WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
WT/CFMC/35 
6 August 2012 
 
 (12-4328) 
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 KONG MINISTERIAL  
DECLARATION 
 
Item 2C - Coherence Between Trade and Development Aspects:  
Update on the Development Aspects of Cotton 
 
Secretariat Progress Report 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
I. INTRODUCTION 
1. Pursuant to paragraph 12 of th e Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration,
1 this is the Eleventh 
Secretariat Progress Report to the Sub-Committee on Cotton (SCC) on the Development Assistance 
Aspects of Cotton.  Since the last Progress Report, th ere have been several developments.  First, on 
15 June 2011, the Director-General circulated the 11th version (WT/CFMC/6/Rev.10) of the Evolving 
Table on Cotton Development Assistance (ET) under cover of his letter addressed to Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives.  Second, the 15
th Round of the Director-General's Consultative 
Framework Mechanism on Cotton (DGCFMC) took place on 15 July 2011.  Finally, WTO Members 
have maintained an active interest on all aspects of the cotton dossier, as mandated in the 
1 August 2004 General Council Decision – "the July Framework Package" and in the 2005 
Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration. 
II. 15TH ROUND OF THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S CONSULTATIVE FRAMEWORK 
MECHANISM ON COTTON 
2. The Chairman (DDG H.V. Singh) welcomed all participants to the 15th Round of the 
Director-General's Consultative Framework M echanism on Cotton (DGCFMC).  He welcomed 
Mr. Clemens Boonekamp, Director of the Agriculture and Commodities Division who, as Secretary of the CoASS, and in the absence of the new Chairman of the Committ ee on Agriculture Special Session 
and its Sub-Committee on Cotton, was to provide a tec hnical status report of the state-of-play in the 
agriculture negotiations, including on cotton.  Following the departure of the former Chair of 
                                                      
1 "We invite the Director-General to  furnish a third Periodic Report to our next Session, with updates at 
appropriate intervals in the meantime, to the General Council, while keeping the Sub-Committee on Cotton fully 
informed of progress."  (WT/MIN(05)/DEC:  paragraph 12).   This document has been prepa red under the Secretariat's own 
responsibility and without prejudice to the positions of Members 
and to their rights and obligations under the WTO TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
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  the CoASS, H.E. Ambassador David Walker of New Zealand, the appointment of the new Chairman 
had not taken place.  He also welcomed, in particular, representatives of the C4 and other African cotton-producing countries and acknowledged the presence of Mr. Terry Townsend, the Executive 
Director of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC). 
3. Members and participants took note of the provi sional agenda.  The Chairman indicated that 
no issues had been signalled under Any Other Business. 
A. STATEMENT  BY THE  C4 COORDINATOR 
4. The representative of Burkina Faso, on behalf of the C4 countries, ACP countries and African 
producers of cotton, thanked the donor community for their constant support to the cotton sector in 
Africa which was facing a very difficult situ ation.  He announced the appointment of 
H.E. Mr. P. Arthur Kafando as the new Minister for Industry, Commerce and Handicrafts from Burkina Faso, who became the Coordinator of the C4. 
5. The representative of Burkina Faso considered  the forthcoming Aid for Trade meeting on 
18-19 July 2011 a good opportunity to follow up on the November 2010 Ministerial Meeting in 
Cotonou, namely to take into account the necessar y link between the development aspects of cotton 
and the Aid for Trade Initiative.  He underscored that the C4 would be submitting to development 
partners a common and integrated project in that re gard.  He reaffirmed his strong conviction that the 
development of their economies based on the cotto n sector was possible on condition that the trade 
policy aspects of the issue were addressed and resolved. 
6. Regarding the trade policy aspects, the representa tive of Burkina Faso, speaking on behalf of 
the C4, reaffirmed that latter's support for a ll provisions on cotton, in particular those under 
paragraphs 54, 55 and 56, contained in the revised draft modalities of 6 December 2008.   
7. He highlighted that to show its commitment, the C4 had organized since the beginning of 
2011, several activities, on its own or in partnershi p with others, in Geneva, Brussels and Istanbul.  
On 27 January 2011, a workshop on cotton had been convened by the ACP Secretariat in Geneva to 
address dispute settlement procedures.  The C4 ha d organized in Geneva a workshop on the same 
subject, and on the case of cotton at the WTO in pa rticular, on 12 February 2011. The ACP cotton-
producing countries' representatives had met in Brus sels from 16 to 17 February 2011;  and a "Cotton 
Day" had been organized on the margins of th e Fourth United Nations Conference on LDCs in 
Istanbul on 10 May 2011.  
8. Furthermore, the WAEMU had engaged with European parliamentarians to seek a 100% 
decoupling of EU domestic support to cotton prod ucers in Greece and Spain.  Following those 
discussions, African cotton producers were faced with two alternatives, among othe rs:  i)  continue the 
negotiations under the Doha Deve lopment Agenda, and ii)  the recourse to the WTO dispute 
settlement mechanism.  Regarding the latter option,  the C4, all African cotton producers and the ACP 
Group reserved their right to resort to that soluti on if no progress on the cotton issue was registered. 
9. On the development aspects of cotton, the re presentative of Burkina Faso expressed renewed 
gratitude to all donors for their invaluable a nd numerous forms of support.  However, those 
contributions appeared more and more seriously ou t of kilter with the needs expressed.  As a result, 
the C4 had decided to focus, in the negotiati ons, on the necessary link between the development 
aspects of cotton and the Aid for Trade Initiative,  to create a framework, beyond national projects, 
conducive to the submission of multidimensional a nd integrated joint programmes to development 
partners.  TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
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  10. He also referred to the Pan-African Mee ting on Cotton organized by UNCTAD in Cotonou 
from 27 to 29 June 2011, resulting in a consensus on a road map for the cotton sector in Africa for the 
following ten years based on increasing productivit y, improving marketing and increasing the value 
added of cotton in Africa.  He also expressed his re newed gratitude to the de veloping countries that 
were actively engaged in the development a nd strengthening of South-South Cooperation. 
11. The representative of Burkina Faso mentione d that the C4 had recently participated 
energetically in all the consultations under all form ats with all other stakeholders on the cotton issue 
on the three main areas of interest to LDCs, i.e.  duty- and quota-free market access, cotton and the 
services waiver, with a view to agreeing on an early harvest by the 8th Ministerial Conference.  
However, the results of those consultations had b een disappointing and the likelihood of achieving a 
mini-package of the three issues of interest to LDCs  was slim.  He reaffirmed that the C4 would not 
accept any decision in December that did not includ e an LDC package, and that there would be no 
package agreed without cotton. 
12. Before concluding, he commended Director-General Pascal Lamy and the Secretariat's staff 
for their availability and commitment to working towards a fair settlement of the cotton issue;  
Ambassador David Walker, outgoing Chairman of the Negotiating Group on Agriculture for all the 
work he had done during his term to bring forth an agreement on modalities acceptable to all;  and 
DDG H.V. Singh for the skill with which he had been handling the cotton issue and managing the Director-General's Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton. 
13. The representative of Brazil, on behalf of the G-20, reiterated the latte r's full support to the 
demands and positions of the C4 on the trade and de velopment aspects of cotton.  He underscored that 
the G-20 would continue to work in favour of  an agreement on modalities that addressed cotton 
ambitiously, specifically and expeditiously, in  accordance with the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial 
mandate. 
14. Speaking on his national capacity, the representative of Brazil said that his country had been 
at the forefront of the discussions on cotton and ha d consistently supported the positions of the C4.  
He pointed out that even though producers in deve loped countries continued to benefit from a safety 
net of support programmes to hedge their crops ag ainst price volatility, they maintained production 
levels far beyond market requirements, distorting inte rnational prices.  He said that reforming those 
programmes was therefore imperative,  even if nowadays such urgency did not stand out as clearly as 
it should.  When the inevitable drop in cotton prices started to happen, the unreformed programmes 
would allow the return of subsidies.  It was impor tant to bear in mind that, although current subsidies 
levels were low, they cast a long shadow and th e prevalence of distortions for a long period had 
dissuaded unsupported farmers from sticking to cotton production.  
15. He underlined that, even if prices were hi gh, the production levels of cotton in Africa, 
particularly in the C4 countries, were low and African  producers were not able to reap the fruits of the 
bull market.  As long as big distorting programmes were in place, they would continue to threaten 
African producers.   
16. The representative of Brazil made reference to th e ruling in the dispute with the United States 
on cotton, signalling that Brazil continued its bilatera l process with the US to seek real reform of the 
trade-distorting programmes.  He affirmed that Braz il would not fail to keep the C4 fully informed of 
developments in that regard. 
