WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
TN/AG/SCC/W/17 
WT/CFMC/38 
9 November 2012 
 (12-6180) 
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 
 
Report of the 17th Round of the Director-General's 
Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton1 
29 June 2012 
 
 
I. INTRODUCTION 
1. Pursuant to paragraph 12 of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration2, this is the Thirteenth 
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 
31 May 2012, the Director-General circulated the 13th version (WT/CFMC/6/Rev.12) of the Evolving 
Table on Cotton Development Assistance under cover of his letter addressed to Ambassadors and 
Permanent Representatives.  Second, the 17th Round of the Director-General's Consultative 
Framework Mechanism on Cotton (DGCFMC) took place on 29 June 2012.  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 and in the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration. 
II. SEVENTEENTH ROUND OF THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S CONSULTATIVE 
FRAMEWORK MECHANISM ON COTTON 
2. The Chairman (DDG H.V. Singh) welcomed all participants to the 17th Round of the 
Director-General's Consultative Framework Mechan ism on Cotton (DGCFMC), in particular the focal 
points of the C4 countries, Ambassador Vokouma, Permanent Representative of Burkina Faso and 
C4 Coordinator and other C4 participants, as we ll as Ambassador John Adank, Chairman of the 
Committee on Agriculture in Special Session (CoA SS ) and of its Sub-Committee on Cotton.  He paid 
tribute to Mr. Chiedu Osakwe, Director of the A ccessions Division, for his sense of commitment and 
hard work which had helped to build the pro cess under the DGCFMC and brought it to the present 
level of meaningful interacti on amongst Members.  The Chairman introduced Mr. Priyadarshi, 
Director of the Development Di vision, who had taken over the responsibilities for the DGCFMC from 
Mr. Osakwe.  He also informed the participants , that Mr. Evan Rogerson had replaced Mr. Clem 
Boonekamp as the new Director of th e Agriculture and Commodities Division. 
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and without prejudice to 
the positions of Members and to their rights and obligations under the WTO. 
2 "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).   TN/AG/SCC/W/17 
WT/CFMC/38 Page 2 
 
 
  3. Turning to the substantive aspects of the agenda , the Chairman indicated that during the last 
consultations, it had been agreed to have qualita tive assessment in addition to the quantitative 
monitoring of the Evolving Table (ET).   
4. Ambassador Vokouma of Burkina Faso, on behalf of  the C4 countries, said that with regard to 
the trade aspects, the issues of concern to th e C4 countries were well-known since May 2003;  
however, very little had been done to come with satisfactory and long-term solutions.  During the 
preparations of the Eighth Ministerial Conference (MC8), in December 2011, the C4 countries had put forward a draft decision on cotton which had le d, after more than a month of negotiations and 
consultations, to the matter of cotton being presente d in the framework of th e "elements for political 
guidance" of the Conference.  He noted that the response given to the C4 countries was of a political 
nature while the core of the C4 countries' concern was the elimination of trade distorting subsidies on 
cotton.  Nevertheless, the C4 countries had comme nded a re-commitment to the decision taken in 
December 2005, in Hong Kong, to deal with cotton in  an 'ambitious, rapid and specific' manner.  He 
noted that although MC8 was not a negotiating sessi on, it had provided an opportunity for the C4 
countries, in the framework of activities organized on the side lines of the Conference, to continue to 
work via constructive bilateral meetings with th e United States (US), China and the European Union 
(EU), on the developmental aspects of cotton.  
5. He reported that during MC8, China had announced that it would make available 
US$20 million for projects on cotton in Africa.  The US  had decided to contin ue for four additional 
years the WACIP Programme and had provided it  with US$16 million to this end.  Brazil's 
cooperation programme with the C4 countries con tinued. India had also launched, on 28 May 2012, a 
technical assistance programme for African cotton in the C4 countries, Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda.  
He stressed that these results did not only benefit Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad, but all African 
cotton producers.  He also encouraged African cotton producers to ensure that they benefited 
effectively from the financial support and duty-fr ee access to the US mark et, such as for upland 
cotton.  
6. He informed the meeting on the recent actions carri ed out by the C4 on a bilateral level.  The 
C4 countries had undertaken an awareness ra ising mission to Washington D.C. from 17 to 
21 June 2012.  The mission had consisted of bilate ral meetings with US parliamentarians, high-level 
members of the Federal Administration, and offi cials from key cotton bodies, in particular the 
International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), and the National Cotton Council (NCC).  The C4 
representatives, led by Mr. Arthur Kafando, Minister Coordinator of the C4, had advocated the need 
to take into account African cotton producers' inte rests in the review of the Farm Bill by the US 
Congress.  He commended the cooperation of the Perm anent Mission of the United States in Geneva 
in preparing the mission.  
7. He went on to underscore that in the search fo r a long-term trade solution to the problem of 
cotton subsidies in a constructive manner the C4 countries had tabled specific proposals aimed at 
finding solutions for the problems of African producer s, while at the same time taking into account 
the constraints of their partners in the negotiati ons.  For the C4 countries, it was essential that the 
cotton-related programmes included in the 2012 US Fa rm Bill would lead to a reduction of distortive 
subsidies currently being accorded by the Government  of the US with effects felt in the world cotton 
market.  The C4 countries had expressed their serious  concerns regarding certain mechanisms in the 
Farm Bill, in particular the Stack Income Prot ection Plan for Producers of Upland Cotton (STAX), 
which might lead, in the international cotton trade ar ena, to a situation far more distorting than was 
currently the case.  The mission to Washington had b een an opportunity to ensure that the arguments 
of the cotton producers took priority and to call on US  legislators to reflect on the long-term impact of 
their cotton subsidies on developing countries, partic ularly on Africa.  He reaffirmed the availability 
of the C4 countries to engage, as in the past, in op en negotiations with all stakeholders in order to  TN/AG/SCC/W/17 
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  come up with an acceptable solution on the complicated  matter of cotton.  He concluded by thanking 
China and the WTO Secretariat for having made possi ble the attendance of the C4 capital-based focal 
points at the present meeting.  
