ), made a presentation on two new pilot projects selected by the C -4 
to begin the implementation of the cotton roadmap project. The presentation covered projects' 
highlights, agronomic issues, the areas of Mali that would be benefitti ng from project interventions 
and the expected results. He recalled the vital role of cotton for the economy of Mali, based on a 
study carried out by the Rural Economy Institute on the effects of reduced soil acidity. The pilot 
project being presented had been devised based on  the latter study, and a map showing the soil 
acidity levels in various areas of Mali. He noted that soil a cidity level s were a crucial determinant for 
the productivity of the cotton sector.  
6.6  The beneficiaries of the project would be c otton farmers over a period of implementation of 
three years. The project would have selected cooperatives of farmers as beneficiaries. Upgrading 
materials , such as phosphate  and lime , would also be distributed in the context of training  modules. 
The tot al cost of the project was estimated at about 46mln U$D. The project also emphasized several  
environmental protection measures based on precaution, particularly in relation to the transport and 
storage of phosphate and lime.  
6.7  The second project focused on the introduction of new varieties of cotton in Mali. The project 
was based on a diagnosis of the fact that existing varieties would begin to age very soon, thus 
negatively affecting productivity. The CMDT had been selected in the  study phase as the main 
beneficiary of the project, together with the national directorate for agriculture. The project foresaw 
the involvement of more than 23,000 farms, with 900 operational stocks also involved. The overall 
objective was to strengthen t he capacity of farmers and seed producers, including through 
demonstrations on varieties  being introduced with third and fourth generation cotton seeds. The cost 
was slightly above 1mln US$. Partners and funding agencies would be expected to contribute bot h 
financially and technically. Finally, he assured that a system of evaluation and follow up of project 
activities would be set up, with a  separate  study to be  carried out to measure the impact of the 
project.  
6.8  The national focal point of Benin  presented th e third pilot project, a support project to improve 
soil health in C -4 countries. The context and the justification of the project lied in research showing 
that the rate of organic matter had considerably declined in C -4 soils. Therefore , the project fores aw 
the introduction of plants to improve the soils devoted to the production of cotton through rotation 
of crops. Soya and maize would then rotate with cotton, thus making available to producers plants 
that improved the soil. The estimated cost of the proj ect would be evaluated on a country by country 
bases, with different sectors and different countries contributing to such cost analysis.  
6.9  The representative of Nigeria  thanked the C -4 for their presentation of the Roadmap project, 
as well as the pilot proj ects presented by Mali and Benin. He called on the engagement of 
development partners and  noted that such projects could also be relevant in the context of Aid for 
Trade. He expressed the view that an effort for harmonizing national strategies was necessar y in 
order to achieve better results from projects and  hoped for the prompt implementation of the various 
projects concerned.  
6.10  The national focal point of Burkina Faso  announced that further pilot projects would be 
communicated to the coordination of the C -4 with a view to being submitted to partners during  the 
next rounds of the DGCFMC.  TN/AG/SCC/W/30 • WT/CFMC/58  
 
- 9 - 
 
  6.11  The Chairman  thanked the representative s of Benin and  Mali, as well as  the other sp eakers 
for their interventions  and the  presentation of the Cotton Roadmap Project and relevant pilot 
projects. He announced that the subsequent presentations would have been made by donors and 
partners, focussing on both new projects and lessons learned fr om past experiences.  
6.12  The represe ntative s of GIZ -Germany , Mr Florian Reil and Mr Wolfgang Bertenbreiter,  in 
cooperation with the delegation of the EU, made a presentation on two new projects in their early 
implementation phase: i) sustainability and value added in the cotton economy  through the "Global 
Project" ; and ii) the African Cotton Foundation. He reported that the key objective of the German 
government was to promote sustainable cotton worldwide. The two projects being presented at the 
cotton days we re two examples of that specific vision, and all the information being presented was 
pending the approval of the German government.  
6.13  The first project benefitted Burkina Faso, Cameroon, India and Uzbekistan.  This portfolio of 
countries was not exhaustive, and further countries were expected to be involved as beneficiaries 
during  2019. The key objective was the promotion of sustainable cotton on a global scale, with the 
aim of extending project actions to  the textile value chain and relevant local processing  activities  in 
cotton producing countries. The target groups foreseen by the project were lead firms, including 
retailers, marketeers, fashion brands. He concluded by underscoring  that project activities addressed 
beneficiaries which were very different in  their local transformation capacity.  
6.14  The second project, the African Cotton Foundation (ACF), had been initiated in early 2017 
when GIZ was approached by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to support the development of 
the private sector in cotton pro ducin g countries in Africa. At the end of 2017, the ACF was created 
by a group of founding members,  and subsequently registered  under Swiss law during  2018. The 
ACF was based on the concept of shared value. The ACF was conceived to become a financially 
autonomous  initiative.   
6.15  The representative of Côte d'Ivoire  welcomed the presentation by GIZ and commented on the 
African Cotton Foundation, asking for the conditions to be met for joining the foundation as a private 
company. He posed a second question on how  to access information on the ACF platform.  
6.16  The representative of Benin  thanked the speaker and highlighted the value of the initiatives  
being implemented by GIZ. He expressed the hope that the coverage of the initiative would be 
expanded. He noted the qua lity of the material shown during the presentation for spinning and 
garment manufacturing and  expressed the wish to be included  as an additional player in GIZ'  
initiatives.  
6.17   The representative of Mali  thanked GIZ for its initiatives  and the setting  up of the ACF. The 
presentation was particularly useful to understand also how GIZ would interact with the Better 
Cotton Initiative (BCI). He reported that the implementation of BCI standards as a solution for the 
sustainability of the sector  in Mali, as of 2011,  was yielding very promising results and making Mali 
the first producer of BCI -certified cotton  in Africa . He identified this as an opportunity for Mali to 
participate in the activities of the ACF.  
6.18  In response to the questions and interventions ma de, the representative of GIZ  reported that, 
in the case of the  Global Project , other countries could be added as partners and beneficiaries upon 
accord by the German Ministry of Cooperation and Development. He noted that the project would 
work closely wit h schemes concerned with sustainability, including BCI, and took note of the relevant 
comment. He completed his reply by noting that no special conditions existed for joining the ACF, 
and invited delegates to establish contacts with GIZ and the other partn ers in order to be involved 
in future initiatives.  
6.19   Three representatives of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency  (ABC)  joined the podium to make 
three presentations.  The first speaker,  Mr. Nelci Peres Caixeta , illustrated the way in which the 
Brazilian Cotton  Institute had administered the funds received from the United Stets after the dispute 
US — Upland Cotton  (WT/DS267 /*); he noted that 10% of the relevant funds had been used for 
south -south bilateral and trilateral cooperation. Brazilian cooperation activi ties on cotton focused on 
supporting increased production and on strengthening the cotton sector by an effective use of 
production technologies and seed quality production systems.   TN/AG/SCC/W/30 • WT/CFMC/58  
 