17. He appreciated the importance assigned in the Director-General's Consultative Framework 
Mechanism to South-South Cooperation in favour of African cotton producers.  Brazil had taken 
significant new steps in implementing its ambitious  programme of technical assistance, technology TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
WT/CFMC/35 Page 4 
 
 
  transfer and capacity building with Benin, Burkin a Faso, Chad and Mali.  He mentioned that his 
country was confident that such cooperation wo uld provide a major contribution to redressing 
structural challenges in the C4 countries.  
18. The representative of India shared the C4's di sappointment that not much progress had been 
achieved on the cotton issue since 2005.  In his view, it was important to work vigorously to address 
the issue ambitiously, expeditiously and specifically, as mandated by the July Framework and the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.  He underscored that the major cause for the critical situation of 
cotton producers in the developing countries in ge neral, and in the C4 in particular, was the 
continuing prevalence of high level trade-distorti ng subsidies in developed countries, which had 
reduced the price competiveness of those countries in the international market and adversely affected 
their cotton exports.  He stressed that the issue of such subsidies had to be dealt with meaningfully 
and frontally if the pledge to address that disturbing situation was sincere. 
19. India fully supported the proposal of the C4 countries so that their cotton exports could 
benefit from enhanced market access in developed countries and were not restricted by non-tariff 
barriers.  The representative of India reiterated th e need to ensure an e xplicit decision on cotton 
strictly in accordance with paragraph 11 of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, which called for 
the elimination of all forms of export subsidies for cotton by developed countries, duty-free quota-free 
access to cotton exports from LDCs by developed countries and an ambitious reduction in trade-
distorting domestic subsidies for cotton production. 
20. He mentioned that although not all the de veloped countries had provided duty-free quota-free 
access to cotton from LDCs, since August 2008 India ha d introduced its unilateral Duty-Free Tariff 
Preference Scheme, under which all LDCs, in cluding non-WTO Members, received 50 per cent 
margin of preference on applied tariffs for exports of  cotton to India.  The applied tariffs had been at 
zero since 2008 in India. 
21. The representative of India highlighted that, regarding the reduction of trade-distorting 
subsidies, developing countries like India were not  mandated to make any reductions, simply because 
they did not have the entitlement, since the Uruguay Round, to provide any AMS or Blue Box subsidies.  However, there had been an attempt to misinterpret the mandate and bring in other factors 
like a freeze or reduction of the de minimis  levels, which had already been set at rest in paragraph 8 of 
Annex A of the Hong Kong mandate  and paragraph 32 of the Rev. 4 draft modalities' text in 
Agriculture.  He considered that kind of dema nd not only totally outside the mandate, but that it 
would lead to the complete unravelling of the prog ress made in the negotiations since 2001.  That, in 
turn, would also mean that there would not be an y outcome for the C4 countries in the December 
package. 
22. He stressed that the DG's Consultative Fram ework Mechanism on Cotton had served as a 
useful platform for taking stock of the cotton- specific development assistance provided by Members 
and that it was encouraging to note an across-the- board support in that regard.  India remained 
steadfast in its commitment to promote South-Sout h cooperation in general, and specifically to the 
cotton-producing and exporting countries in Africa.  The representative of India recalled recent interactions at the institutional level, that had re flected the difficult situati on in the C4 countries.  
Cotton had played a critical role in the exports a nd GDP of the C4 nations and several African LDCs, 
providing a source of livelihood for millions of farmers and their families.  He stressed that, due to the 
high dependency on cotton, the performance of the sector directly influenced the state of their 
economies.  India had offered to share the exper tise developed by Indian research and development 
centres with African countries and in the past had organised training programmes in India for cotton 
growers.  India's Duty-Free Tariff Preference Sc heme covered 94 per cent of its total tariff lines, 
including cotton.  All C4 countries, except Chad, ha d sent their letter of intent and details of their  TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
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  agencies for availing preferential market access under that Scheme.  He concluded by reiterating 
India's strong commitment to assist the C4 countries in their development efforts.  
23. The representative of Bangladesh strongly supported the C4 statement on cotton.  He also 
referred to the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaratio n that required an ambitious, expeditious and 
specific solution to the cotton issue.   He considered that all Members were fully aware that there was 
a broad convergence on the LDC package as a deliverable for the 8th Ministerial Conference, of which 
cotton was a very important component.  He hoped th at all Members would be considering seriously 
finding a solution to the cotton issue and expressed his country's full solidarity with the C4. 
24. The representative of Colombia underscored her concern for the lack of progress in the 
negotiations on cotton.  She highlighted that there were a lot of distortions affecting production and 
trade on cotton, which had impacted negativel y on production and employment in a number of 
developing countries, including Colombia.  She ex pressed her country's support for the C4 initiative 
and stressed that, given that the Doha Round would not be finished in 2011, there was a need for 
cotton to be part and parcel of the package for the 8th Ministerial Conference, in line with the 
commitments that were agr eed in the 2005 Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong. 
25. The representative of Zimbabwe intervened to express his delegation's support to the 
statement made by the C4 and by Brazil on behalf of the G-20.  He underlined that the cotton issue 
should be dealt with as prescribed in the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.   
26. The representative of Pakistan supported the C4 and G-20 statements and said that the cotton 
issue needed to be addressed ambitiously, specifi cally and expeditiously, in accordance with the 
mandate agreed during the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in 2005.  She underscored that large 
numbers of Pakistani farmers we re dependent on cotton and the pe rmanent removal of subsidies 
would bring predictability and prosperity in rural areas, especial ly in the poorest belt of Southern 
Punjab, where cotton was the main cash crop. 
27. She also acknowledged the link that existed between Aid for Trade and the Consultative 
Framework Mechanism on Cotton, and that the two could learn from each other.  The dedication 
shown by the Director-General to take the de velopmental aspects forward in his Consultative 
Framework had shown results, leading to increase d productivity in some of the African cotton-
producing countries, but they were s till unable to reap the benefits of high prices.  She considered that 
the focus on the relationship between developmen t assistance and trade policy reform in the 
Consultative Framework had provided a holistic approach to the issue, which could probably be also 
replicated in the Aid for Trade monitoring and eval uation exercise, for meaningful results.  Pakistan 
believed that the budgetary constraints faced by ma ny countries provided an excellent opportunity to 
embrace reform and eliminate subsidies.   
28. The representative of Argentina endorsed the stat ement made by Brazil on behalf of the G-20 
and believed that the only way to find an equitabl e solution to the question of cotton was to comply 
with the Doha Agenda entirely.  Even if Arge ntina had always been in favour of the proposal 
presented by the C4 countries with regard to the draft modalities text contained in document 
TN/AG/W/4/Rev.4, she underscored her concern rega rding Annex B of that document, whereby the 
Green Box called for greater flexibility in the disci plines which could have a negative impact on the 
reductions on the Amber and Blue Boxes in paragra phs 54, 55, 56 of the draft modalities text.  The 
representative of Argentina stressed her solidarity wi th the C4 initiative and signalled that the cotton 
issue had to be resolved in a very expeditious  way, as called for in the Hong Kong Ministerial 
Declaration.  TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
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  29. The representative of China supported the statemen ts made by the C4 and by Brazil on behalf 
of the G-20.  China hoped that the issue of cott on could be dealt with in accordance with the Hong 
Kong Declaration, i.e. expeditiously, specifically an d ambitiously.  He reaffirmed that his country 
would continuously contribute to the South-S outh cooperation programmes, for instance, the 
establishment of agriculture technical centres in A frican cotton-producing countries, including the C4, 
sending cotton experts and specialists to help cotton farmers in Africa, and increasing cotton imports from LDCs, in particular the C4. 
30. He underlined that in 2011, China's cott on imports from African LDCs had declined 
markedly.  In the period from January to May 20 11, only 84,000 tons of cotton from those countries 
were imported by China, resulting in a 22.5 per cent d ecrease, if compared with the year 2010.  At the 
same time, imports of China from the US and other developed countries had increased to 670,000 tones, representing an increase of 54 per cen t from the previous year.  China believed that 
huge cotton subsides by some developed countries ha d greatly distorted the world cotton market and 
hindered cotton exports by the C4 and other Afri can cotton-producing countries, thereby making the 
livelihood of small cotton farmers very difficult.  China really hoped that the countries in question 
implemented the Hong Kong Declar ation mandate, reducing and fina lly eliminating their cotton 
subsidies.  Only then, a fair cotton trade and a fa ir international market for every country, especially 
for African cotton-producing countries, could be ac hieved.  China would maintain its continuous 
support to the C4 and other LDC cotton-produc ing countries in both the Doha Agriculture 
negotiations and South-South cooperation on cotton. 
31. The representative of Cameroon expressed his solidar ity and support for the declaration of the 
C4 countries concerning the cotton negotiations.  He encouraged everybody to move forward so that 
the cotton issue could be resolved in a timely way. 
32. The Chairman took note of the important poi nts raised, including the link between the 
development aspects of cotton and the Aid for Trade Initiative. 
