RESTRICTED  
  
G/AG/W/123  
 
19 March 2014  
(14-1733)  Page: 1/8  
Committee on Agriculture 
 Original: English  
 
 REVIEW OF THE LIST OF SIGNIFICANT EXPORTERS 
REPORT BY THE CHAIRPERSON  
During the annual Article 18.5 exercise in 2009, the Members noted that the list of significant 
exporters that was currently used for the purposes of the ES:2 notification was obsolete. The trade 
data in the document G/AG/W/32/Rev.11 that the Secretariat prepared to facilitate the Article 18.5 process in 2003 revealed that the Members meeting the definition of "significant exporter" (i.e. 
having a share exceeding 5% in world trade) for a number of products was different from the 
Members identified in the 1995 list of significant exporters. Members therefore decided to review the list of significant exporters and requested the Secretariat to prepare the background statistical 
data to facilitate the review.
1 
 In the subsequent chair-led consultation process to review the list of significant exporters, 
Members reached agreement and common understanding on a number of issues. During these 
consultations no Member disagreed with the definition of "significant exporter" as contained in 
G/AG/2.
2 There has also been an agreement to use a simple average of trade shares for the last 
three years for which data is available for determining the significant exporters of a product. In 
addition, previous chairs had noted that there was broad convergence towards the adoption of 
three to five-year review cycles for updates of the list.3 
 
In the past year I have held consultations with Members in various configurations to build on these 
areas of understanding and to identify convergence on next steps for reviewing the list of significant exporters. While we have made import ant progress on certain aspects of the review of 
the list of significant exporters detailed below, I am unfortunately unable to identify the necessary 
convergence for the Committee to formally conclude work on this issue. 
 At the same time, in the interest of full transparency and inclusiveness, I would like to summarize 
the main areas where we have achieved progress. Towards this end, this report describes the 
progress made and summarizes the outcomes of consultations with respect to transparency issues. This report is on my own responsibility and is wi thout prejudice to the positions of Members on this 
issue. 
 1  COMPOSITION OF THE LIST OF MEMBERS 
1.1.  As I mentioned in my report in January 2014, Members had noted certain aspects of the 
composition of the original list of significant exporters that deserved attention. First, recent trade 
data indicated that the list from 1995 did not ac curately reflect the current structure of world 
trade. Second, in the original list Members with  reduction commitments were excluded, regardless 
of whether they represent more than 5% of world exports for specific products. 
1.2.  Annex 1 of this document includes a list of all Members (both with and without reduction 
commitments) whose share of total world exports in products or groups of products identified in 
G/AG/2/Add.1 exceeds 5%. This list was previously shared with Members at the CoA meeting in 
                                               
1 G/AG/R/57, paragraph 27 refers (A genda item II.A – Annual Consultations Under Article 18.5 of the 
Agreement on Agriculture). 
2 "…Members which are significant exporters of the products listed hereunder, namely, those Members 
whose share of total world exports in any one or more of  the following products or groups of products exceeds 
5%…". 
3 G/AG/R/61, Annex 4. G/AG/W/123 
 