8. Ambassador G.-H. Barberousse of Haiti , on behalf of the LDC Group, supported the 
statement made by the Coordinator of the C4.  He  expressed the concern of the LDC Group with the 
lack of significant progress in the trade policy aspects of cotton, notwithstanding the many proposals put forward by the C4 countries;  the last of wh ich, dated 16 June 2006, had been included in various 
draft modalities in the trade in agriculture negotiations .  He recalled that at the Ministerial Conference 
in Hong Kong, in December 2005, Ministers had deci ded to deal with cotton in an "ambitious, rapid 
and specific" way.  However, no tangible results ha d been achieved, largely because of a categorical 
refusal by some partners to address the matter.  Hence, the LDC Group, once again, called on all 
WTO Members to show flexibility in order to achieve  progress on the trade aspects of this matter, in a 
reasonable time-frame.  He added th at paragraph 12 of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration defines 
the framework in which the international developm ent community had been requested to "further 
scale up its cotton-specific assistance and to support the efforts of the Dir ector-General".  The 
Declaration moreover urged to "pro mote and support South-South coope ration, including transfer of 
technology".  While commending the constant s upport of development partners, he noted the 
continuous gap between the needs expressed a nd the commitments undertaken.  The LDC Group 
reiterated its call on all to brid ge this gap.  He expressed the LDC Group's gratitude to those 
developing countries engaged in the matter and calle d on further South-South cooperation.  He also 
expressed the hope that Members undertake more commitm ents in this area to reinforce cooperation.  
He acknowledged the Director-General's efforts as well as those of the LDCs' partners, notably the 
US, the EU, China, India, and other countries for their participation in these negotiations.  
9. The representative of Brazil, on behalf of the G-20, restated the Group's long-held position in 
support of the views of the C4 countries on cotton, both with regard to its trade and development 
dimensions.  He underscored that cotton remained at  the centre of the Doha Agriculture negotiations, 
and reaffirmed the G-20 solidarity with the C4 countries, and its unwavering commitment to work 
with them for an agreement in accordance with the mandate agreed by Members at the Hong Kong 
Ministerial Conference.  The G-20 was following cl osely the discussions in Washington directed at 
drafting a new Farm Bill with a special focus on assessing its impact on cotton production.  He 
expressed the hope of the G-20 that the US' harm ful distorting programmes would be replaced by 
programmes less harmful for cotton growers worldwide, especially in Africa. 
10. Speaking in his national capacity, the representativ e of Brazil reiterated the fact that cotton 
was perhaps the most important developmental issue to be addressed by the Doha Development Agenda (DDA).  For this reason, Brazil and the G-20  had been at the forefront of the discussions on 
cotton and had consistently supp orted the positions of the C4 in  the Doha Round.  Although the 
current high cotton prices had provoked a downward tre nd on actual levels of subsidies, this may 
prove elusive in a longer term.  The bull market y ears may be coming to an end and the fact that 
potentially harmful distorting programmes were sti ll in place constituted a clear threat to African 
producers.  Brazil was following with great attention the discussions in Washington directed at drafting a new Farm Bill.  It was essential for Braz il that any new subsidies programme to be created 
in the context of the new Farm Bill, should no t isolate cotton growers from market conditions.  
Brazil's underlying concern regarding the cotton programmes of the upcoming Farm Bill was the 
degree of distortion that they may introduce into the world market.  Under no circumstances would 
Brazil be in a position to view favourably any set of  programmes that could be more distortive than 
the existing legislation.  He also expressed Brazi l's concern regarding th e introduction of "shallow 
losses" insurance programmes fearing their negative effect. TN/AG/SCC/W/17 
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  11. He went on to refer to the result of the ruling of the WTO Appellate Body in the US-Cotton 
dispute, and said that Brazil continued its bilatera l process with the US, aiming at implementing real 
reform of those trade-distorting programmes.  He in formed the meeting that the last bilateral meeting 
with the US had taken place in April 2012, in Wash ington.  Brazil would keep the C4 countries fully 
informed on every step of the way.   
12. He continued by saying that he appreciated that the work of the Consultative Framework 
Mechanism assigned due importance to South-Sout h cooperation to cotton producers in Africa.  
Brazil's cooperation with Africa was a priority, a st rategic relationship aiming at reaching a balanced 
and full development for the benefit of the people.  As a developing country itself, Brazil was well 
aware that this cooperation, in order to bear fruit, must be based on an effective dialogue.  As the 
current version of the ET on Cotton showed, Brazi l had taken significant steps in implementing its 
bilateral programme of cooperation, technical assi stance, technology transfer and capacity building 
with Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali in the fiel d of cotton.  The current cooperation with the C4 
countries was being enlarged.  As indicated during the last meeting, the Ministry of External Relations 
and the Brazilian Cotton Institute (IB A) had signed a Protocol of Inte ntion on technical cooperation in 
the cotton sector.  The Protocol reflects the common goal of the parties to engage in the implementation of cooperation actions to stre ngthen the cotton sector in developing countries, 
especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.  The IBA was created to receive temporary compensation paid annually by the US due to the losses incurred by  Brazilian cotton producers, and earmarked 10 per 
cent of its income to financial cooperation in Africa.   This project would be carried out jointly with 
international institutions, such as FAO and UNDP.  An agreement with the UNDP had already been 
signed and another one with the FAO would be signe d shortly.  He expressed Brazil's confidence in 
this cooperation, which would provi de a major contribution to improving cotton production in Africa.  
Although it by no means represented a solution for the harm caused by distorting subsidies to African cotton growers, he was hopeful that this coopera tion would provide a meaningful contribution to 
alleviate their situation.  
13. The representatives of Argentina, Nigeria, Chin a, Cuba, Pakistan, Colombia, India and Peru 
supported the statements made by the C4 countries a nd by Brazil on behalf of the G-20, and reiterated 
their support to the mandate stipulated in the Hong Kong Declaration.  
14. The representative of Pakistan said that the recen t decline in cotton prices was an indication 
that the mandate to address cotton subsidies and di stortions in the Agriculture sector was as valid 
today as in 2001 and 2005.  Two million Pakistani farmers would be above the poverty line if the 
cotton subsidies were to be removed.  Cotton repr esented almost 2 per cent of Pakistan's GDP, hence 
the country's keen interest in having a pred ictable and rule-based environment for cotton.  
TRADE POLICY ASPECTS OF COTTON  
15. Ambassador Adank of New Zealand thanked the Chair for the opportunity to brief the 
meeting of the DGCFMC on the Trade Policy Aspects of Cotton.  He noted that since his election as 
Chair of the CoA SS last November, he had endeavoured  to take stock of where things were at, and to 
consult with delegations as to how they saw the negotiations moving forward, taking into account the 
DDA global picture. 