B. TRADE  POLICY  ASPECTS  OF COTTON 
33. The Chairman invited Mr. Clemens Boonekamp, Director of the Agriculture and 
Commodities Division, to brief participants on the state-of-play of the trade policy aspects of cotton 
within the framework of the agriculture negotiations , as the appointment of the new Chairman of the 
Committee on Agriculture Special Session and its  Sub-Committee on Cotton had not taken place. 
34. Mr. Clemens Boonekamp, said that, unfortunately , he had nothing important to say, which in 
itself was, paradoxically, an important thing.  In th e agriculture negotiations since the last consultative 
framework meeting last year, there had been progress, particularly at the technical level.  Significant 
advances had been made on the templates for sche duling purposes.  On the substantive areas, there 
had been consultations led by the outgoing chair Da vid Walker on the areas that were bracketed or 
otherwise annotated, which had resulted in a better understanding of the situation in each of those 
areas, including cotton.  He stressed that in each of the consultations held, Members had been very 
clear that they remained committed to the Hong K ong agenda, and, in particular, to the Hong Kong 
Decision to deal with cotton ambitiously, expeditiously and specifically.  To date, that had not materialized but he believed that their commitme nt was real.  The Director-General was working 
actively with Members to achieve a small first st ep on cotton for the December package.  Those 
negotiations were on-going and he considered there w as reason to hope that they might be successful.   
35. The representative of Burkina Faso sai d that negotiators had worked with 
Ambassador David Walker as hard as they coul d and had examined all the possibilities to move 
forward.  Quadrilateral and bilateral meetings had been held among Brazil, the EU, the US and  TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
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  the C4.  Discussions in a trilateral format, with th e Director-General of the WTO playing a facilitating 
role, involving the C4, Brazil and the US had also been conducted, trying to make some headway.  
The representative of Burkina Faso affirmed that the standstill of th e Doha Round was dramatic, that 
the negotiations were very difficult and that all their efforts were focused on getting duty-free access 
for cotton to get a package for LDCs in December.  He invited all participants, in particular the US, 
India and China, to use their good will in order to get an early harvest by December and make every 
possible effort to achieve a good result. 
36. The representative of the European  Union agreed with Argentina and several participants that 
Members should be guided by the Hong Kong mandate , in that cotton should be treated ambitiously, 
specifically and expeditiously.  He said that the EU  had acted, unilaterally, on that basis.  The EU 
gave no more export subsidies for cotton;  it had implemented duty-free quota-free and fully 
liberalized market access for cotton;  and last but  not least, it had profoundly reformed its cotton 
policy through its cotton reform in 2006.  That meant that the EU had specifically shifted its domestic 
support to cotton from the trade-distorting Amber Box to the Blue Box and it had furthermore 
decoupled 65 per cent of its cotton support, which was from that moment given in the Green Box. The 
EU did not ignore that its cotton production was only two per cent of global cotton production and 
only a modest amount of cotton was exported.  Notwithstanding that, it had done what was needed on the basis of the Hong Kong mandate. 
37. He referred to an observation that was made on the Green Box.  The EU had not been 
demandeur on the Green Box in the DDA negotiations a nd was convinced that the results on the 
Green Box created disciplines on the updates of th e base period, where on the basis of the current 
Agreement on Agriculture provisions and the Upland Cotton case there might be uncertainty about the 
scope of the discipline on such updates.  The EU re presentative wanted to underline that his statement 
made reference to the trade dimension of the cotton issue.   
38. The representative of the United States underscore d that he agreed with the interventions 
made previously on the central approach for cotton,  which was established in the first part of the 
July 2004 Framework.  He recalle d that understanding, made seven years ago, which set out a very 
rigorous cotton sectoral and which remained equally valid, namely that:  "Work shall encompass all 
trade-distorting policies affecting the sector in all three pillars of market access, domestic support and 
export competition."  He thought it was also impor tant to recall the Hong Kong mandate as well:  
"Ministers agreed and reiterated the need to  address cotton ambitiously, expeditiously, and 
specifically within the agriculture negotiations".    He believed that an honest discussion on the trade 
related aspects of cotton had to be  robust and inclusive of all trade-distorting practices by all Members 
in all three agricultural pillars.  He said that Members could simply not shy away from engaging on 
direct product subsidization as well as indirect polic ies such as import licensing, sliding tariff scales, 
reserves schemes and other government actions.  Such ma jors clearly produced very substantial levels 
of effective support for domestic cotton producers.  They reduced market tr ansparency and negatively 
impacted trade.  He stressed that a comprehensiv e cotton initiative required all participants to commit 
to full engagement and transparency on the part of all major players in that area.  According to him, 
any real effort to address any deep-seeded concern was best done as a collective effort and not just a 
partial or one-sided fix.   
39. The Chairman concluded this item by tha nking Mr. Boonekamp for his presentation and 
participants for their statements.  It was self-evid ent from the exchange of views that cotton remained 
an issue to which Members attached priority.  He  said that, from any perspective, the questions and 
issues arising in the agriculture negotiations and on cotton in particular, would remain constant 
features of the work in the rul es-based Multilateral Trading System.  Cotton would remain an area of 
priority attention.  He believed that those issues needed to be kept under review and monitor in the 
Director-General's Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton. TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
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  C. DOMESTIC
 COTTON  SECTOR  AND  OTHER  REFORMS  / NATIONAL  FOCAL  POINTS 
40. The Chairman invited participants to take up Item 4 of the Agenda, on "Domestic Cotton 
Sector and Other Reforms / National Focal Points". 
41. He noted that the third version of the "T able on Domestic Cotton Sector Reforms for 
Enhanced Development Assistance" (WT/CF MC/21/Rev.2), had been circulated on 
5 November 2010, based on inputs from Benin, Bu rkina Faso and Mali, and discussed at the 
14th Round Consultations. As communicated by the Dir ector-General in his letter to Members dated 
15 June 2011, the fourth version of the Table (WT/CFMC/21/Rev.3) was still work in progress.  
Burkina Faso had submitted essential inputs which were  circulated to Members and participants in 
document WT/CFMC/31.  The Secretariat had r ecently received documents from Mali and Chad 
related to their domestic cotton sector reforms, which were available to participants outside the room.  
He underlined that as soon as the fourth update of the Table on Domestic Cotton Sector Reforms was 
completed, it would be circulated. 
42. The Chairman recalled the factual informati on that the International Cotton Advisory 
Committee (ICAC) had provided, at the request of the C4, on the "Evolution of Domestic Cotton 
Sector Reform in the C4 Countries".  The document containing that information, circulated as WT/CFMC/30, remained available for the considerati on and review of participants.  He conveyed his 
appreciation to the delegation of Burkina Faso for its inputs and encouraged other C4 members and 
other LDCs' cotton producers to forward inputs for the update of the Table on Domestic Cotton Sector 
Reforms. 
43. The representative of Chad supported the statement made by Ambassador Vokouma,  
speaking on behalf of the C4, and noted that it was important to look specifically at each country 
when reviewing reform of the cotton sector.  The major purpose of reform in Chad was to make 
production more effective and sustainable for cotton farmers.  Chad also needed a road map and a 
technical team in place to ensure that the reforms we re implemented.  Thanks to the road map, certain 
basic rules had been set in a liberalized environm ent for cotton and various modalities had been put in 
place for the disengagement of the State.  Furthermore, he said that a number of critical functions had been defined and technical groups had drawn up several advice notes, making reference to the future 
of the sector, taking a particular look at the nature of the soil.  Proposals were to be made regarding the first point of the road map, which was impor tant for cotton production, inputs and price-setting 
mechanisms.   
44. He underlined that Chad was also consid ering setting up cooperatives so that cotton 
production could be professionalized which was an  important element in an inter-professional 
approach.  A number of measures we re being taken to try to put the cotton sector on a more sound 
financial footing and that had to be done before the disengagement of the State.  Moreover, a proper 
audit of the sector was envisaged, involving tec hnical, financial and organizational aspects.  He 
stressed that inter-production means and the effici ency of agricultural inputs to enhance cotton 
production were also being assessed.   
45. The representative of Mali thanked Director-Gen eral Pascal Lamy for his strong commitment 
for an ambitious, specific and expeditious treat ment of the cotton issue.  He introduced 
Mr. Abdoulaye Koita, a former Minister of Transport, and an advisor for Mali's Ministry of Trade and Finance for over 10 years.  For the past three years Mr. Koita had been in charge of the restructuring 
of the cotton sector in Mali.  TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
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  46. Mr. Abdoulaye Koita made reference to the recen t changes that had taken place in the cotton 
sector in Mali.  He mentioned that in 2011, the po litical authorities in Mali had decided to undertake 
further efforts to double the production of cotton, in order to reach 500,000 tons.  He highlighted that 
the cotton price had attained 200 FCFA per kilo, dr iving farmers to plant the crop.  The documents 
that were available to participants at the back of the room showed that trend, confirming Mali's 
commitment to boost production.    He pointed out  that after the privatization of the Malian cotton 
company, MCDT, practically all farmers were i nvolved in the cotton company.  Other measures 
planned had set the target of getting the involvement  of 20 per cent of farmers in the sector in the 
equity of the new company.  About 60 per cent of th e capital was to be allocated to strategic goals.  