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  January 2014.4 It is based on the FAO export statistics for the three preceding years for which 
data is available (2009-2011). These export statistics have also previously been circulated to Members in the context of the Article 18.5 discu ssions in the CoA on the participation in the 
normal growth of world trade.
5 The list is made available again here for ease of reference and is 
without prejudice to the position of Members on this issue. 
2  TABLE ES:2 NOTIFICATION FORMAT 
2.1.  To address Members' comments that ES:2 notifications could be presented in a more 
transparent manner several informal documents we re circulated that included suggestions for 
modification to ES:2 notification format and disaggregation of data in those notifications.6 The 
example attached to this report (Annex 2) illustrates these suggestions. The information in Table ES:2 notification could be reported in two sections. Section I of the ES:2 notification would contain 
the data submitted by Members with export subsidy reduction commitments. The format would 
ensure that, in accordance with G/AG/2 (paragraph (iii), page 24), the data on total exports notified by the Members with export subsidy reduction commitments would be on a basis 
comparable to that provided in Table ES:1. 
2.2.  Section II of the ES:2 notification would contain data on total exports submitted by significant 
exporters using the guidance on product defini tions and disaggregation described in the next 
section. It was further suggested in my consultations that significant exporter Members with 
scheduled reduction commitments could, to the exte nt practicable, report their quantity of total 
exports of the relevant product in Section II on the same temporal basis as the quantity of exports reported for that product in Section I. 
3  PRODUCT DEFINITION AND DISAGGREGATION 
3.1.  Members also considered it important to have a definitional guidance on various products that 
the significant exporters can consistently follow while presenting total exports data in their 
ES:2 notifications. Annex 3 includes suggested product definitions and disaggregation. According 
to the product definition in column 1 of Anne x 2, the designated significant exporters would 
include in annual Table ES:2 notifications the total quantity of exports of the relevant products or 
product groups. 
3.2.  During my consultations, Members also considered approaches to product disaggregation 
with a view to improving transparency of ES:2 no tifications especially in cases where the relevant 
product categories are broad. Simultaneously, the Members wanted to avoid excessive data 
reporting requirements for developing countries. Column 2 of Annex 2 summarizes the guidance 
that Members discussed in my consultations on product disaggregation in respect of those products or product groups where disaggregated information could be presented. An empty cell in 
column 2 would imply that no disaggregation would be expected within that product group. In my 
discussions, Members noted that transparency in Table ES:2 notifications could be enhanced if 
Members could, in addition to total exports of th e relevant product group, include export data of 
constituent products as per the guidance in Annex 2. Members would include disaggregated export 
figures of specific products included in respec t of the relevant product group(s) whenever the 
share of constituent products in total exports of the product groups exceeds 10%. 
3.3.  Members further explored the possibility of disaggregating data in Section I of ES:2 to be 
reported by Members with export subsidy reduction commitments. The issue of disaggregation of 
Section I of ES:2 notifications was discussed in the chair consultations and some ideas were circulated regarding how the disaggregation would be carried out (see RD/AG/30). No Member 
objected to this approach during the informal consultations. 
3.4.  Some Members proposed to have disaggregation of export subsidy information as reported by 
Members and considered that the significan t exporter outcome should also include a 
recommendation on this issue. Other Members considered that the issue of disaggregation of 
export subsidy information reported in ES:1 notification was outside the mandate of the significant exporter discussions which primarily concerned the ES:2 notification. A suggestion was made to 
                                               
4 RD/AG/25 
5 G/AG/W/32/rev.14 
6 RD/AG/24 G/AG/W/123 
 
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  include disaggregated export subsidy information in the ES:2 Table; this, however, did not attract 
convergence among Members. On the issue of disa ggregation of export subsidy data, I detected 
that Members were not generally averse to the po ssibility of an enhanced transparency in the 
reporting of export subsidy data. Some Members, however, did not see that topic fitting in the 
significant export discussions and rather felt th at the export subsidy disaggregation would be 
better considered independently of the work on revi sing the list of significant exporters. This was 
the issue which led to the deadlock in the discu ssions and prevented the Members from reaching 
agreement. 
4  NEW PRODUCTS 
4.1.  In my consultations Members also examined the possibility of including new products in the 
list of product groups that would be monitored using the ES:2 notifications. One specific 
suggestion was made that Members whose exports represent greater than 5% of world exports of 
ethanol would report ethanol separately with the view  to identifying effective criteria for evaluating 
additional products. The proposal envisaged a review of the list of products at a later stage with a 
view to confirm whether ethanol should be included  on the list and to identify possible additional 
products. While several Members noted the value of having the possibility of monitoring trade in new products, others did not see that the discussion had advanced sufficiently to justify modifying 
the current list of product groups monitored using ES:2 notifications. 
4.2.  In the CoA in January 2014, Some Members suggested that it would be useful to have clear 
criteria to help focus discussions related to adding products to the list. Ideas for criteria that have been proposed as useful in this context fall into two general categories: criteria relating to whether 
a concern about export subsidization exists for particular products and criteria relating to the 
relative importance of a particular product in world trade (see RD/AG/30). Different views exist regarding how the criteria could be applied, particul arly with respect to the automaticity of product 
addition. In my view, based on my consultations,  a useful approach would be to evaluate the 
potential added- value of any proposal for the addition of new products on a case-by-case basis taking into account information on these types of criteria. 
 