- 10 - 
 
  6.20  The second speaker from ABC, Mr Wilson Melo,  presented new developments an d new 
initiatives in Brazilian cooperation activities on cotton. He highlighted an overarching new trend : 
cooperating with international organizations as of 2015 in a format of cooperation called "trilateral 
cooperation". This was a new trend for Brazil, w hich had started cooperation agreements with FAO, 
ILO and WFP, allowing for cooperation with high level experts. 80mln USD had been mobilized by 
Brazil in the context of these activities, half of which were destined to cotton projects. This made of 
cotton the key focus of relevant projects. One of these projects, in partnership with the WFP, was 
the "beyond cotton project"; this project focused on cotton by -products and products from cotton -
combined crops. The speaker informed that letters of interest for t his project had already been 
received from Benin, Mozambique, Kenya, and Tanzania. The value of the project, considering only 
the financial resources committed to it, was 7,2mln USD. The final aim of the project was to foster 
school feeding programmes in c onnection with cotton growing activities. Brazil had a universal 
programme for school feeding from which experiences could be replicated.  
6.21  The third speaker from ABC, Ms América Gonzales Sanabria, made a presentation on an ABC 
project implemented in cooperation with the FAO in a group of Latin American countries. She noted 
that the project contributed to SDG  1, 2, 5 , 8, 12, and 17. The project started in 2012 and would be 
concluded in 2021. The project addressed sustainable production in cotton value chains. In addition, 
the project targeted the development of efficient and inclusive commercialization, towards the 
reduction of rural poverty. She noted that family farming made the most of the typology of farmers 
in partner countries, thus the creation o f a sustainable agr o-textile value chain could have brought 
real benefits to rural populations, with a strong gender -related component.  She concluded by 
reporting that the project promoted sustainable cotton production horizontally in Latin America, 
includ ing through good practices for cotton cultivation . 
6.22  The representatives of Benin, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire and  Mali reacted to the three presentations 
by ABC -Brazil. They noted that the cotton sector was a gateway towards creating and restructuring 
value chains in Africa. The gender aspects em phasized by  the presentations by ABC were also 
highlighted, and a general call was made to promote positive and successful impacts on the 
improvement  of the well -being of women in beneficiary countries. They also underlined the effects 
of the projects on productivity and production systems, including by mentioning extension services 
and cotton transformation infrastructure. Questions were raised in relation to the enhancement  of 
productivity and relevant challenges ; in this c onnection, the representative of Chad  mentioned 
various projects that had to be carried out in those domains in cooperation with Brazil, but that had 
remained in the pipeline awaiting implementation. The representative of Côte d'Ivoire  noted the 
importance  of the DGCFMC and underlined that the Consultative Mechanism showed another side of 
the WTO, and expressed its enthusiasm with the presentations under item 6 and how those 
presentations affected directly farmers and people in the field; he also noted the value added to 
producers arising from trilateral cooperation, such as those addressing food production in connection 
with cotton production.  He further proposed that the Evolving Table include a  catalogue of 
projects that would list type s of project s, objectives , whether projects were  limited in 
time, and how to  access t hem (whether on demand o r by fulfilling  other particular 
conditions). He noted that such additional information would complement and ensure 
follow up on  the information discussed under item 6 at the DGCFMC . The representative of 
Mali stressed the importance of the partnership with Brazil. She referred to new technologies  and 
new cotton varieties introduced owing to the cooperation with Brazil. She mentioned a new project 
starting in February 2019. She also noted the challenge  of reconciling agriculture with sheep 
hoarding, and  further expressed the urgent need for new harvesting machinery, justified by  a clear 
lack of capacity to perform optimal harvesting operations.  
6.23  The representati ves of ABC -Brazil , in reply to the representative of Chad, expressed the 
availability to analyse the proposals by Chad for the two new projects, assuring a positive reply in 
case the two projects targeted technical cooperation, and that ABC had not receive d any projects by 
Chad. He noted that ABC technical cooperation was demand driven, with candidates having to submit 
a specific request to allow ABC to assess whether they would have the capacity to satisfy the request, 
and organize a technical mission. In relation to the project with the CMDT (Mali), some activities had 
already started towards  building  the needed  harvesting machine ry. They reported that an initiative 
was be ing carried out by the Brazilian Research Institute to develop harvest ing machine ry adapted 
to African conditions and small -scale farming. Once the machine ry would have been  produced, it 
would have been  available through cooperation projects.  TN/AG/SCC/W/30 • WT/CFMC/58  
 