He signalled that the company had been divided in to four sections, two of which were involved in 
establishing a strategic framework to develop the cotton sector.  All those reforms had made good 
progress and many had been adopted by the G overnment and would be  implemented soon. 
47. The representative of the United States recalle d the overall figures presented in the Evolving 
Table on Cotton Development Assistance, which were  impressive.  He believed that a strong donor 
engagement reflected in the Evolving Table had been a valuable element in the dedication to the 
domestic reform efforts.  He stated that there were  a number of opportunities that had arisen due to the 
donors' engagement, amongst which:   a better use of existing tec hnologies;  the adoption of new 
technologies;  and even more involvement of the domestic stakeholders as reflected by the 
contribution and descriptions from Mali.  He was confident that the C4 and other West African 
countries that were receiving cotton development assistance funds had been making progress within 
their cotton and other associated sectors.  He referred to certain case studies showing a 30 per cent 
increase in production from adoption of BT cotton and increased fertilization.  That increase in 
production equated to twice as much household in come increase for Mali's cotton farmers when 
compared to a resulting income gain attributed to  a 15 per cent increase in world cotton prices.  He 
said that similarly, studies had shown beneficial improvements with other agricultural products such 
as sorghum, which was typically grown in rotation, following or prior to, the cotton crop.  Better 
seeds and increased fertilizer for such alternative produc ts had also demonstrated a greater impact on 
household incomes for cotton farmers, in particular in Mali.      
48. He underlined that the designated cotton focal points should maintain a strong and meaningful 
assessment of their cotton specific and broader assistance to ascertain how that assistance was 
facilitating their own domestic reforms.  The Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton had 
provided the opportunity to deepen such reviews and discussions to ensure  collectively that the 
remaining donor commitments were best utilized.  The representative of the US believed that while a 
primary emphasis had been placed on donors' roles to date, it appeared appropriate to focus on review 
of actions in the recipient countries.  His dele gation would welcome more information from the C4 
countries on the reform efforts undertaken in their respective cotton sectors.   
49. The Chairman expressed special appreciation to Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali for their inputs 
and statements.  He welcomed, in particular, the intervention by Mr. Koita from Mali, which provided 
the opportunity to discuss the item in detail.  He be lieved the exchanges would continue to encourage 
and deepen the process of engagement and reinforci ng confidence in the partnerships established.  He 
encouraged others who had not done  so, to consider submitting their inputs to the Secretariat as early 
as possible, to enable the issuance of the fourth ve rsion of the Table.  Finally, he proposed that the 
15th Round of the DGCFMC take note of the re ports, updates provided a nd statements made. 
50. The DGCFMC took note of all the reports , updates provided and statements made. 
51. The Chairman invited Members to consider the last part of the Item, namely, the submission 
of the coordinates for designated National Cotton Focal Points.  He repeated earlier announcements 
that the Secretariat had received and registered only seven focal points and that the number had not TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
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  changed since October 2009.  He therefore urged,  once again, cotton proponent countries to take 
action, as quickly as possible, to designate their National Cotton Sector Focal Points in order to 
intensify the engagement between a ssistance providers and recipients. 
D. COTTON
 PRODUCTION  AND  TRADE  TRENDS 
52. The Chairman invited the 15th Round of the DGCFMC to consider Item 5 on the agenda of 
the meeting, namely:  "Cotton Production and Trade Trends". 
53. He noted that since 2008 there had been many developments in the cotton sector, ranging 
across a wide area, including production and trade tre nds, stocks and prospects for African cotton, in 
particular.  He invited Mr. Terry Townsend, th e Executive Director of the International Cotton 
Advisory Committee (ICAC) to make a factual pre sentation on the state of the global cotton sector 
and to contribute to participants' understanding of recent developments affecting the cotton price, 
production and trade trends.  
54. The representative of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) underscored that 
the industry had experienced a great deal of economic uncertainty in the last three years.  Since 2008, 
the market had been buffeted by declining prices dur ing the world recession and then by record high 
prices in recent years during recovery.  In those years, long successful cotton firms had gone bankrupt because of distortions to market relationships.  Producers were unable to sell cotton in 2009-2010 
when prices had been falling, and as prices rose in 2010-2011, textile mills  had sometimes been 
unable to buy cotton.  Defaults on contracts had increased.  Government measures that distorted 
production and trade in cotton had pe rsisted.  He stressed that the events since 2008, with massive 
government intervention in markets, provided clear evidence that the work of  the WTO in ensuring 
the rule of law in trade relations and encouraging transparency policies was fundamental in the efforts 
to raise the incomes of hundreds of millions who ear ned their livelihoods in the cotton value chain. 
55. He highlighted that the season just ending was an anomaly.  During the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, 
the world average price for cotton was US$0.74 pe r pound.  That average had dropped to US$0.60 
during the 2000s.  With economic recovery, pri ces had begun rising and the average between 2009 
and 2010 stood at US$0.78.  After that, prices had in creased dramatically during the past season and 
the average would reach US$1.64.  There were both fundamental supply and demand factors and 
other factors outside those traditional measu res that had caused prices to spike.   
56. He explained that in most years the cotton stoc ks to use ratio was about 50 per cent, meaning 
that at the end of the season there was six months of cotton in stock around the world available to 
textile mills.   There were some years when that  stock to use ratio had dropped to around 40 per cent, 
equivalent to five months of use, which still ha d proven to be workable.  During 2009/2010, as the 
world economic recovery took pace faster than people had expected, that ratio to cotton ending stock 
to use plummeted to just 34 per cent and that wa s the third lowest since the 1950s, representing just 
four months of use.  There was simply too little cotton to assure the continued operation of many 
textile mills.  As a result, prices had to rise dur ing 2010/2011 to ration demand because there was just 
not enough cotton available.  In addition to those fundamental factors that were governed by market 
mechanisms, there were other factor s at play.  One was a disruption to exports.  He underscored that 
many countries were highly dependent  on imports to fuel their cotton economies.  China, Pakistan and 
Turkey were known as large cotton producers but they were also significant importers of cotton.  For 
example, about a quarter of the cotton used in Ch ina was imported;  15 to 20 per cent of the cotton 
that Pakistan used was imported and over half the cotton used by Turkey was imported.  Furthermore, 
there were other countries which were traditiona lly entirely dependent on cotton imports to supply 
their textile mills:  Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kor ea, Thailand and Viet Nam, among others.    TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
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  57. He made reference to biotechnol ogy, which was invented in th e 1970s and 80s, and to biotech 
cotton varieties, which were tested during the 19 90s and then released for commercial adoption in 
1996.  Biotechnology had been adopted or had been increasing every year and accounted for two thirds of world cotton area in production.  A number of countries that a decade ago were still net 
importers of cotton, had adopted biotechnology, their yields had risen and they had become emergent 
exporters of cotton.  In the early 2000s, certain countries which were at that time net importers of 
about 400,000 tons of cotton, representing about five per cent of world trade, thanks to the adoption of 
biotechnology, had become major net exporters, acc ounting for about 2 million tons of exports, or 
roughly one quarter of world trade.  In the season just ending, some of those countries had placed 
limits on the volume of cotton that could be exported, making exports to fall to a little over 
1 million tons, when they could have been about 1.5 million tons.  The difference of around 400,000 tons represented about five per cent of wo rld trade.  In markets, where prices were 
determined on availability, that was highly disruptive.     
58. He underscored that it was important to note th at from the perspective of the world cotton 
economy, policies to disrupt trade in polyester a nd other chemical fibres were never imposed.  
Therefore, policies that distorted or disrupted trade in cotton had a negative long-term impact on the entire cotton value chain worldwide and all producers,  because spinners responded to such disruptions 
by reducing cotton in favour of other fibres.  In  addition to limits on exports, the cotton market was 
also buffeted by uncertainty and thus volatility linked to the actions of state-owned enterprises.     
59. The uncertainty related to the secretive workings  of state-owned enterprises was also a source 
of volatility in the cotton market.  The levels of stoc ks held by reserve authorities were classified as 
secrets.  The price thresholds for action by the reserve  authority to buy or sell cotton, in what quantity 
and quality, from whom or to whom, and whether domestic or imported, were sources of discussion, 
rumours and speculation by market participants.   