16. On the state of play in the Agriculture negotiations, he said that the DDA negotiations 
remained in a difficult situation.  Despite the intense efforts that Members had engaged in from 
April 2011, no tangible progress ha d been made in moving the agricultural negotiations forward and 
in identifying convergence on the bracketed or othe rwise annotated ten outstanding issues in the draft 
modalities text, including cotton.  That said, he noted that in addition to the consultations on issues 
that were bracketed or annotated in the Draft M odalities text on Agriculture, much technical work had  TN/AG/SCC/W/17 
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  been undertaken on the development of a template  across each of the three pillars, following the 
so-called step 1 and step 2 approaches.  The Ne gotiating Group had also engaged in a number of 
data-related issues, with a focus on data to be a nnexed to the modalities, such as data on value of 
production, on product-specific AMS and product-specific Blue Box or on ad valorem  equivalent 
transposition.  Finally, Members had also engaged in some clarification discussions around the Draft 
Modalities text.  To summarize, he said that while  Agriculture negotiations had not yet delivered 
tangible results on key outstanding issues in a way that  could be captured in an agreed or visible 
revised text, the technical work undertaken had b een useful and would hopefully bear fruit in the 
future, once negotiations would be able to make further progress. 
17. He recalled that at the MC8, Ministers had called for further reflection on ways to progress in 
the DDA negotiations.  Following MC8, he had initiat ed a process of consultations in February and 
March 2012 to get a sense of Members' expectations  on the way forward.  He had reported back on 
those consultations during an informal open-ended special session of the CoA SS toward the end of March 2012.  He noted that in the current climat e it was even more challenging to get significant 
traction on the ten so-called outstandi ng 'political issues' that his pr edecessors had reported.  He had 
encouraged delegations that wanted to see specific  aspects or issues progressed, to engage directly 
with other interested delegations to develop a cl ear understanding of respective positions, to assist in 
identifying constructive areas for further endeavour.  He had also observed that delegations may wish 
to give consideration to informa tion exchange activities, for example, informal seminars, that might 
provide off-line neutral settings for discussion of relevant agricultural developments and issues. 
18. He continued by saying that during the Marc h 2012 informal CoA SS, Members had provided 
their reflections on further work within the ne gotiations.  Some Members had mentioned Export 
Competition as a likely candidate for an early outcome, while others saw an outcome in Export Competition as part of a longer-term ambitious package.  Other Members had stressed the importance of further work being based on the 2008 Draft Modalities and highlighted specific issues of key 
interest and priorities for them within this doc ument.  While there had been no specific proposals 
tabled subsequently, he had contin ued to make himself available to delegations for consultations.  He 
also reiterated his invitation to any delegation or group that would like an opportunity to outline 
further views on the way forward. 
19. As regards the state of play in the cotton ne gotiations, he recalled that in the July 2004 
Framework and at the 2005 Hong Kong Ministeria l Conference, WTO Members had agreed to treat 
cotton "ambitiously, expeditiously and specifically" w ithin the Agriculture negotiations.  He said that 
the Draft Modalities  text on Agriculture had specific language on cotton which remained the basis for 
further negotiations on cotton.  Consultations led by  his predecessor had confirmed, according to his 
April 2011 report, that ''not all Members are in a position to agree to the text as drafted but no new contributions, technical or substantive, have been forthcoming to date''.  Members involved in those 
consultations had emphasized that they remained committed to finding a solution that addressed the 
issue of cotton "ambitiously, expeditiously and specifi cally" consistent with the commitments made at 
the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.  The previous Chair had concluded that ''in the absence of a dynamic capable of leading to the resolution of outstanding issues in the Agriculture negotiations more broadly, and indeed, the Round as a whole, wh at that solution might be remained unclear''. 
20. He continued by saying that a year on from hi s predecessor's assessment, Members were still 
no further along the road to finding a solution to the trade aspects of the cotton issue.  At the same 
time, he could report on some positive devel opments on cotton at the MC8.  Following the 
consultations to discuss the proposal tabled  by the C4 countries for MC8 (documents 
TN/AG/GEN/32, TN/AG/SCC/GEN/11) which propo sed amongst other things a standstill on cotton 
support, but did not meet with consensus, Minist ers had agreed at MC8 on specific elements of 
political guidance on the cotton issue.  Ministers had confirmed their commitment to ongoing TN/AG/SCC/W/17 
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  dialogue and engagement to progress on the mandate  in paragraph 11 of the Hong Kong Ministerial 
Declaration to address cotton "ambitiously, expediti ously and specifically", within the Agriculture 
negotiations. Ministers had also highlighted the va lue of ongoing reporting on cotton, including by the 
Director-General, and had commended the work  undertaken within the Director-General's 
Consultative Framework to advance the developmen t assistance aspects of cotton.  While there was 
no agreement on a substantive step forward or st andstill on cotton as advocated in the C4 proposal, 
cotton was notably the only agricultural product speci fically mentioned in the Chairman's concluding 
Ministerial statement.  Furthermore, a numbe r of countries had announced during MC8 technical 
assistance programmes to African countries in the field of cotton, as well as some decisions to 
advance duty-free quota-free (DFQF) market access for LDCs for upland cotton.  Regarding other 
developments, he mentioned the discussions on the 2012 draft US Farm Bill which included specific 
cotton provisions.  
21. He concluded that as confirmed at MC8, Members agreed that the mandate for an "ambitious, 
expeditious and specific treatment" of cotton in the Agriculture negotiations had not changed and 
there was a need for ongoing dialogue and engagement in this area.  At the same time, Members had 
to face the unfortunate fact that, in the absence of  the requisite dynamic, it had not been possible to 
reach any concrete outcome on cotton up to the presen t time.  Nevertheless, he would continue to 
encourage dialogue between all key cotton players, to try and get a sense of how they saw progress 
being made on the commitments on cotton, taking into account the current state of play in the broader 
Round, and any relevant developm ents pertaining to cotton with a view to identifying any new 
elements Members could usefully focus discussions on.  
22. The representatives of Australia and Nigeria expre ssed their disappointment with the lack of 
engagement in the negotiations on agriculture and a ppreciated the efforts made by the Chair of the 
CoA SS for offering to hold consultations.   
23. The representative of Australia said that her dele gation would also be very supportive of the 
decisions taken at MC8.  She noted that it was an important point to consider merging development in 
other major agriculture policies.  She concluded that some major economies would be very pleased to engage in such an exercise, if that were possible.  