- 11 - 
 
  6.24  The Chairman  noted the proposal from Côte d'Ivoire, assuring  that the secretariat 
would  work on f urther improving the Evolving Table , in consult ation  with Members and 
development partners . He further noted that the representatives of UNCTAD and ITC had agreed 
to postpone their respective presentations listed  under item 6 to the next round of the DGCFM C, in 
the interest of time and to accommodate speakers who had travelled from capital.  
6.25   Mr Ryota Karube, President of Toyoshima Inc . (Japan), made a presentation , in coordination 
with the delegation of Japan , on the reality of cotton trading and relevant challenges and 
opportunities for Africa n cotton . Mr Karube introduced the business model of Toyoshima Inc., a 
cotton trader since 1841, handling on average 200,000 tonnes of cotton per year. The company 
worked mostly with retailers located in the Japanese market, as well as other firms operating in 
Asia. Mr Karube explained that the intercontinental exchange  (ICE)  in New York was the key market 
for trading cotton. Cotton market was well known for its high price volatility, which attracted 
investors and spec ulators. He explained that  merchants deal t with high price volatility  by acting as 
risk taker s between  current versus future prices . The role of merchants , he continued, was one of 
acting as  intermediaries, because seldom producer s wanted to sell when the consumer s wanted to 
buy, considering that s ellers look for high price s and consumers look for low prices . Merchants 
guarantee d that contracts w ould be perfo rmed irrespective of market fluctuations , by u sing financial 
tools like future derivatives and optio ns available on the ICE. Merchants  also guarantee d that the 
quality s ought for by buyers was the one they wished .  
6.26  He then turned to the case of Francophone Africa, whose success to grow cotton was explained 
mostly by its weather pattern (natural advantage ); the sector was based on partnerships between 
farmers, national cotton companies, and the private sector. Farmers consider ed seed and input 
prices before planting. A zoning plan was also set to avoid overcapacity and competition. Financial 
support from b anks and government s was also guaranteed. Cotton was sold in euros at the origin, 
and the merchants t ook the currency risk. Cotton was sold at FOB prices at loading ports at net 
certified shipping weight in Africa, and merchants also dealt with  weight diff erences in 
transportation. African cotton was generally of high quality,  he said,  with very remarkable  technical 
specifications  also due to slow ginning techniques; after patient marketing by cotton companies and 
merchants, the quality of African cotton was well known to buyers. However, African cotton was 
traded at a discount price in various markets, mainly due to potential contamination issues, which 
should also be addressed at all stages of the production cycle, including the conditioning of  bales, 
which  should be improved. Logistics were also identified as  an issue for landlocked countries, making 
ports of loading extremely congested and the transit time approx. 45 days, so infrastructure 
development projects were really needed. 80% of African cotto n was sold to  Asia, with Bangladesh 
being the biggest importer. High quality neat garment was made mostly out of African cotton.  In 
that connection,  payments and logistics were a challenge for merchants, with ports of destination 
often congested , with limi ted capacity,  and letter s of credit issued by local banks which were  difficult 
to manage. Bangladesh and Viet  Nam were the two most important consumers of African cotton, 
with the former literally doubling the consumption of African cotton over the past fe w years. China 
was identified as  the third key importer .  
6.27  He concluded by noting that Africa c ould sell its cotton more efficiently than  it was doing, for 
instance through initiatives such as the  CMiA ( pulled by  demand from Europe an consumers mostly ), 
as well as other identitiy cottons such as BCI and the organic cotton. These were identified as  niche 
markets , and the point was made that a proliferation of such initiatives could  be confusing for end 
consumers.  He underscored that future trends for the cotto n industry could foresee additional 
concentration  in both farming and spinning activities.  That same forecast applied to the activities of 
textile giant  companies . These  were all  challenges  that could be  met by Africans by making 
partnerships. Technology a nd better farming practices w ere also important , while demand patterns 
were also shifting, with consumers being more socially and environmentally concerned.  
6.28  The Chairman  noted that this was the second time the private sector made a presentation 
under item  6 at the DGCMFC, as original ly suggested  by the C -4 and later endorsed by members. 
He noted that the presence and active participation of key private -sector representatives in meetings 
of the DGCFMC added relevance to the work of the forum, making it even  more dynamic and 
pragmatic in approach . He stressed that this strategy  fell within the broader orientation of the WTO 
to enhance dialogue with the private sector. He further noted that the model of support for 
development cooperation projects was increasingly moving towards the pu blic-private partnership 
model, making the ex perience of non -state actors a necessary element of the discussion at the 
DGCFMC.  TN/AG/SCC/W/30 • WT/CFMC/58  
 