60. Another source of uncertainty, and thus of vola tility, that had affected the cotton industry in 
the last three years was an unusual high level of defau lts on contracts.    The av erage size of a contract 
for trade in cotton was between 100 and 200 tons.  That had evolved to mega-contracts involving 5,000, 10,000 or even 20,000 tons.  The cotton indus try was highly disaggregated by the standards of 
other agricultural industries.  There were thou sands of cotton gins selling to hundreds of cotton 
merchants, who in turn sold to t housands of textile mills.  Because of  that disaggregated nature with 
many small firms and easy entry and exit from the industry, defaults occurred at an unusually high 
rate compared with other agricultural commodity in dustries.  In a normal year, around two per cent of 
all the contracts for trade in cotton resulted in defa ult in some kind.  However, when prices rose to 
record highs and then started falling since March, th e default rate had risen to about 10 per cent.  
Governments had a fundamental role  in commodity trade by ensuring the rule of law, including 
contract fulfilment.  The New York Convention of  1958 required signatories to ensure that valid 
arbitral awards involving international trade were automatically enforceable in their countries.  He 
considered that the work of WTO Members was pi votal in both rule making and rule enforcement, 
enhancing the functioning of commodity markets.   He encouraged all governments to support the 
institutions that underpinned international trade in cotton and other commodities by ensuring the 
enforcement of arbitral awards;  supporting the work of international commodity bodies;  and 
demanding adherence to legal norms by companies operating within their borders.   
61. He explained that the explosion of prices dur ing the past season had triggered inevitable 
responses in supply and demand.  World production wa s forecast to increase by  11 per cent to more 
than 27 million tons, while consumption was estimat ed at 25.2 million tons.  Trade was projected 
higher at 8.2 million tons.  With production exceed ing consumption, stocks  would rise and there 
would be a downward pressure on prices.  The pr evious week, the season average Cotlook A Index 
had already come down, at US$1.64 in the season ju st ending.  The average for the following season TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
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  was already lower at US$1.33.  Another factor to keep in mind regarding cotton prices was that cotton 
had to be competitive with polyester.  Cotton and polyester prices were commonly about the same.  
Cotton prices were 50 cents per pound higher than prev ailing prices for polyester delivered to textile 
mills in China, which was an unsus tainable situation.  Cotton could not maintain its share of world 
fibre mill use with such a large price differential.  That was a second reason, in addition to rising 
stocks, that would force cotton prices lower over the following several years.  He underlined that the 
crucial point was that WTO efforts to limit and ev entually eliminate subsidies in cotton remained 
highly relevant.  ICAC had estimated for the cotton sector that government measures, including direct support to production, border protection, crop insurance subsidies, minimum support price 
mechanisms and export subsidies were estimated at US$1.3 billion in 2010-2011.  That was down 
from US$3.2 billion from the previous season and US $5.5 billion in 2008-2009 .  Five countries had 
provided assistance in 2010/2011, down from seven countries which had done so in 2009/2010.  
However, many more countries had cotton pro duction support pr ograms but because of high prices 
that season, those programs had not resulted in actua l spending.  It was highly probable that the 
inevitable decline in cotton prices would result in an increase in subsidy levels again.   Accordingly, 
he believed that the work of the WTO remained as relevant today as in 2001 at the launch of the Doha 
Round. 
62. The representative of ICAC noted that African cotton production and exports were 
recovering.  Production in all of Africa had reached 3 million tons in the middle of the 2000s, but had 
fallen to just 900,000 tons in 2009/2010.  Production ha d risen to 1.14 million tons in the season just 
finishing and it was estimated at a very encourag ing 1.4 million tons in 2011/2012, the season that 
would begin in about two weeks.  Exports from Af rica were rising and were forecast to reach 1.1 
million tons during the following season.  He menti oned that at the Pan-African Cotton meeting, 
organized by UNCTAD in Cotonou in 2011, numerous  participants including Ministers, Ambassadors 
and representatives of the private sector from all regions  of Africa, had indicated that the work of the 
WTO and the Director-General's Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton, was serving a 
foundational role in ensuring that the development assistance provided by bilateral and multilateral 
donors, in cooperation with regional organizations, w as delivered with coherence and coordination.  
He highlighted that the work of the WTO on th e development aspects of cotton remained highly 
relevant and was much appreciated by governments and participants in the cotton value chain.   
63. He concluded by noting that the cotton industry, in common with many other commodity 
industries, had experienced a lot of upheaval during the past three years.  The changes in the industry 
occasioned by those experiences emphasised the conti nued relevance of the work of the WTO to the 
world economy and the livelihoods of those working in  the cotton industry.  The core function of the 
WTO to facilitate the rule of law and the governance of world trade was more important than ever, in 
an environment of uncertainty.  Cotton was a highly- traded commodity.  He st ressed that the work of 
WTO Members to reduce and eventually eliminate measu res that distort production in trade;  improve 
transparency through improved collection and repor ting of statistics in standardized format;  
encourage predictability in trade policies;  reduce the roles of state-owned enterprises in commodity 
markets;  and improve the coherence and coordinatio n of development assistance were all crucial to 
the long-term health of the world cotton industry.   
64. The representative of Mali was pleased to hear  that the WTO rules were seen as necessary.  
He referred to ICAC's presentation and to the foreca st that cotton prices would start decreasing.  He 
asked the ICAC's representative for more precisi ons on the causes of the downward trend for cotton 
prices and whether the price drop would happen in 2012, bearing in mind that that situation might 
trigger the return of subsidies. 
65. The representative of Burkina Faso concurred with  the representative of Mali that if there was 
a change in the trend of the price of cotton, that might entail a re-introduction of subsidies, which at  TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
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  that moment were at zero or near zero.    He urge d all participants to redouble their efforts so that a 
final solution could be agreed on the cotton dossier. 
66. The representative of Cameroon made reference to  the difficult situation faced by African 
cotton farmers, as not only cotton prices were expect ed to decrease, but there was uncertainty also 
concerning the exchange rate of the US dollar vis- à-vis the euro.  He wondered whether or not donors 
might be prepared to increase their assistance in  order to compensate for that situation. 
67. The representative of ICAC responded on the l ong-term outlook for cotton prices by noting 
that while in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, the average level of cotton prices had been US$0.74 per pound, 
in the 2000s it dropped to US$0.60 per pound.  That decline was associated with the very rapid 
adoption of bio technology and c oncomitant increases in yields.  He mentioned that until 2020 the 
average Cotlook A index for the world cotton price w as forecast to be around US$0.80, i.e. one third 
higher than it was in the 2000s.  The year 2011 w as an anomaly because of the extraordinary tight 
stocks and the number of government interventions and defaults on contracts.  Those situations, 
however, were not likely to be repeated.  He believe d that there would always be volatility in prices, 
but the world average price would be in the neighbourhood of US$0.80 per pound. 
68.  He also underlined that assistance to the co tton sector had been in some years as high as 
US$ 6 billion, but in the season just ending it had gone down to about US$1 billion.  If the average 
price of cotton returned to around US$0.80 per pound,  as forecast, it should be expected to see direct 
assistance to cotton returning to between US$4 billi on and US$6 billion a year, as was the case in the 
previous decade.     
69. The Chairman concluded the item inviting the 15th Round of the DGCFMC to take note of 
ICAC's presentation and all the statements made.  It was so agreed. 
E. DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S  EVOLVING  TABLE  ON COTTON  DEVELOPMENT  
ASSISTANCE 
70. The Chairman suggested to proceed to Item 6:   "The Director-General's Evolving Table on 
Cotton Development Assistance". 
71. He noted that on 15 June 2011, the Director-G eneral had circulated to Members the latest 
version of the Evolving Table, contained in document WT/CFMC/6/Rev.10.  He invited the 
representative of the Secretariat to highlight the key points of the latest revision.    
72. The representative of the Secretariat2 recalled the Cotonou Workshop held in 2004 when the 
basis had been established for what eventually evolved into the Mandate for the treatment of cotton in 
the DDA, stipulated in paragraph 1b of the 1 A ugust 2004 General Council D ecision and reaffirmed 
in the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration in para graphs 11 and 12.  He said that the data of the 
11th version of the Evolving Table had been the result of  the work started in 2004.   He referred to one 
of the points that Mr. Pascal Lamy had underlined in  his letter circulating the latest version, namely 
that Members should bear in mind that there ha d been a steady process of banking deliverables on 
cotton development assistance.  That had been done solidly over time.  He stressed that the 
contributions and deliverables by Members and th e partner multilateral institutions had been banked 
steadily over the past seven years. 
73. He noted that the latest updated version had been made possible by the contributions from 
Brazil, the Netherlands and the United States.  Inputs had also been received from the African 
                                                      
2 Mr. Chiedu Osakwe, Director, Accessions Division. TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
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  Development Bank, the Common Fund for Commodities, ICAC, IMF, ITC, UNCTAD and the World 
Bank.  After the latest version was circulated, th e Secretariat had also received inputs from Canada, 
the European Union and Japan which would be reflected in the 12
th version of the Evolving Table. 