24. The representative of the United States expressed his country's appreciation of the 
constructive meeting of the C4 countries with the NCC, which had taken place in June.  He 
underscored the vital role of the WTO in creating a stable environment for global trade and said that 
the US highly valued the important work carri ed out by the WTO standing committees and their 
ability to enforce WTO rules.  He noted, as Member s did at MC8, that the Doha Round was in an 
impasse.  There was a need to consider differe nt approaches to delivering economic growth, job 
creation and development. In that respect, th e US was looking for opportunities to consult 
cooperatively with other Members to see where productive work would be possible.  From his 
perspective, a one-size-fits-all approach did not accurately reflect the realities of the world.  
Developing countries were not all the same and there was a need to start having an honest 
conversation about this issue.  Referring to the LDCs , he noted the need to integrate them into the 
multilateral trading system.  To that effect, he recalled the active engagement of the US in the 
Sub-Committee on LDCs, notably on the discussions on LDC accessions, as well as in all meetings of the LDC accession Working Parties.  He also stres sed the need to help LDCs in a manner driving 
pro-trade, domestic reforms, facilitating an increase  of foreign direct investments (FDI) in LDCs and 
promoting LDC participation in global value chains.  With regard to the 2012 Farm Bill, he said that 
given the current budget realities, large payments w ould maybe be eliminated.  Regarding other forms 
of support, his authorities would be willing to engage in a discussion in other fora as more 
information appeared from Congress' deliberations.  TN/AG/SCC/W/17 
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  25. The Chairman concluded this item by thanki ng Ambassador Adank for his presentation and 
other participants for their statements.  He noted that it was evident from the statements that cotton 
remained an issue to which Members attached prio rity.  The questions and issues arising in the 
Agriculture negotiations and on cotton in particular would remain the focus of work in the DGCFMC. 
COTTON PRODUCTION AND TRADE TRENDS  
26. By way of introduction, the Chairman noted that the world had witnessed considerable 
variations and developmen ts ranging across several areas such as  production and trade trends, stocks, 
prices, and prospects, including for cotton-produc ing LDCs.  The International Cotton Advisory 
Committee (ICAC) had assisted in understanding and interpreting these trends.  He invited 
Mr. Terry Townsend, the Executive Director of ICAC, to make a factual presentation on the state of 
the global cotton market.  
27. The representative of ICAC said that the world cotton industry was reverting to long-term 
price trends.  During the 2010-2011 season, pri ces had exploded, rising above US$2 per pound, but 
since March 2011, prices had been falling almost continuously.  An issue much discussed during 
2010-2011 was the volatility in cotton prices, whic h were now returning to normal levels.  In 
2010-2011, the Cotlook A Index, the indicator of the average world prices of cotton, had been 50 per cent above the average.  During the same peri od, of 54 commodities tracked by the IMF, cotton 
had been the most volatile commodity.  For th e 2011-2012 season, the highest quote for the 
Cotlook A Index promised to be about 20 per cen t above the season average, and the lowest quote 
about 25 per cent below the average.  Thus, the 20 11-2012 period would show a total range of prices 
with a difference between the highest and lowest of about 45 per cent, returning to the usual level that 
it used to be.  Put in perspective, it meant that  commodities were inherently volatile and that the 
events of one year were not necessarily a harbinger of a continuing trend.  
28. He gave reasons why cotton prices had fallen, a nd were likely to continue to fall, from the 
high they had reached in 2011.  First, competition with polyester.  In fact, 60 years ago, the cotton 
share of fibre used to be 70 per cent and was currently only 31 per cent.  During the 2010-2011 
period, when cotton prices were far above thei r previous range, the Cotlook A Index went 
substantially above the price of polyester in China, the world's largest market.  That left cotton highly 
uncompetitive with polyester in terms of price, leadi ng to a decline in cotton's market share.  Even 
with the fall of cotton prices since March 2011, the price of cotton was still a bit above that of polyester, although the difference was getting smaller.   Both prices were now declining, likely to 
continue until the competitive bala nce between the two fibres was re-established.  Second, when 
production was substantially above  consumption, prices fell as in the 2004-2005 season.  Worldwide 
cotton farmers reacted to the high prices of 2010-2011 by expanding production to a record of 27 million tons.  In 2012-2013, production was forecasted to exceed consumption, although 
production would be coming down because prices were  lower than they used to be.  During the 
2011-2012 season, responses to the very high prices for cotton included a loss of market share and a 
drop in cotton consumption to just 22 million tons.  It was expected that the Mill Use would start 
recovering, but this would not fully close the ga p.  Production would remain  above consumption for 
another year, meaning that the downward pressure on prices was likely to continue.  He underscored 
that during the 2009-2010 and 2 010-2011 seasons, high prices had co incided with relatively low 
stocks of less than 10 million tons.  During th e 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 seasons, stocks were 
forecasted to rise to approximately 14 million metric  tons.  The ratio of Stocks-to-Use would climb 
from around 30 per cent to above 60 per cent.  He expl ained that there had been a big shift towards 
cotton as the price ratio between cotton and maize had fallen to around 6 or 7 - one ton of cotton worth 6 or 7 tons of maize.  The same general patterns was relevant for soybeans and rice, signalling 
that cotton production would return to its average,  24 or 25 million tons during the 2011-2012 season.  TN/AG/SCC/W/17 
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  29. He explained that by country, China was th e largest cotton producer, accounting for more 
than 6 million tons, followed by India (around 5 m illion tons), and the US (around 4 million tons).  
Pakistan, Brazil, Australia, Uzbekistan, Francophone Africa and Turkey rounded out to be the largest 
cotton producing countries.  Focusing on Africa, he said that in the 1990s and in the early 2000s, 
cotton production had been between 1.5 and 2 million tons.  In the 2000s, due to the crisis in cotton 
prices, production had sunk to 1 million tons, repr esenting 4 per cent of world production.  However, 
during the two seasons, cotton production in Africa ha d risen leading to a production of 1.5 million 
tons.  Again, price ratios with competing crops were  returning to the levels that prevailed earlier.  