- 12 - 
 
  6.29  The representative of Benin  thanked Toyoshima Inc. for the presentation and its pedagogical  
value. He posed a question on risk management, asking what targeted instruments ca n be used in 
relation to risks caused by natural or financial issues. The representative of Mali thanked Toyoshima 
Inc. for the presentation and  recalled that Toyoshima Inc. was one of the most important partners 
for the Malian cotton sector,  stressing tha t it had been so for more than a decade, with clear win -
win results. The cooperation with Toyoshima Inc. had been characterized by a business approach  
that supported the Malian cotton sector, putting a focus on  development projects with a  social and 
enviro nmental dimension,  as well as  education.  He further asked a question as to the viability of 
enhancing BCI cotton from Mali through a development project, as  BCI was no longer a niche project 
for the CMDT , with  700,000 tons  of cotton  produced in Mali, of wh ich one third was BCI certified . 
The representative of Chad  thanked Toyoshima  Inc. for the extremely relevant and interesting  
presentation ; he noted that PPPs were crucial to achiev ing effective results.  He noted that  African 
cotton ha d the possibility to access various markets without facin g particular hurdles.  He posed a 
question about  price distortions in international markets that actually penalized smaller producers , 
and how such distortions were perceived by merchants . The representative of Burkina Fa so thanked 
Toyoshima Inc. and posed a question on Toyoshima's perception of the future of organic cotton in 
world markets, given that many African countries were producers of such niche production.   
6.30  The representative of Japan  thanked Mr. Karube for the presentation and  expressed 
satisfaction for the important role played by a Japanese company in cotton trade. She further hoped 
that the information shared by Toyosh ima Inc. would further inform the discussions at the DGCFMC. 
She concluded by asking Toyoshi ma Inc. how cotton growers in African countries could strengthen 
and improve their partnerships with companies such as Toyoshima  Inc.  
6.31  Two managers  of Toyoshima Inc . repl ied to the questions and comments raised by  Benin, 
Chad, Mali and Japan . They mentione d risk management  tools and explained that when purchases 
were made in euros, merchants  would ensure the full coverage of exchange risks. They also noted 
that BCI and other identity cotton s were driven by downstream demand . About  market distortions, 
they n oted that there was a linkage with prices, and  that small  traders  such as Toyoshima Inc.  had 
very limited impacts  on prices, being price takers  in cotton international markets.  Referring to 
partnerships,  they noted that traders  made the bridge between cons umers and suppliers, bearing 
the relevant risks  as a way  to advance partnerships.  
6.32  The Chairman  thanked the representatives of Toyoshima Inc. as well as all the other speakers 
under item 6. He noted that discussions had been underpinned by a remarkable coo perative spirit 
and positive attitude, to be utilized throughout the WTO. Th at attitude, he noted, was aimed at 
obtaining results and increased effectiveness and engagements  for cotton development assistance. 
He recorded agreement by participants  that all the presentations  made under item 6  be 
published on the Cotton Days pages of the WTO website  (https://www.wto.org/cottondays ). 
7  DOMESTIC COTTON SECT OR AND OTHER REFORMS /NATIONAL COTTON SEC TOR FOCAL 
POINTS  
7.1  The Chairman  introduced agenda item 7 by noting that the Secretariat had received updates on 
domestic cotton sector reforms  from Burkina Faso , as reflect ed in document WT/CFMC/21/Rev.1 6 
of 15 November 2018 . He further informed participants that, in the interes t of time, the National 
Cotton Sector Focal Points agreed to circulate their statements in the CFMC document 
series at a later stage . He recorded participants ' agreement on this point . Before moving on 
to the next agenda item, he recalled that the contact details  of national cotton sector focal points 
were listed in Part III of the Evolving Table, and that updates on such coordinates had been received 
only from Benin, Burkina Faso Chad, Mali and Mozambique. He strongly encouraged beneficiary 
countries to sh are updated information  on their national cotton sector focal points , and noted that 
such information was  relevant for doing business because it had been made available  through the 
Cotton Portal  (https://www.cottonportal.org/cotton/en/cotton -content/wto -corner#national -focal-
points -table).  
8  TECHNICAL SESSION ON COTTON BY -PRODUCT S 
8.1  The Chairman  introduced item 8 by noting that the technical session on cotton by -products  
(CBPs)  focuse d on the development assistance aspects of cotton, as part of the 30th Round of 
consultations of the DGCFMC , and aimed to shed some light on the technical merits  and growth TN/AG/SCC/W/30 • WT/CFMC/58  
 