74. He said that in Part I of the 11th version, related to cotton-specific development assistance, the 
number of beneficiaries had remained stable at 42.  He recalled that at the very start of the Evolving 
Table and the Consultative Framework Mechanism, a ll the commitments had been directed only to the 
C4 and Senegal.  The number of beneficiaries had evolved, reaching 42, including many LDCs, most 
of which were in Africa.  The total value of  commitments had increased by 9.5 per cent from 
US$567 million to US$621 million.  He highlighted that steady improvements had been registered 
regarding disbursements:  they had increased by 9 per cent, from US$306 million in the previous 
version to US$321 million in the 11th version. 
75. The representative of the Secretariat referred to Part II of the Evolving  Table, concerning 
development assistance in the context of agricultu re and infrastructure-related activities, where the 
number of beneficiaries stood at 36, while the tota l number of commitments had increased by 19, to 
reach 120.  Disbursements had increased significan tly by 51 per cent, from US$542 million in the 
previous version to US$817 million in the update d version, showing that the dialogue in the 
Consultative Framework was bearing fruit.  Howeve r, he stressed that there was still room for 
improvement to close the gap between  commitments and disbursements.  
76. The representative of the European Uni on welcomed the overall positive trends in 
development assistance committed and disbursed to the cotton sector in the C4 and Africa.  She 
pointed out that the EU had continued to mobilise significant levels of support for the implementation 
of the EU-Africa Partnership on Cotton.  The tota l level of funds managed by the European Union 
budget stood at €180 million in terms of commitment s, of which €126 million had been disbursed.  
The disbursement rate represented more than 70 per cent of the commitments, an increase compared 
to the past.  EU Member states, in particular France, Germany and the Netherlands, had also added 
significant support to cotton and as a whole, the EU had allocated about €350 million to cotton 
programmes and projects since 2004, making it by far the largest donor to the cotton sector.  She mentioned that, as usual, the EU had only filled Pa rt I of the Evolving Table with information on 
projects that were directly related to cotton, not providing entries for Parts II, although of course the EU granted substantial support to  general agricultural projects, infrastructure, private sector 
development and general macr oeconomic assistance.   
77. The representative of the EU made reference to  some late developments in the EU-Africa 
partnership on cotton.  First, an update of the part nership had been completed in May, following an 
in-depth evaluation.  Second, in the framewo rk of the All ACP Programme for Agricultural 
Commodities, three regional strategies for cotton for West Africa, Central Africa and Eastern and 
Southern Africa had been finalised.  The strategi es were available on the website of COS-Cotton, 
which was the Committee to steer and follow up the EU-Africa partnership on cotton.  Third, a Pan-
African Meeting on Cotton financed by the EU, co -financed by the CFC and organised by UNCTAD, 
had been held in Cotonou on 27-29 June, gath ering around 150 participants with the aim of 
developing a roadmap for the next 10 years for the se ctor, based on regional strategies.  The roadmap 
should be finalized in the fall of 2011.  Fina lly, to move from strategy setting to actual 
implementation and support by donors, she noted  that on 30 November 2011 there would be a 
meeting of cotton donors organized by the COS-Cott on, most likely in Bamako.  The main objective 
of the workshop would be to further mobilize donors to strengthen and better coordinate efforts to 
implement the three regional strategies as well as th e roadmap that should be developed later in the 
year.  She underscored that this was certainly a subs tantial effort in assisting the C4 and other African 
countries and their own strategies in the co tton sector with additional donor support.  TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
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  78. The representative of Pakistan mentioned that if Africa were to produce more cotton, her 
country would definitely benefit as an importer.  With the view to making donors' contribution more 
effective, she suggested the introduction of some indicators, e.g., whether the cotton industry was 
being developed in the whole of Africa, and in the C4 countries in particular, and whether there was a 
base for agriculture manufacturing being developed and if that was the case, whether it was increasing 
or not.  She also emphasised that assi stance needed to be more target-oriented and outcome-oriented.    
79. The representative of the United States thanked th e Secretariat for presenting all the data in a 
clear and timely manner and the effort it had place d on clarifying the disbursement status of the 
programmes and projects. He noted that the overa ll figures provided in the Evolving Table were 
impressive and the hard work put in that doc ument gave participants a good view of the 
disbursements relative to the increas ed funds.  He referred to Part I, where the new commitments had 
grown by 19 per cent since November 2010.  At the sa me time, disbursements had grown at a rate of 
34 per cent.  He pointed out that there was a very  large and wide ranging set of programmes covered 
in the Evolving Table, making some good quantitati ve indicators relative to the donor side on what 
kind of programmes had been planned and the amount of funds that had been allocated.  He believed 
that, perhaps, the missing element was an effort to provide a more collaborative understanding with 
regard to the qualitative side of the equation.  In that respect, he found noteworthy that the long list of 
projects was grouped by country.  He wondered if it was possible to group all categories across all 
donors into certain types of elements.  He thought pertinent to ask what we re the common threads 
arising out of the implementation and to what exte nt those projects were interacting between broad 
categories within Part I, and especially between Pa rt I and Part II, given the importance of the two-
track approach for the cotton issue.  He considered that the more thoughtful participants could be in 
developing collective responses, possibly the mo re effective the overall framework for the 
consultations would be. 
80. He made reference to two additional contribut ions to Evolving Table that his delegation 
would be providing in the near future, concerni ng some additional training in the United States to 
delegations of the cotton industry from the C4 and Senegal. 
81. The representative of Brazil thanked the Secretaria t for the work on the Evolving Table.  He 
underlined that he shared some of the ideas e xpressed by the delegations of Pakistan and the 
United States.  He concurred that participants should not only focus on the quantitative side of the 
Table, but that part of the work was also to ascerta in the qualitative aspects.  He  considered that there 
were no better judges for that qualitative side of the Evolving Table than the recipients themselves, 
i.e. the C4 and other countries, and encouraged  participants to express their views on both the 
qualitative and quantitative aspects of the Evolving Table.  
82. The representative of Burkina Faso thanked the S ecretariat for the work put into the Evolving 
Table, which had become a transp arency tool and was very usef ul for African countries.  He 
recognized that there had been improvements, notab ly regarding the upward trend on disbursements.  
He agreed with the comment made by Brazil that th e beneficiaries were the best placed to provide a 
clear picture on the status of the projects which could help improve the work in the Consultative 
Mechanism for the advantage of all stakeholders.  He  asked donor countries to he lp recipients in order 
to have a better clarity of the status of the proj ects by providing the WTO Secretariat with additional 
information whenever possible, so that the focal points or the ag encies in charge of executing the 
programmes at the national level, could be informed.  That would help beneficiaries to better monitor 
all the disbursement flows, making it easier to have  a more accurate idea of the quantity a nd quality of 
the operational state-of-play of the projects and th e amounts actually disbursed.  He considered it was 
necessary to deepen and broaden the dialogue with the donor countries not only in Geneva, but more 
importantly at the national or sub-re gional level, to confirm that the information sent by capitals was a 
true reflection of the reality on the ground.   TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
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  83. The representative of Mali agreed with Paki stan and the United States regarding the 
importance of including a qualitative dimension to th e Evolving Table and that it should be part and 
parcel of the roadmap of the Secretariat for the C onsultative Mechanism.  He praised the Secretariat 
for the regular updates of the Evolving Table, which provided a sound basis for dialogue insofar as all 
the data available was reflected in the Table.  He noted that, for the sake of clarity, participants should 
find a way of removing from the Table completed project s that belonged to the past.  He suggested to 
include them in an annex, which could give pa rticipants a better visibility and an enhanced 
understanding.  He considered that the Evolving Tabl e could be re-structured, with a new format with 
qualitative indicators over simple quantitative entries.  
84. The representative of the European Union str essed that the EU-funded projects were subject 
to regular monitoring and evaluation.  Any extern al evaluation was always prepared jointly with a 
partner country and the results were always made available to the partner governments.  She agreed 
with the intervention of the Ambassador of Burk ina Faso, that that kind of discussion was most 
fruitful at the country level among the colleagues who were actually involved in the projects and their 
implementation, and who were also aware of the situ ation in the field.  She believed, likewise, that 
bringing some level of informa tion here in Geneva should add value to the discussions in the 
Consultative Framework.  In her view, it was also useful to consider the link that existed between 
cotton development assistance and Aid for Trade. 
85. The representative of Cameroon aligned his de legation with the statements made by 
Burkina Faso as Coordinator of the C4.  He undersco red the need to enhance transparency and sharing 
information as the only way forward on the cotton issu e.  He announced that his delegation would be 
shortly sending to the Secretariat entries to the Evolving Table. 