African cotton production was expected to drop  in the coming season (2012-2013).  By region, 
production in the Francophone African zone was rec overing, and expected to continue rising in 
2012-2013.  In Eastern and Southern Africa, produ ction rose to about 600,0 00 tons, signalling an 
improvement;  however, a decline was expected in the coming season.  Production in North Africa 
had been decreasing for over a decade, due to reform s in Egypt and Sudan.  As an encouraging aspect, 
production in the Francophone Afri can zone showed a clear improvement in the 2011-2012 season, 
due to yields as well as policies providing inputs to growers.  In Francophone Africa, the area 
dedicated to cotton production was increasing to 2 million hectares;  however, the yields, which averaged around 400 kg/ha, were lower than the wo rld cotton yield, about 600 kg/ha in the 1990s, and 
had not increased much from that level, even in rece nt years.  He pointed out that the gap was across 
Francophone Africa, and that this included West and Central Africa.  The average yield had decreased 
to 350 kg/ha, whereas the world yield had increased to  about 750 kg/ha.  Hence, the yield/ha in 
Francophone Africa was actually less than half of th e world yield/ha, contributing to competitiveness 
problems.  
30. He went on to say that world trade in cotton had increased to 9.1 million tons.  China had 
imported 2.6 million tons during the previous season,  and this year, imports had almost doubled.  
However, imports by the rest of the world had dr opped from 5.1 million tons to 4.1 million tons.  For 
2012-2013, it was expected that China's imports would return to their normal level - less than 
3 million tons.  With lower cotton prices, consumer s were expected to boost mill use, leading to 
imports of 4.8 million tons by countries other than  China, leading to around 8 million tons for world 
trade compared to the 9 million of this year.  He explained that China was importing far more than it 
normally did.  Data for 2011-2012 showed that out of 5 million tons of imports, 3 million tons were 
going into China's national reserve in order to stabili ze prices in the future.  He added that this year, 
China's imports accounted for 55 per cent of worl d trade in cotton, followed by Bangladesh 
(7 per cent), Turkey (6 per cent), and Indonesia (5  per cent).  With regard to exports, the US 
accounted for about 25 per cent and India about 21 per cent.  It was expected that the US' exports 
would remain around 2.5 million tons in 2013.  He noted that there was a significant drop in exports 
by India because of a rise in consumption, a fall in world production and fewer surpluses to ship.  
Other major exporters included Australia, Br azil, Francophone Africa, and Uzbekistan.  
31. He concluded by highlighting that in the 1960s  and 1970s, cotton prices were fairly low and 
stable (around 30 cents per pound).  This stability was explained by the fact that the US was the 
dominant producer and exporter, maintaining the e quivalent of a national reserve.  Prices rose 
substantially in the early 1970s, the 1980s and 1990s - the average Cotlook A Index was US$74 cents 
per pound.  During the 2000s, the average price dropped to US$60 cents per pound, coinciding with 
the rapid adoption of biotechnology around the world that boosted yields relative to demand.  Prices 
started rising in 2009-2010 and peaked in 2010-2011.  In 2012, it was expected that the average price level would decrease to US$77 cents, but no lower than US$60 cents per po und, corresponding to the 
average in the 2000s.  
32. Members took note of the presentation made.  Th e Chairman invited Members to take these 
details into account in their own assessment of  the likely developments in the cotton sector 
worldwide.   TN/AG/SCC/W/17 
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  DIRECTOR -GENERAL 'S EVOLVING TABLE ON COTTON DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE  
33. The Chairman said that the Evolving Table (ET) was a Member's well-established common 
transparency tool for tracking and monitori ng the commitments and disbursements by the 
development community in the implementation of the mandate on cotton development assistance.  It 
had also become the common platform for a deve lopment dialogue between the donor community and 
assistance recipients for the development of the co tton sector.  On 31 May 2012, the Director-General 
had circulated to Members the Thirteenth version of the ET, contained in document 
WT/CFMC/6/Rev.12.  He invited Mr. Shishir Priyadarshi, Director of the Development Division, to highlight the key points of the ET. 
34. The Director of the Development Division  recalled that the ET presented in detail the 
macro-level picture of all assistance provided.  It  had been prepared on the basis of inputs from 
Members, namely, Australia, Brazil, the EU and some of its members States (Germany, France and 
the Netherlands), Japan and the US.  Inputs had also recently been received from Switzerland which 
would be included in the next ET.  Moreover, input s had been received from multilateral institutions, 
including the African Development Bank (AfDB) , the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), ICAC, 
FAO, IMF, ITC, UNIDO and the World Bank.  He explained that under the ongoing activities of the Cotton Specific Development Assistance, the number  of beneficiaries stood at 20 and the number of 
commitments at 51.  The value of commitments was slightly over US$300 million and the value of 
disbursements just below US$100 million.  For th e broader framework of development assistance 
under the rubrique  of Agriculture and Infrastructure-rela ted Development Assistance, the sum of 
commitments was close to US$5 billion.  He not ed that total disbursement had totalled about 
US$600 million.  Moving on to information on the comp leted activities, an important aspect of both 
the monitoring and transparency aspect of this exerci se, he reported an increase in the total number of 
completed activities, 128, benefiting 39 beneficiar ies.  The total value of commitments for the 
completed projects was over US$300 million.  Sim ilarly, under the completed activities under the 
framework of the broader assist ance under Agriculture and Infr astructure-related Development 
Assistance, the number of completed activities stood at 66.  He underscored that there had been a 
significant increase in the commitments and disbursements for the completed activities.  
35. He continued by saying that while sticking to the most important objective, monitoring, it was 
important that donors and beneficiaries be fully aw are of the type of assistance provided for specific 
projects.  This would help not only to develop syne rgies between the various activities, but also very 
importantly prevent any double-counting, which had been an issue of con cern raised by some 
Members.  He was hopeful that the ET in its cu rrent structured format would allow a dialogue 
between donors and beneficiaries.  He urged Members to ensure a greater speed in the completion of 
the projects and in the disbursements.  With regard to the notification of the National Cotton Sector Focal Points, he encouraged proponents to commun icate the names of the national focal points in 
order to have a full list as soon as possible.  He c oncluded by stressing the need to have not only a 
quantitative picture on the ET, but also a qualitative assessment.  
36. The representative of Burkina Faso welcomed the new structure of the ET, making it more 
readable and permitting a better assessment of the programmes and projects on cotton and their 
operational status.  He reiterated the C4 countries' satisfaction with respect to the relevance of the 
Consultative Framework put in place by the Director-G eneral.  With regard to the figures, he noted 
that most of the projects were being implemented in the field, but the provisions put in place by 
donors did not always enable, at this stage, to asse ss the amounts disbursed.  He confirmed that some 
projects were being implemented in the C4 countries by Brazil, the EU, the US, and the World Bank.  