- 13 - 
 
  potential of CBPs starting from a discussion on basic issues, such as the nature of such products and 
the relevant current and potential markets . The session  had been organized pursuant to the 
suggestion made by the C -4 in June 2018 to continue  work in relation to the list of cotton related 
products annexed to the 2015 Nairobi Decision on Cotton6. 
8.2  He further emphasized that CBPs constituted an extraordinarily important and new area for 
DGCFMC discussions on cotton. He reported that i t appear ed from available data and reports that 
CBPs value chains present ed untapped potential for growth in LDCs and developing countries, 
particularly in Africa. It also appear ed that CBPs present ed a potential for fostering local 
transformation and generating addit ional revenue in those countries. Furthermore,  he concluded,  
there  was a strong potential to explore CBP -related work in the context of the Enhanced Integrated 
Framework  (EIF). 
8.3  He reported of a meeting held on 26 October  between him, the Ambassadors of the  
C-4 countries, as well as officers from UNCTAD , ITC, and the WTO Secretariat,  in relation to a new 
project of joint WTO/UNCTAD/ITC initiative on value addition for CBPs.  The meeting closed a 
cycle of informal bilateral consultations held between the Cotto n Section of the Ag riculture and 
Commodities  Division . WTO,  and a series of cotton key players ( including Australia, Brazil, China, 
EU, India, Pakistan, Turkey, and the US), whereby an overall high level of interest in this potential 
joint initiative has b een recorded . He noted that the mid -term goal this work would be to assist the 
C-4 and other beneficiaries in developing CBPs, create new income streams for farmers, particularly 
smallholders and marginalized groups and processors through increased domesti c value addition 
and access to new markets . He underlined that the idea behind the in itiative was to increase income 
for farmers, particularly smallholders and marginalized groups and processors through greater  value 
added.  
8.4  He concluded that i ncreasing en gagement and efforts on the issue of CBPs in the WTO context 
could and should yield significant results and concretely support the development strategies of 
countries benefitting from cotton development assistance . He thanked all the speakers on the 
agenda , some of which had come a long way to take part in the discussion .  
8.5  Ms Marième Fall of the Agriculture and Commodities Division made a presentation aimed at 
providing details on the process and the mandate that led to the discussion on CBPs, as well as on  
the trade significance and socio -economic impacts of CBPs as a specific sector upon which to focus 
resources and investments. She noted that up to the Nairobi Ministerial Meeting and relevant cotton 
decision, discussions on cotton at the WTO were limited to three HS lines: 5201, 5202, and 5203, 
as recorded  in Annex 1 of the Agreement on Agriculture. The Nairobi Decision7 represented a turning 
point in that it encompassed  cotton -related products, which would of course not be necessarily the 
same as CBPs. She further illustrated the  secretariats'  Background Paper  on cotton8 and its 
Addendum No. 2 , covering the cotton -related products mentioned in the Nairob i decision, with 
cotton -related products  information on tariffs , special safeguard mechanisms, and  TRQs, all based 
on notifications by WTO members . 
8.6  Dr Matthias Knappe of the ITC made a presentation on value addition for  CBPs in the perspective 
of current and future projects implemented by ITC . He noted that CBPs were a growing market and 
potentially an important complementary source of income for farmers, able in particular to further 
increase farmer s' resilience  to shocks . An important element, he observed, was ensuring that 
farmers actually had access to seeds or could be stakeholders in an oil -pressing company, to account 
for equal access and benefit sharing  concerns . He noted that the relative value of by -product s to the 
price of lint increased with an upward trend (e.g. case of edible oils  and livestock and poultry feeds) . 
He mentioned that ITC had two on -going south -south programmes, with India and with China as 
main partners, that could be expanded to include CBPs in their project actions, particularly with 
regard to cotton seeds as  a source of edible oils. He concluded by stressing the key point that he 
saw work on CBPs as a package to create value at the origin, thus mostly benefitting farmers.  
8.7  Mr Stephen Kabwe  of the  Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute  (IAPRI), Lusaka, Zambia , 
made a presentation on behalf of UNCTAD  on the Zambian experience on value addition for CBPs.  
He reported that in Zambia, cotton was grown by more than 250,000 smallholder farmers. In this 
                                                
6 WT/MIN(15)/46, 21 December 2015 . 
7 WT/MIN(15)/46, 21 December 2015 . 
8 TN/AG/GEN/34/ Rev.9 . TN/AG/SCC/W/30 • WT/CFMC/58  
 