86. The representative of Chad acknowledged the diffi culty in obtaining data from the relevant 
ministries and liaising with the focal points in orde r to get precise information of the reality on the 
ground.  He agreed with the comment made by th e representative of Mali regarding the need for the 
various projects that had been brought to completio n to be removed from the Evolving Table, so it 
could become a more readable and focused tool.   
87. The representative of the United States underlined  that participants in the Consultative 
Framework should not lose sight of past efforts and that earlier donor contributions should be 
recognized.  In that respect, he said he would be  a little cautious on moving too quickly in that 
direction. 
88. The Chairman underscored that any changes to be  made to the Evolving Table would be done 
after consultations with Members.  He made reference,  in that regard, to some suggestions to keep the 
completed projects in an annex to the Evolving Table.  
89. The representative of the FAO said that even if there were no new FAO projects to report 
since the last meeting, he wanted to update pa rticipants on some of its ongoing activities.  He 
highlighted that concerning the Sub-regional Programme for Integrated Production and Pest 
Management (IPPM) in West Africa,  the objective was twofold:  to increase productivity and incomes 
of cotton farmers through diversification possibiliti es and to support environmental sustainability and 
protection of farmers' health, through the a doption of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and 
Integrated Production and Pest Management (IPPM ).  Activities conducted under that project had 
included so far:  i) training of over 420 trainers  and 18,000 cotton farmers in IPPM through Farmer 
Field Schools undertaken in partnership with key co tton stakeholders in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali 
and Senegal;  ii) a marketing study for fodder crops  as a diversification option for cotton farmers in 
Burkina Faso;  iii) studies of market opportunities for higher value vegetable production in local and export markets in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senega l;  and iv) a sub-regional workshop with cotton  TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
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  companies, farmer organizations, governments and others actors to exchange experiences on IPPM 
and GAP and identify priorities, in Burkina Faso, Mali and Benin. 
90. He referred to the second set of activities, whic h was in connection with FAO's component in 
the EU All ACP Programme on Agricultural Commod ities.  FAO's cotton-related activities under the 
AAACP comprised, inter alia :  i) participation in the regional cotton strategy development activities 
for the UEMOA and COMESA regions, including value-chain background studies;  ii) policy 
advocacy activities, including regional workshops, concerning cotton-cereal systems in all African 
ACP regions;  iii) assessment of supply-chain finan ce issues and the feasibility of risk management 
tools for cotton-cereal systems in all African ACP regions;  iv) development of business models and 
realization of respective implementation activities in collaboration with private companies of the 
cotton sectors in West, East and Southern African regions;  v) support activities to revitalize the cotton sector in Kenya;  vi) market linkages be tween organic cotton producers and the textiles 
industry in the East and Southern African region;  and a review of cotton seed systems in the East and 
Southern African region. 
91. The representative of UNCTAD reported to participants on the outcome of the 2011 Pan-
African Cotton Meeting.  In response to a request made by the African cotton-producing countries 
during the UNCTAD's Multi-Stakeholder Mee ting on Cotton in December 2008, UNCTAD had 
organized a Pan-African Cotton Meeting from 27 to 29 June 2011 in Cotonou, in collaboration with 
COS-Cotton, the CFC and the Government of Benin.  The main objective of the meeting was to identify broad lines of a Road Map for the cotton sect or in Africa for the following decade.  About 
150 participants representing regional economic  communities, government officials, main 
stakeholders of the cotton value chain and deve lopment partners attended the meeting.  The 
discussions facilitated the emergence of a consen sus regarding the challenges and the potential 
solutions for the African cotton sector .  The consensus included the followi ng points:  i)  East, Central 
and West Africa faced similar challenges (i.e. cont amination of cotton and loss of soil fertility);  
ii) while the negotiations on the elimination of s ubsidies to the cotton sector by developed countries 
were continuing on the international front, a special focus had also to be placed on the domestic front 
(i.e. supply constraints and structural impediments) to be prioritized over "international" aspects that 
had stalled; iii) the Road Map should build on th e existing regional and nati onal strategies for the 
cotton sectors and take into account the EU-Africa Partnership Action Framework;  and iv) better 
synergies were necessary between the functions of  governments and the private sector for increasing 
productivity, improving marketing, and enhancing value-addition. 
92. He stressed that the meeting had catalysed  synergies between ex isting sub-regional and 
national initiatives to strengthen the cotton sector and allowed diverse stakeholders to voice concerns 
to policy makers.  For the follow-up actions, UNCT AD would lead a working group to draft a Road 
Map based on the inputs from the meeting.  The Wo rking group would include:  COS-Coton, ICAC, 
NEPAD/CAADP, UEMOA, CEEAC, COMESA, ACA, AProCA, and ACTIF.  A completed 
background study (comparative matrix of the three regional strategies) and synthesis report of the 
meeting would serve as inputs to the Road Map.  He  announced that an advanced draft of the Road 
Map would be circulated by September and be  ready for validation by November 2011.  He 
underlined that UNCTAD would continue its colla boration with NEPAD/CAAD P and other partners 
to monitor the implementation of the ten-year Road Map.   
93. The Chairman concluded the discussions under ite m 6 with several remarks.  He expressed 
appreciation to the donors for their continuing cont ributions.  He emphasized the need to speed up 
implementation so as to bridge the gap between commitments and disbursements.  There was a 
relationship between the cotton development assistan ce implementation exercise and broader issues of 
trade capacity building and Aid for Trade.  He noted that the following week, the Third Global 
Review on Aid for Trade would take place, where seve ral of the projects in the Evolving Table would TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
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  be presented, such as the Brazilian C4 Cotton Project on the platform of South-South Cooperation.  
He highlighted that it would be useful to see from the Aide for Trade Review in what form that 
process could contribute to the discussions in the Cons ultative Framework, helping it move forward in 
an interactive and positive manner. He said that the comments heard in the 15
th Round were an 
acknowledgement and a tribute to the progress made  and the successes obtained within the DGCFMC.  
He signalled that he looked forward to continue work ing with participants to improve the work in the 
Consultative Framework so that it could make progress in a more meaningful way.  He stressed that 
the emphasis to which he referred was actually an in dicator of the emphasis that the Director-General 
himself put on the issue.  
94. The 15th Round of the DGCFMC took note of th e presentations and statements made. 
F. SOUTH-SOUTH  COTTON  COOPERATION 
95. The Chairman invited Members and participan ts of the DGCFMC to take up Item 7 on:  
"South-South Cotton Cooperation". 
96. He recalled the background to this item and the mandate which was reflected in paragraph 12 
of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.  Strong and effective leadership was being provided in that 
area by Brazil, China, India and Pakistan.   He not ed that the International Trade Centre (ITC) was 
also making important contributions in that area.   
97. The representative of India gave an update on his country's efforts in the framework of South-
South Cooperation.  He noted that cotton, both in  its trade and development aspects, was a vital 
component of the Doha Development Agenda.  It ha d also evolved into a lasting feature of South-
South Cooperation, with increasing attention bei ng devoted to assistance to cotton producers in 
Africa.  He underscored that India remained co mmitted to promote South- South Cooperation in 
general, and specifically to the cotton-produc ing and exporting countries in Africa.   
98. He said that India, in close collaboration w ith the C4 countries, Nigeria and Uganda, had 
deputed a multi-disciplinary delegation to those co untries in May 2010.  Extensive discussions had 
been held with relevant stakeholders to formulat e an effective cooperation and assistance programmes 
in the area of cotton production, research and devel opment, capacity building and value addition.  The 
vast scope for promoting multi-faceted cooperation between India and the C4 countries, Nigeria and 
Uganda, had amply been brought out during that exercise.  Based on the final report, a detailed study had been carried out by the Government of Indi a and a Technical Assistance Programme had been 
drawn up for cotton support in selected African coun tries namely, Burkina F aso, Benin, Chad, Mali, 
Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda.  That programme had been designed keeping in view the requirements 
of those countries and what best India could o ffer considering its strengt hs and experience. The 
Technical Assistance Programme broadly covered th e areas of:  enhancing cotton productivity;  
improving extension and support services to increase efficiency;  research and development for quality control;  improving farm practices; capacity building through training, marketing and 
distribution infrastructure development;  strengtheni ng downstream industry in textiles and clothing;  
and the development of cotton residue based industr y for greater value addition.  The programme was 
expected to lead to improved productivity, upgr ade of skills, improved post-harvest practices and 
facilities, higher value realisation, and strengthe ning of the value chain and capacity building of 
cotton growers and institutions in a sustainable manner. At the second Africa-India Forum Summit 
held in Addis Ababa in May 2011, Rupees 210 milli on had been committed for the implementation of 
the Technical Assistance Programme over a period of  three years.  The institutional arrangements for 
implementing the programme were being put in place.   He underscored that India looked forward to 
working closely with the identifie d countries for the successful implementation of the Programme.    TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
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  99. The representative of Brazil briefed particip ants on the updated developments concerning 
Brazil's Programme for technical assistance, technology transfer and capacity building in favour of the 
C4 countries.  The basic unit was based in Sotuba , Mali, but it was designed to benefit the four 
countries in its reach.  He noted that the key issu e was that the Programme was actually the concrete 
part of what appeared in the Evolving Table.  As was mentioned earlier by some delegations, it was 
an expression of the qualitative side of the Evolving Table.  He stressed that Brazil had learned a lot 
from that cooperation and it was the proof that well- targeted money could produce very good results 
for the benefit of a lot of the countries involved.   He mentioned that the unit had been built in the last 
two years and it comprised bio-tech labs, the ad ministrative unit and the centres for testing and 
research development.  Some of the goals of  the cooperation were the non-till farming; pest 
management and cotton breeding.  He highlighted th at in the non-till farming there were three courses 
with 26 researchers trained;  in pest management, three courses were organized and 44 researchers trained;  whereas in cotton breeding, there were four courses and 38 researchers trained. 