He noted that regarding a number of projects, fu rther consultations, for example with France and 
Germany were needed regarding the breakdown of th e amounts.  He recalled that Burkina Faso, on 
several occasions, had expressed the wish to include th e principle of true coordination of interventions TN/AG/SCC/W/17 
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  by donor countries, which would contribute to a better rationalization of the programmes' content and 
resources allocated for their implementation.  This coordination would on the one hand ease the implementation of similar programmes by several donors and, at the same time, capitalize on the 
acquis  of projects already implemented as well as pr omote synergy between programmes which were 
under way.  He underscored the importance for donor s and beneficiary countries to cooperate and 
coordinate on the design and implementation of programmes in order to improve cotton sector 
competitiveness.  
37. He noted that the importance of focal points and their presence in the beneficiary countries 
should facilitate cooperation with donor countries.  He also suggested that donor countries should 
make available the details of their officers in ch arge of each programme or project, in order to 
facilitate easier contacts between the focal point and the implementing agency.  To that effect, a 
further column in the ET could be added to show the agencies, designated as a contact point by the 
donor countries.  That would enable Members to mast er the issue of disburseme nts, to assess the state 
of the work and the information on the ET.  
38. The representative of Mali thanked the WTO - through the China Programme - for having 
covered the participation costs of the capital-based C4 focal points in the meeting.  She appreciated 
the improvement of the presentation of the ET, how ever like Burkina Faso, she noted that further 
efforts remained to be undertaken in order to have  a proper reading.  She suggested that a further 
column could be added to indicate the difficulties i nvolved in the implementation of certain projects.  
Some projects had been completed in 2009 or 2010, but were still mentioned as in progress.  
Difficulties in the field included notably the delay in the disbursements from certain partners, which 
led to the cancellation of certain funds needed to finalize projects.  Moreover, certain conditions set 
by creditors led to the late implementation of proj ects.  Taking the example of Mali and France, she 
explained that a project had been in progress si nce 2007, but had effectively got under way only in 
2012.  The programme was to end in 2013, but no di sbursement of funds had so far taken place.  The 
projects and programmes were planned for the current  crop year, but there were problems in terms of 
implementation.  Finally, with regard to the funding by the US, she noted that nothing was mentioned in the disbursements column. 
39. The representative of Côte d'Ivoire welcomed the work done by ICAC and said that the 
presentation gave valuable information on the worl d trends, which was very important for cotton 
producing countries.  His country was in the lead group of countries to have received aid in Africa, 
and he thanked development part ners who through their support had enabled small producers to 
continue to grow cotton and combat poverty.  Hi s country had the reputation of being one of the 
world's leaders of the cocoa sector, but was nonetheless one of the main African cotton producers.  He 
explained that production had been hurt by the crisis.  Cotton had an important place in Côte d'Ivoire's 
economy, and played a role in development.  Th erefore, the government had launched a series of 
reforms with respect to agriculture inv estment and wanted to consolidate its acquis  in re-launching the 
cotton sector.  With the help of partners, he hope d that cotton production would return to previous 
levels and even exceed them.  He encouraged the C4 countries for their action to defend, even beyond 
the WTO, the cause and interests of African cotton pr oducers.  He mentioned that Côte d'Ivoire would 
like to re-activate its cotton focal point.  
40. The representative of Cameroon said that th e ET provided valuable information in 
understanding the cotton market, which was of ma jor importance for Cameroon as well.  Cameroon 
had undertaken efforts to maintain a constant leve l of production of cotton going by the trend of the 
global market.  He thanked the donors, specially th e EU and France, for their increased participation 
in the cotton sector.  The recent ACP programme  on cotton, set up by the EU, not only assisted 
Cameroon but also the Central African region in ge neral, to specify their strategy for cotton.  
Cameroon, like all Francophone African states, would continue to deploy efforts despite the  TN/AG/SCC/W/17 
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  international crisis to im prove production of cotton, via structural reforms at national level.  He called 
on multilateral agencies supporting cotton to come up with a solution to contribute to a better 
coordination of aid for development.  
41. The representative of Australia said that sh e had taken note of the comments made by the 
Secretariat in favour of a more qualitative assessm ent, and those made by Burkina Faso about the 
need for further intervention, coordination, and qualitative assessment in or der to ensure a better 
coordination of future projects.  She provided info rmation about development activities that Australia 
had carried out in relation to cotton.  A project th at had been announced at the last meeting was now 
under way, designed to provide training in cotton production systems including seed handling 
techniques.  Since the last meeting, two stages had taken place:  a familiarizati on visit, in March 2012, 
by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Rese arch Organization to Mali and Burkina Faso, as 
well as a reciprocal visit to Australia by a delegation of five scientific researchers from the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research  and Development, the Economic Community of 
West African States and the Burkina Faso Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation.  While in 
Australia, the African delegation had met with a number of Australian cotton farmers and seed 
distributers as well as the Cotton Research and Development Corporation.  The final stage of this particular project would be a training workshop  conducted by FAO, in Dakar, Senegal, in 
September-October 2012.  She expressed the hope that by the next meeting, Australia would be able 
to report on some outcomes.  
42. The representative of Switzerland said that his country was part of the donors engaged in 
cotton trade-related assistance.  He reported that under its economic development cooperation, 
Switzerland had developed a comprehensive sector ial approach in support of West and Central 
African cotton producing countries over the last year s.  This sectorial approach was based on three 
intervention lines:  (i) Support to the so-called "cotton initiative".  With the support of the Geneva-based agency "IDEAS Centre", it aimed at strengthening the capacity of the C4 countries to 
participate actively in the Doha Round negotiations, requesting the end of trade-distorting subsidies 
that are depressing world cotton prices;  (ii) Support to the organic cotton programme of the Swiss NGO Helvetas.  This programme ai med at promoting organic fair tr ade cotton in the international 
market in order to improve producers' living cond itions, especially those of women and small farmers 
through viable and sustainable modes of production;  and (iii) Support to the "Better Cotton Initiative" 
(BCI).  The BCI sought to facilitate a private vol untary solution for the mainstream market cotton 
sector and cotton cultivation growth with worldwide long-term advantages for all producers as well as 
for the environment.  In 2011, for the Third Global Review of Aid for Trade, Switzerland had submitted a case story that described Switzerland's approach to cotton, (Aid for Trade website:  
http//www.aid4trade.org ).  