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  G/AG/W/123 
 
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  ANNEX 1 
MEMBERS HAVING A SHARE EXCEEDING 5% IN TOTAL WORLD EXPORTS 
Product Group Members 
Wheat and wheat flour Argentina; Australia; CanadaC; European UnionC; Russian Federation; Ukraine; 
United States of AmericaC 
Coarse grains Argentina; BrazilC; Ukraine; United States of AmericaC 
Rice India; Pakistan; Thailand; United States of AmericaC; Viet Nam 
Oilseeds Argentina; Brazil; CanadaC; United States of America 
Vegetable oils Argentina; Indonesia; Malaysia 
Oilcakes Argentina; BrazilC; India; United States of America 
Sugar  BrazilC; Thailand 
Butter and butter oil AustraliaC; European UnionC; New Zealand; United States of AmericaC 
Skim milk powder AustraliaC; European UnionC; New Zealand; United States of AmericaC 
Cheese AustraliaC; Egypt; European UnionC; New Zealand; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; United 
States of AmericaC 
Other milk products Argentina; AustraliaC; European UnionC; New Zealand 
Bovine meat Argentina; Australia; BrazilC; Canada; India; New Zealand; United States of 
AmericaC 
Pig meat Brazil; Canada; European UnionC; United States of AmericaC 
Poultry meat BrazilC; European UnionC; Hong Kong, China; Thailand; United States of AmericaC 
Sheep meat Australia; New Zealand 
Live animals Australia; Brazil; Canada; European UnionC; Mexico; United States of AmericaC 
Eggs China; European UnionC; Malaysia; TurkeyC; United States of AmericaC 
Wine Argentina; Australia; Chile; European UnionC; South Africa; United States of America 
Fruits Chile; China; Ecuador; European UnionC; South AfricaC; United States of America 
Vegetables China; European UnionC; MexicoC; United States of America 
Tobacco BrazilC; China; European UnionC; India; United States of America 
Cotton Australia; BrazilC; India; United States of America 
Note : The superscript "C" identifies those Members who have scheduled export subsidy reduction commitments. 
Data Source: FAO (see G/AG/W/32/Rev.14 for summary statistics). 
  
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  G/AG/W/123  
 
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EXPORT SUBSIDIES: NAME OF MEMBER 
REPORTING PERIOD: CALENDAR YEAR, MARKETING YEAR, ETC. 
Export Subsidies: Notification of Total Exports 
Description of products  Calendar/marketing 
year beginning ... Quantity of total exports 
(of products from Part IV 
(Section II) of the Schedule) Quantity of total exports 
(of products as per the list of 
"Significant Exporters") 
1 2 3 4 
I: Products from Part IV (Section II) 
of the Schedule 
    
II: Products as per 
the list of "Significant 
Exporters" 
Product of which (only if 
constituting more than 
10% share in total) 
Product A: Product B: 
    
 
TOTAL: 
  
subtotal product A 
subtotal product B 
 
 
_______________ 
  G/AG/W/123 
 
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  ANNEX 3 
GUIDANCE ON PRODUCT DEFINITIONS AND DISAGGREGATION FOR THE PURPOSES 
OF TABLE ES:2 NOTIFICATION BY SIGNIFICANT EXPORTERS 
Product or product groups 
(with illustrative HS* 
headings/codes) Product disaggregation 
(export data to be included if share  
in total exports exceeds 10%) 
1 2 
Wheat and wheat flour 
1001 
1101  
Wheat 
Wheat flour 
Coarse grains 
1002 1003 1004 1005 1007 1008  
Rye 
Barley 
Oats 
Maize 
Sorghum 
Buckwheat, millet and canary seeds 
Rice 
1006 
  