100. He noted that the C4 Demonstration Unit was Brazil's experimental stage in Mali where on-
going research was conducted on 15 different varieti es of cotton and on how to improve the seeds, 
making them viable for the environment and comp etitive for exports.  He referred to the more 
strategic development of the Programme through sever al meetings that had taken place between the 
C4 and Brazil, the last one in Cotonou in March 201 1.  As regards implementation, up to 45 per cent 
of the programme had been implemented.  He unde rscored that the Program had actually been born as 
a consequence of the ideas discussed at the meeti ngs in the Consultative Framework Mechanism and 
out of the Evolving Table.  He pointed out that ev erybody could see the results in terms of validation, 
strengths, enhanced capacity and tools for devel opment, project monitoring and evaluation.  He 
emphasised that the Programme was important for Brazil in many dimensions, as his country itself 
was learning a lot by sharing the hard results obtai ned from its own research.  He sincerely hoped that 
that cooperation would bring positive results for th e C4 countries, drawing from the research carried 
out by Brazil which had brought some very good results in the last 30 years. 
101. The representative of China reiterated that his country would continue to contribute to 
programs in the framework of South-South Cotton Cooperation.  He specified that China would 
continue sending more cotton expert s and specialists to African cotton-producing countries to help 
farmers. He underlined that China was the biggest  importer of cotton and that it would increase its 
market opportunity for the C4 countries.  He noted, in particular, a new effort being made in 2011 
within the framework of Aide for Trade, whereb y China had decided to double its contribution to 
US$400,000 in order to establish a China/LDC Programme, making it the fourth consecutive 
contribution by China since 2008.  He said that, as a developing country, China was committed to South-South Cooperation with othe r developing countries within the framework of the multilateral 
trading system.  
102. The representative of Pakistan pointed out th at her country was committed to South-South 
Cooperation in general, and specifically for cotton.  She recalled the offer Pakistan had made to all 
African cotton-producing countries to use the rese arch facilities at the Central Cotton Research 
Institute in Pakistan, to which she was waiting a re sponse from the focal points.  She mentioned that 
the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) wa s also actively involved in cotton development in 
the African Member countries.  She reiterated that  Pakistan's Agriculture Research Institute and 
Universities were also open for African stude nts to work with national researchers.   
103. The representative of Burkina Faso expressed hi s appreciation to the South-South Partners 
and acknowledged that the C4 countries had register ed generous offers from Pakistan, India and 
China.  India had already sent to the field a certa in number of missions in the C4 countries and in 
Uganda and Nigeria.  He highlighted that the C4 ha d indeed recorded Pakistan's offer and also noted 
China's offer.  He believed that that kind of assistance deserved to benefit all 36 African cotton TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
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  producers.  He underscored that the C4 ambition wa s to work within the African Group and together 
with the 36 African cotton-producing countries to defi ne a basket of projects which could really be 
useful to the donors so that cotton could be part and parcel of an LDC package.    
104. He stressed that he and his colleagues from Benin, Chad and Mali had kept an excellent 
memory of their trip to Brazil in June 2011.  He said that watching in situ  the people working in 
Brazil's cooperation programme in agriculture and research was a very rewarding experience.  He 
reckoned that in a context where no outcome in the DDA was at sight, it was important to continue searching for other solutions while waiting for a fina l resolution of the cotton dossier.  He expressed 
his appreciation to the South-South Cooperation part ners and to the Secretariat for boosting the South-
South Cotton Cooperation by acting as an interface, so that African countries could draw on those 
possibilities.   
105. The representative of Mali commended the Secretariat for the catalyst role it had played 
regarding South-South Cotton Coopera tion.  He expressed appreciation, in particular, to Brazil, China, 
India and Pakistan for their support and hoped that such cooperation could be pursued in the future. 
106. The Chairman concluded Item 7, recalling wh en the idea of South-South Cooperation was 
first raised at the Hong Kong Ministerial Meeting a nd how it had since been strengthened to become a 
substantive component of the development aspects of  capacity-building in the WTO.  He underscored 
the link that existed between the contributions to South-South Cooperation on Cotton in the Director-
General's Consultative Framework Mechanism on Co tton and the Third Global Review on Aid for 
Trade that would take place the following week.  He dr ew attention to participants to be especially 
alert at that Review to identify whether there wa s any overlap with the work in the Consultative 
Framework.  He encouraged Members to develop further their contributions on that area, which 
would be accorded due recognition in the Direct or-General's periodic reports on cotton to the 
membership. 
G. ANY  OTHER  BUSINESS 
107. There were no issues raised under Item 8:  Any Other Business. 
H. CONCLUDING  REMARKS 
108. The Chairman made several concluding remarks.  He mentioned that the 15th Round 
consultations had been very useful  and constructive.  Notable progress had been registered not only in 
terms of data, but also in terms of  concepts on how to take the work  in the Consultative Framework to 
a higher level of meaningfulness.  He intended to  organize some informal consultations after the 
summer to explore venues on how best to move the process forward.   
109. He reiterated the standing position of Director-General Pascal Lamy on the link and 
inseparability of cotton development assistance from the trade policy aspects.  Those aspects of the 
work on the cotton issue would remain constant featur es of the work of WTO Members.   He stressed 
the importance the Director-General placed on a ba lanced and gradual implementation of both tracks 
to enable LDCs to use trade for growth and pove rty reduction, which would be a test for the WTO's 
ability to foster the development dimension of international trade.  
110. He underlined that, following comments raised on the Evolving Table to show an enhanced 
visibility between on-going projects and completed activities, he would be consulting with Members 
on how best to re-structure and improve the Evolving Table further, including ideas expressed 
regarding the quantitative and qualitative aspects.   TN/AG/SCC/W/15 
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  111. He noted that South-South Cooperation had emer ged as a key aspect of the implementation of 
the mandate on the development assistance aspects  of cotton and the work in the Consultative 
Framework.  He acknowledged with appreciation the significant contributions of Brazil, China, India 
and Pakistan and announced that the contributions  in that regard, which were reflected in the 
11th Version of the Evolving Table, would feature in presentations at the Third Global Review on 
Aide for Trade, to take place the following week.  He  stressed that that was an area of the work of 
Members and Participants in the Consultative Fr amework that would continue to deepen.   
112. He suggested to convene the 16th Round of Consultations after the Summer Break.  The 
Secretariat would consult with regard to the specific dates.   
113. The 15th Round of the DGCFMC adjourned. 
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  DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S CONSULTATIVE FRAMEWORK MECHANISM ON COTTON 
 
15
TH ROUND OF CONSULTATIONS ON COTTON DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE 
 
15 July 2011 (9.00 a.m.) 
 
PROVISIONAL AGENDA  
 
 
1. Introductory Remarks - Chairman3 
2. Statement by the C4 Coordinator – H.E.  Mr. Léonce Koné, Minister for Commerce, 
Enterprise Promotion and Handicrafts, Burkina Faso  
3. Trade Policy Aspects:  
- Briefing by Chairman CoA Special Session/Chairman SCC 
- Exchange of Views 
4. Domestic Cotton Sector and Other Reforms/National Cotton Focal Points: 
- Update by Cotton Proponents 
- Exchange of Views 
5. Cotton Production and Trade Trends: 
- Presentation by the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) 
- Exchange of Views 
6. Director-General's Evolving Table on Cott on Development Assistance - Updated Table 
(WT/CFMC/6/Rev.10) 
- Secretariat Remarks 
- Updates by the Development Community 
7. South-South Cotton Cooperation 
- Update by South-South partners  
8. Any Other Business  
__________  
                                                      
3 DDG H.V. Singh is chairperson pro tem  for the Dir ector-General.