43. The representative of the European Union said th at as indicated in the ET, the EU, and its 
various member States, continued to play a majo r role in supporting the cotton sector within the 
EU-Africa Partnership.  She emphasized the coordi nation aspect in relation to specific projects aimed 
at improving the production and the quality of cott on promotion with the support of international 
organizations.  She reported that this year, the EU had launched a new programme in line with 
previous projects to ensure the implementation of  strategies already carried out by African cotton 
producers.  She added that the Follow-up Co mmittee of the EU-Africa partnership had been 
centralized with focal points in the regions to c oordinate their work (West Africa, Central Africa, 
COMESA, and Southern Africa).  She called on focal  points to also liaise amongst one another for 
proper coordination and owners hip of these strategies.  
44. The representative of the United States said th at updates on fund disbursements were being 
put together and he hoped that his delegation would be able to provide them at the next meeting.  
Determining the shared views with the recipients wa s an important aspect of what the US was doing.  TN/AG/SCC/W/17 
WT/CFMC/38 Page 12 
 
 
  The visit of the C4 countries' representatives to W ashington and their meeting with the NCC served as 
an excellent example.  More detailed discussions  were taking place in the countries to determine 
where valuable resources could best be applied to obtain maximum results.  
45. The representative of Zimbabwe supported th e statements made by the C4 and the 
representative of Brazil.  She acknowledged and appr eciated the bilateral donors' support provided to 
the African cotton producing countries, including Zimbabwe, both in terms of funding and technical 
assistance.  She looked forward to the continua tion of these support activities aimed at improving 
production and competitiveness of the African cotton sector.  
46. The representative of Nigeria commended the development community for the continuing 
support, particularly in the implementation of  programmes and projects aimed at improving the 
competitiveness of the cotton sector, notably in the C4  countries and in the rest of Africa.  The ET 
confirmed that a certain number of projects were ongoing, both at country-specific level and at the 
regional level.  
47. The representative of UNCTAD reported on the pr ogress made on the preparation of the Pan 
African Cotton Roadmap since 2011.  Since the meeting held in Ba mako, in November 2011, where 
the draft of the Pan African Cotton Roadmap had been presented, African cotton stakeholders had 
made formal comments through their representative  institutions for integration into the revised 
version of the Roadmap.  Furthermore, to gather  support for this consultative process, two additional 
papers had been prepared;  one analysing the view s and the comments of stakeholders; and the other 
analysing the responses to these comments and proposal s.  In May 2012, anot her consultative meeting 
had been held in Brussels, bringing together Afri can cotton stakeholders, the ACP secretariat, the EU, 
CFC, Cos-Cotton and UNCTAD.  The meeting had acknowledged the pertinence of the consultative 
process of the Pan African Cotton Road Map, noted that the Road Map was not a substitute for the 
three African regional strategies on cotton, but rather supplemented them from a Pan African 
perspective.  The meeting had also recognized th e need to prepare a comprehensive format and a 
working plan to finalize the Road Map in close co nsultation with stakeholders.  With the Brussels 
meeting, the Pan African Cotton Road Map had en tered into finalization stage.  UNCTAD would 
continue to coordinate the consultation process, f acilitate the appropriation of the Pan African Cotton 
Road Map by African cotton stakeholders and mobilize funding for finalization of the Road Map.  In particular, UNCTAD would enhance its consu ltation with the AU Commission, the AU-NEPAD 
Agency, the C4 countries and the EU-Africa Partnership on Cotton.  
48. The Chairman said that the issue of qualita tive assessment had been raised by several 
Members in order to improve the effectiveness and functioning of the mechanism.  Progress had been 
registered around the ET and some suggestions b een made on further improvements to take the 
process forward and make it more effective.  Until now, the review had been primarily quantitative, 
and it was important to add a qualitative assessment asp ect to it.  This would provide useful additional 
insights, increase the efficiency and make the pro cess more meaningful for the focal points, as they 
could make an important contribution in terms of the quality of the support.  The Chairman noted an 
improvement in disbursements overall, which was however still limited in some cases for a number of 
reasons.  He stressed the need to follow up on this poin t, and highlighted the role of the focal points in 
that respect.  
49. The representative of the European Union said that the focus on the qualitative aspects of the 
programmes was important.  He agreed with the Chai rman that the national focal points could play a 
very valuable role in that kind of action.  On e reason explaining why disbursements sometimes were 
below 100 per cent might be that budgetary allocati ons were needed for an ex-post evaluation of 
programmes and that such evaluation would have to take place after the implementation of the 
programmes.  However, he noted the need to  find out the other reasons for these gaps.  TN/AG/SCC/W/17 
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  50. The representative of Pakistan made some s uggestions on the way to improve the qualitative 
assessment:  (i) to institutionalize th e participation of the focal points in the meetings.  However, she 
noted that financial constraints could impede their re gular participation in the meetings;  and (ii) on 
the basis of all the ongoing projects, it would be possible to come up with certain benchmarks or 
indicators to be used for a qualitative assessment.  She mentioned for example, the institutional 
development, the development of seed sectors or light industries which were important for cotton 
production, or the private sector development.  
51. The representative of Nigeria supported the intervention made by Pakistan regarding the 
valuable role played by the focal points, a nd supported her recommendations on the need to 
institutionalize their involvement in the process.  He  encouraged incentives that could be provided to 
the focal points and mentioned the need to seek the most effective use of the experiences shared by 
the focal points.  
52. The Chairman thanked the C4 focal points for their contribution and participation in the 
meeting, which had become a more substantive inte raction thanks to their participation and for the 
fruitful dialogue and exchange of information.  Members should continue to build on the generated 
dynamics.  He highlighted that the combination of a qualitative and quantitative aspect of assessing 
support would improve the efficiency of the informa tion.  He would be holding consultations before 
the next meeting to identify the steps ahead.  Th ere were still challenges that had to be addressed 
collectively, including the need to bridge the gap between commitments and disbursements.  He 
stressed that cotton proponents should provide their fo cal points' details.  He noted that the monitoring 
and implementation review would contribute to inte rconnecting different focal points and the sharing 
of experiences.  He emphasized that the Director-G eneral would continue placing a full spotlight on 
the cotton dossier, including but not limited to the circulation of the new versions of the ET and 
through the periodic reports to the General Council.  He concluded by expressing his appreciation for 
those who had participated in the preparati on of the table and the comments received.  