- 
Oilseeds 
1201 1202 1203 1204 1205 1206 1207  
Soybeans 
Groundnuts 
Copra 
Linseed 
Rapeseed 
Sunflower seeds 
Other oilseeds
1 (e.g., Palm nuts and kernels, cotton seeds, 
castor oil seeds, sesamum seeds, mustard seeds, safflower seeds, 
melon seeds, poppy seeds) 
Vegetable oils 
1507 
1508 
1509 
1510 
1511 
1512 
1513 
1514 
1515  
Soybean oil 
Groundnut oil 
Olive oil 
Palm oil 
Sunflower seeds or Safflower seed or Cotton-seed oil 
Coconut, palm kernel or babassu oil 
Rape, colza or mustard oil 
Other vegetable oils (e.g., Linseed oil, maize oil, castor oil, sesame oil) 
Oilcakes 
2304 2305 2306  
Soybean cake 
Groundnut cake 
Other oilcakes (e.g., of cotton seeds, of linseed, of sunflower seeds, 
of rape or colza seeds, of copr a, of palm nuts or kernels) 
Sugar 
1701  
- 
Butter and butter oil 
0405  
- 
Skim milk powder 
040210   
- 
 
                                               
1 The products described in column 2 of annex 2 under  the residual category "o ther" (for example, other 
oilseeds, other vegetable oils, etc) correspond to the relevant HS four-digit code as defined under the HS 2012 nomenclature. G/AG/W/123 
 
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  Product or product groups 
(with illustrative HS* 
headings/codes) Product disaggregation 
(export data to be included if share  
in total exports exceeds 10%) 
1 2 
Cheese 
0406  
- 
Other milk products 
0401 
040221 
040229 
040291 
040299 
0403 
0404  
Milk and cream, fresh 
Whole milk powder 
Yogurt, buttermilk and curdled milk 
Whey 
Bovine meat 
0201 0202 
021020  
- 
Pigmeat 
0203 
021011 
021012 
021019   
- 
Poultry meat 
0207  
- 
Sheepmeat 
0204 
  
- 
Live animals 
0101 0102 0103 0104 0105 0106 
  
Live horses 
Live bovine 
Live swine 
Live sheep and goat 
Live poultry 
Other live animals (e.g. Mammals, Birds, insects) 
Eggs 
0407  
- 
Wine 
2204 
2205  
- 
Fruits 
0803 
0804 
0805 
0806 
0807 
0808 
0809 
0810  
Bananas 
Dates, Figs, Pineapples, Avocados , Guavas, Mangoes and Mangosteens 
Citrus fruits 
Grapes 
Melons and papayas 
Apples, Pears and Quinces 
Apricots, Cherries, Plums, Sloes and Peaches 
Other fruits (e.g., Strawberries, rasp berries, courants and gooseberries, 
cranberries and other fruits of genus  vaccinium, kiwifruit, durians, 
persimmons) G/AG/W/123 
 
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  Product or product groups 
(with illustrative HS* 
headings/codes) Product disaggregation 
(export data to be included if share  
in total exports exceeds 10%) 
1 2 
Vegetables 
0701 0702 0703 0704 
0705 
0706 0707 0708 0709  
Potatoes 
Tomatoes 
Onions, shallots, garlic and leeks 
Cabbages and cauliflowers 
Lettuce and chicory 
Carrots and turnips and ot her similar edible roots 
Cucumbers and gherkins 
Leguminous vegetables 
Other vegetables (e.g., Asparagus, aube rgines, celery other than celeriac, 
mushrooms and truffles, fruits of the genus capsicum or of the genus 
pimenta, spinach, globe artichokes, olives, pumpkins, squash and gourds) 
Tobacco 
2401 
2402 
2403  
- 
Cotton 
5201 5202 5203  
- 
[Ethanol] 
2207  
- 
* In HS2012. 
  
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