- 14 - 
 
  connection, the development of CBPs could  have been  an avenue to help improve the profit margins 
of farmers and other stakeholders. He provided the audience with an overview of the Zambia n CBP 
value chain, noting in particular the various opportunities and challenges connected with investments 
in CBP development. As opportunities, he mentioned  the high domestic demand for CBPs such as  
cooking oil for human consumption, cake and hulls for the dairy sector, fuel (briquetting/pellets) 
which also helped to reduce deforestation, and in more generic terms, the fact that CBPs s uch as 
cotton stalks were easily available, and that cotton farming was easy to kick started because ginners 
offered input on credit. As challenges, he notably mentioned low seed cotton production due to poor 
yields, limited use of feedstock from cottonsee d (only for ruminants because of gossypol  clearance 
issues in cotton seeds ), competition from imported cheap edible oils, lack of appropriate technologies 
in to add value to CBPs, and the existence of VAT on cottonseed. In concluding his presentation, he 
recommended that the development of CBPs should not be looked in isolation from the development 
of cotton value chains, but as part of the entire value chain; he also stressed the importance of 
promoting  affordable technologies for farmers and other stakeho lders, to be used at farm -level 
(e.g. chipping technologies), as well as at the factory level (pellets and particles and sanitary 
products, for which the Indian experience was mentioned as the key one).  
8.8  Dr Keshav Kranthi, ICAC , made a presentation on new technologies for break -through in yields 
and by -product utilization in Africa. He first discussed three strategies to increase yields in Africa. 
He noted the gap between African and world average yields. He noted that a group of countries 
constituting 4 0% of global cotton area contributed 60% of world production. He also noted that 
certain countries with irrigated cotton fields had yields below world average, while other countries 
with rainfed cotton fields had yields above world average. He mentioned th e case of Brazil, where a 
change in plant architecture had been the game changer in increasing yields: he noted that, having 
account of the fact that every country had different cotton growing characteristics, there was 
something common to various countrie s which perfo rmed particularly well in terms of yields, in spite 
of being in very different zones of the world: this factor was compact plant architecture and canopy 
management , so as to control the size of the plant to avoid that the plant overuse d water and soil 
nutrients.  On other important factors related to plant density and crop duration the experience of 
other  countries could  also be taken as an example of best practice. These considerations had great 
relevance not only for increasing yields, but als o for improving the quality of cotton products, 
including in particular CBPs for which having high quality seeds and stalks had a crucial impact on 
the value of the  by-product being developed.  
8.9  He explained that three new technologies were of particular re levance for CBPs' development. 
The first technology, developed by the US and available on the market on a royalty -free manner, 
applied genetical engineering processes to reduce gossypol only in the seeds, meeting WHO 
standards and making it possible to sat isfy the protein intake needs of both animals and humans. 
The second technology was again aimed at removing gossypol and  consisted in a molecular imprinted  
gel developed by China  that captured the gossypol protein and removed it entirely. The third and 
final technology , developed by India,  was called "biochar ", a substance resulting from the conversion 
of cotton stalks, a carbon -sequestration substance that improved soil water retention and carbon 
retention properties, thus leading to  improved  yields.  
8.10  The national cotton sector focal point  of Benin  thanked the representative of ICAC for the 
presentation and acknowledged  the African state of underdevelopment in using new technologies. 
The morphology of cotton plants and density of plants per hectare  were majo r subjects of interest. 
He highlighted  the specific issues related to the selection of varieties, for example several years of 
research in Africa could not allow for gossypol sequestration only in the seed, and not in the leaves 
(in which gossypol was necessary as a plant protection from parasites). He mentioned the potential 
for a negative correlation between the quality of the fibres and the development of other parts of 
the plants. Finally, he referred  to the imperatives of climate change adaptation, and  listed soil 
management and carbon sequestration as important actions towards that overall objective, to be 
performed also at the level of small -scale farming. He completed his intervention by noting that , in 
relation to yields improvement, fertilization i ssues and phytosanitary issues also came into play; in 
that connection,  he noted that  the volumes of fertilizers used in Africa were much below than  those 
used by  Brazil,  for instance, so it  was really important  to single out the right technologies to be 
applied in a specific country.  
8.11  The representative of Mali  intervened to thank all the speakers for the quality of the 
presentations. He underscored that CBPs, and cotton  seeds  in particular , had a real potential  for 
value addition , and asked whether the re were  different systems to add value through out the value TN/AG/SCC/W/30 • WT/CFMC/58  
 
- 15 - 
 
  chain. In monetary terms, he recalled that in the cotton producing regions there were inefficiencies 
in terms of organic materials. Stalks were recycled t o improve the level of organic mat ter in the soil, 
thus being used in  a sustainable way.  He then suggested  to have presentations on comparative 
yields that t ook into account different varieties and production cycles, including the technological 
aspects in play. He recalled that , in past seasons, shortages of water impl ied shorter fibres, having 
an impact on the marketing  potential  of the fibre.  
8.12    The Chairman  noted that this was just the beginning of discussions of what  CBP possibilities 
were. He noted a re al breakthrough in terms of income streams and yield improvements from 
investments in CBPs and highlighted all the important points raised by Benin and Mali as they applied 
to the African reality. Before giving the floor to ICAC for a brief response, the C hairman reassured 
participants that the technical issue related to value addition for relevant CBPs would be 
addressed in much more detailed in a workshop to be organized in the first half of 2019 .  
8.13  The representative of ICAC , in response to the various po ints raised by Benin and Mali, noted 
that some of the technologies he presented were new and that a feasibility study was necessary in 
order to evaluate whether or not a given technology would be succe ssful in a specific reality. 
He added that compact geno types  of plants had raised concerns in India and Pakistan ten years 
earlier, but had as of then been approved and utilized with remarkable results in terms of yields. He 
concluded that, in Africa, the fertilizers contribute to yields, but they are not the main issue; he 
reported that India used slightly more than 200 kg of fertilizers per hectare , on average, but the 
average yield was still above 500kg/ hectare . He concluded by noting the clear need to have a 
thorough, science -based  discussion on the techniq ues and technologies that could best 
be applied to the African reality .   
8.14  Mr Tiago Vicente Rosa, Aboissa Commodity Brokers , Brazil , made a presentation on the 
Brazilian experience with the development of CBPs. Aboissa , he explained, was one of the largest 
brokers in South America, founded in 1987 and working with CBPs for more than 20 years. 
He reported that the volume of the planted area was expected to increase in Brazil due to increased 
international demand. Mato Gr osso and Bahia were the larges production areas and the largest 
suppliers of CBPs as well. Brazil was one of the top four world exporters of cotton seeds. Seeds 
usually had three channels of commercialization: animal nutrition, sales for crushers for oil a nd cake 
and meal, and direct export. Family farming was the main source of production of cotton oil and 
cake, constituting a very important part of the  Brazilian  economy. Seed crashing activities focused 
on cottonseed cake, which constituted the larger mar ket, whereas the market for cottonseed oil was 
dominated by larger companies. Brazil produced three qualities of cottonseed oil, for which the main 
suppliers were companies such as  Cargill, BUNGE, Louis Dreyfus Company,  and COFCO. He 
concluded by highlight ing that the cotton oil industry was a very good example  not only  of price 
competitiveness against like products , but also for quality as it was ve ry nutritious; cotton meal 
could be used also for animal nutrition and sometimes it was 20% cheaper than othe r meals, such 
as soybean meals.  
8.15  The representative of the EU  made a presentation on behalf of DG -Devco, which could not be 
present directly at the meeting. She referred to the EU's strategic approach already presented by 
Ms Cristina Vicente of DG -Devco at the DGCFMC of June 2018, encompassing the whole agri sector . 
She reported that a tool for v alue chain analysis was available from EU delegations in each partner 
country, constituting a starting point  for projects supported by the EU . EU consensus focuse d on 
poverty reduction specifically, and ha d, for the period  ending in  2020, sustainable agriculture and 
food nutrition as priorit ies, with 9 bln euros budgeted  for relevant projects . From the EU perspective,  
she noted,  the challenges for industrializations i n beneficiary areas were larger tha n the needs that 
could be met through  ODA, thus requ iring private sector initiatives to lever age public support. The 
focus, in the experience of the EU , was on national strategies and reforms.  She informed participants 
that new support tools and mechanisms  were available, such as "blending", as discussed by Ms 
Vicente in the June 2018 presentation .  
8.16  She underscored that t he value chain analysis at the national level  was the most important 
starting point to be considered by beneficiary countries to in itiate a project supported by the EU.  
Within such analysis the themes to be prioritised were not only th ose related to the economic impacts 
of value chain development , but al so the social and environmental  impacts,  in response to four  key 
framing questions:  1) the contribution of the value chain to sustainable economic growth,  
2) inclusiveness of the value chain being analysed ( distributional effect s), 3)  social sustainab ility, 
and 4) environmental sustainab ility. Several such  analyses had already been performed, notably in TN/AG/SCC/W/30 • WT/CFMC/58  
 
- 16 - 
 
  Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Zambia, Honduras, Zimbabwe, Cambodia , Guinea -Bissau, 
Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and the first analysis had just start ed, specifically on the cotton sector, with 
Cameroon. These were six-month  projects which included a way forward. She  concluded her 
presentation by provid ing links to the relevant information and brochures on individual projects. She 
added that the EU was available to work individually with interested countries to start similar 
projects. 
8.17  Mr Muzaffer Turgut Kayhan, Board Member of the Aegean Textiles and Raw Materials 
Exporters’ Association, Turkey , made a presentation on the development of the textile and apparel 
sector  in Turkey, noting that he was also a cotton farmer. The textile and apparel industry in Turkey 
was the largest employer, while Turkey was also  a leading producer of high -quality organic cotton. 
The apparel industry had generated more than 500 bn USD earnings in 2017 . Turkey was also a 
leading importer of cotton and cotton materials, with an upward trend over the past few years. 
Turkey imported long -fibre cotton from Egypt and the US to realize high -quality  products. Cotton 
production in Turkey had increased as of 2011 and ever since then. The government had invested 
in irrigation in southern -Anatolia . He highlighted that, from his experience, the matter of 
sustainability in production had become centrepiece  for buyers; so  he highlighted that wat er 
management and sustainable  product ion methods  were crucial themes. Turkey, he reported, was 
investing a lot on meeting those  environmental and social  standards, and was working closely with 
BCI towards that goal. Persistent challenges in Turkey in relation to cotton production were linked 
to the respect of sustainability issues, and the pull effect from customers including  for GMO-free 
cotton, BCI , and organic cotton. The aim was for Turkey to have each of its cotton bal es certified for 
their sustainability by 2020.     
8.18  The national cotton sector focal point  of Benin , Dr Alexis Hougni, made a presentation on 
behalf of the C -4 on the importance of CBPs fo r the C -4 countries. He underscored that from cotton 
ginning activities, 52% to 54% of resulting production was made of cottonseeds, which were used 
for replanting, food oil production, animal feed, and in cosmetics. Other CBPs resulting from the 
productio n and processing of cotton plants, such as the vegetal parts that are not used in the ginning 
process, represented from 2,5 to 3 times the weight of seed cotton on a single plant. He noted that 
this material constituted important organic matter that could go back  to the soil as fertilizer. 
The branches of the cotton plant were sometimes used to make particle panels and other materials. 
Whereas the cotton fibres produced in the C -4 were almost entirely destined for export, the CBPs 
presented a stron g potenti al for local value addition and local consumption. An increase in means to 
process CBPs could then result in increased profits, including through cost -saving at the farm level.  
8.19  He explained that c rushing and oil making was currently performed  in the C -4 countries for 
producing foods for human consumption. In countries such as Benin and Burkina Faso, crushing 
facilities were active, but the potential for seed crushing went far beyond the capacity of the existing 
seed crushing facilities; therefore , he identi fied as a first challenge for the C -4, a need to 
increase seed crushing capacity with a view to producing cotton oil . Cotton cakes could be 
used in animal farming, because they were also  more nutritious  than other feeds . Stalks c ould be 
used to produce org anic matter to enrich the soils , and relevant technologies already existed in the 
C-4; for example,  the C -4 had developed a technology to grow feed mushrooms on the substrates 
of cotton. Finally, he reported that p aper was being produced from the processin g of cotton plant 
branches, as well as particle panels for furniture making, for ceilings, floors and insulation. The 
difficulty of using these CBPs was their competitiveness, and the cost of such products compared 
with the imported ones.  Moreover,  the ind ustrial structures of the C -4 had to be modernized to fully 
seize the potential of CBPs  in their economies and societies .  
8.20  The Chairman  thanked all the speakers and acknowledged the enormous amount of substance 
provided by the speakers in very compact form. He further noted the density of discussions and the 
enhanced level of overall understanding on the CBPs that resulted from those disc ussions.  
8.21  The representative of Benin  thanked all the speakers and the WTO secretariat for the 
discussions and the work of the day. He noted that the presentations made during the day 
represented an added value to the cotton sector, with CBPs as a major iss ue, proving that everything 
can be used in cotton. He referred to the experience of Zambia, but also to the other countries in 
Asia and Latin America that were cited  as examples of success stories and best practices  in various 
presentations. He underscored  the full complementarity of the presentations of the afternoon with 
the discussions of the morning, and recommended that momentum be maintained, so that the 
processing and marketing activities of cotton and its by -products became strategic activities. He TN/AG/SCC/W/30 • WT/CFMC/58  
 
- 17 - 
 
  noted the comments made about risk management  and, recalling what Côte d'Ivoire had 
recommended earlier, called for a guidebook that could bring together all these 
experiences and information on all the initiatives as well as information on how to access 
funding and  contact details  of all the partners . He noted in that connection the importance of 
cottonportal.org, the WTO Cotton Club, and ePing. He further recommended that such activities 
be matched by funding of the EIF, as they concerned local communitie s very closely , and 
unde rlined the important role of the private sector. He further thanked the WTO, UNCTAD 
and ITC for the CBPs initiatives and recommended that the three secretariats  move 
forward with such  joint  initiative . He concluded by thanking the i nterpreters for their remarkable 
work beyond schedule, and the speakers who had travelled from abroad.  
9  CONCLUSION  
9.1.  The Chairman  concluded the meeting by thanking all participants  for their constructive 
participation and interactions , as well as the interpreters for their endurance and remarkable work . 
He further proposed that all the presentations of the day be made publicly available through  the 
WTO website ( https://www.wto.org/cottondays ).  
9.2.   He proposed that the Consultative Mechanism take note of the request expressed by the C -4, 
for the WTO, UNCTAD and ITC  secretariats to work jointly on the issue of cotton by -products.  
9.3.  He then summarized the possible terms of reference of such joint work progr amme pursuant 
to relevant discussions and interventions by Members and participants, as follows:  1) that the joint 
initiative aim at integrating with poverty -reduction strategies and other development -oriented 
projects, towards increasing the standard of l iving of women and the other most vulnerable and 
marginalized groups of economic operators in the cotton by -product value chains. As a consequence, 
it had to  prioritize interventions that b rought  tangible effects in that respect.  2) Based on the 
respective  mandates and expertise of the WTO, UNCTAD and ITC,  he recommended that the joint 
initiative on cotton by -products offer comprehensive assistance to cotton -producing countries. The 
initiative  had to  aim to assist countries in developing cotton by -products,  towards creating new 
income streams for farmers and processors, increasing domestic value added and accessing new 
markets.  
9.4.  The Chair man also illustrated a possible timeline of activities, which include d the following 
steps:  in late 2018 – early 2019 , bilateral consultations  to be conducted with members and partners  
on priority areas for action.  In June 2019 , a one -day thematic workshop  to be organized  back to 
back with the June 2019 WTO cotton days, with 3 main objectives: 1)  Present to Members a draft 
joint work programme proposal; 2) Present  the key elements of a pilot project , in order to prepare 
a consolidated pilot project proposal by the end of 2019; 3) take note of support pledges by the 
development community.  
9.5.  He proposed to take note of the interven tions and statements that ha d been made, and absent 
any objections, he proposed that the Consultative Mechanism give a mandate to the 
Secretariat s of WTO, UNCTAD and ITC  to work jointly on the issue of cotton by -products. 
It was so agreed . 
9.6.  In his concludin g remarks, the Chair man noted that  the DGCFMC  discussions had been useful,  
and expressed his  gratitude to all the speakers . He noted that if the  general  public and the  
international  press could take note of the degree of harmony of th e DGCFMC , they would h ave a 
very different idea of the work of the WTO. It was evident that the work of the Consultative 
Mechanism was expanding, thanks to the dynamism of its main beneficiaries , the C -4, as well as to 
the proactive and constructive attitude of all other Members.  He concluded by commending  the 
donor community as well as the beneficiaries of development assistance for their constructive role 
in taking forward the discussions based on the DG's Evolving Table,  including the agreement to  
expand the relevance  of the Evolving Table to discuss project effectiveness.  
 
__________