SOUTH -SOUTH COTTON COOPERATION  
53. The Chairman recalled that the mandate on this  item was reflected in paragraph 12 of the 
Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.  The contributions  from Brazil, China, India, and Pakistan on the 
platform of South-South cooperation had been di scussed earlier and been particularly important.  
54. The representative of Brazil said that his country's project was coming to a new phase and 
that substantial new funds had been channelled in to it.  An agreement had been signed with UNDP, 
helping Brazil in implementing new projects to start shortly.  
55. Mr. Di Stefano, who had been coordinating Brazil's projects with the C4 countries on the 
ground during the last few years, made a presen tation on how projects with the C4 countries were 
evolving.  Brazil resembled the African continent in several aspects; similarity of geographical 
conditions (temperatures and soils) as well as technol ogical requirements.  He stressed the need for 
dialogue, interaction, equity and fairness in terms of technological cooperation.  Together with the 
C4 countries, Brazil was looking at common problems in order to plan and develop projects on cotton 
assistance.  He underscored that bringing in local scientific knowledge was the best way of achieving 
sustainable development.  The rationale of the C4 countries' production could not be a copy or a 
clone. Brazil's actions needed to be cross-cutting fo r the C4 countries' projects.  He mentioned the 
need to look at environmental aspects, sustaina ble technology and technological improvements that 
would manage risks.  Knowledge needed to be improved so that the environmental economic and 
social knowledge was put together and then disse minated.  He presented cotton production in Mali 
and in Burkina Faso and noted that the African fibr e was very good for industrial use.  He mentioned 
the work to combat pest, and the harmful effects of pesticide on crops and the impact on public health.  TN/AG/SCC/W/17 
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  In Mali, insects were used to deal with the pests th at attacked the cotton plant.  With regard to the 
genetic improvement of cotton, more than 75 researchers from C4 countries had been trained.  
56. He went on to say that Brazil was working on sever al issues, such as best practices, transfer of 
technology, entomology, fertility, nutrition and sewi ng, and genetic improvement.  Six documents on 
these issues, together with the Agriculture practi ce handbook, were available for research purposes.  
He reported that the 5
th Meeting of the C4 Steering Committee, dealing with all of the data and 
managing projects, had taken place in May 2012.  He  stressed that it was important for researchers 
and agriculture ministries to work together and to  set up programmes.  Regarding the C4 countries' 
results for 2011, research had been validated, notab ly showing an increase of 40 per cent in the use of 
instruments developed and sent to C4 countries' pr oducers.  He concluded that Brazil was working 
with the focal points, the producers and the farmers. 
57. The representative of India said that his country  remained steadfast in its commitment to 
promote South-South cooperation in general a nd specifically to cotton producing and exporting 
countries in Africa.  In May 2010, India had de puted a high-level technical delegation to the 
C4 countries, Nigeria, Malawi and Uganda, to  assess their technical-assistance needs and have 
extensive exchanges with th e stakeholders concerned.  Based on a detailed tour report provided by the 
delegation, India's Department of Commerce, had prepared a Technical Assistance Programme (TAP) 
for cotton support in selected African countries, na mely, Burkina Faso, Benin, Chad, Mali, Malawi, 
Nigeria, and Uganda.  He announced that at the A frica-India Summit in Ethiopia, in May 2011, this 
TAP had been formally committed for implementation at a cost of Indian rupees 210 million to be 
completed over a period of three years.  He said that the areas covered by TAP were:  increasing 
cotton production both through area expansion and productivity enhancement;   improving extension 
and support service efficiency;  enhancing R&D and quality control; marketing and distribution 
infrastructure;  strengthening and development of a cotton residue-based value addition industry; and 
creating or strengthening downstream industry in text iles and clothing.  He said that for effective and 
timely implementation of the programme, a Steeri ng Committee consisting of senior officials from 
different departments and agencies had been set  up.  The cotton TAP had been officially 
launched during the second India-Africa Trade Minist ers Meeting in March 2012, in New Delhi, by 
the Minister for Commerce, Shri Anand Shar ma.  The meeting had been co-chaired by 
Dr. Maxwell M. Mkwezalamba, Commissioner for Economic Affairs of the AU Commission, and attended by Trade and Commerce Ministers, Ambassadors, and High Commissioners of African 
countries.  A bilingual website, www.cottontapafrica.org  had been launched during the meeting, 
containing details of the programme.  
58. He continued by saying that country plans deta iling the work plan and activities in respect of 
each of the seven countries had been shared with the respective governments.  In order to provide 
more clarity to the programme, a workshop of th e high commissioners and ambassadors of the seven 
countries, had been organized in April 2012, in India.   The participants were briefed in details about 
the programme, the implementation mechanism, the implementation agencies engaged and their roles 
and responsibilities, and the proposed country-speci fic activities and interventions.  With greater 
clarity delivered about the programme, participan ts had acknowledged the initiative and consented to 
extend required support.  Key suppor t solicited through the workshop was related to:  (i) nomination 
of a National Project Coordinator;  (ii) appointme nt of a Nodal Agency in respective countries;  
(iii) facilitation of a local launch in the respective c ountries;  and (iv) identification and nomination of 
relevant participants for various training progra mmes and exposure visits.  Subsequently, the African 
launch of the programme was held on 28 May 2012 in Burkina Faso and sensitization workshops and 
country launches were also held in Benin, Nigeria and Chad on 23, 25 and 31 May 2012 respectively.  
The second phase of sensitization workshops in Uga nda and Malawi was going on at present.  The 
nodal points for implementation of the programme  had been identified in five countries.   TN/AG/SCC/W/17 
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  59. He concluded by saying that India looked forw ard to a successful implementation of this 
project in collaboration with the C4 countries, Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda.  
60. The representative of China said that his country  was the world's biggest cotton producer and 
at the same time imported the biggest volume of cotton from the world market.  China supported more 
than 30 million small cotton farmers;  however, it also provided cooperation and support to African 
country farmers.  He pointed out that China ha d long been committed to help African countries to 
upgrade agriculture technologies and increase agricu lture production; and stressed that effective 
cooperation and good results had been achieved in the past years.  He recalled that, during the MC8, 
and to further deepen the cooperation specifically on cotton, China had signed a joint communiqué on 
cotton cooperation with the C4 countries.  
61. He then introduced some follow-up activities under this cooperation.  In December 2011, 
China had sent a field trip study group of officials and specialists to Benin, Mali and Chad to explore 
the proper areas and themes for cooperation in the ar ea of cotton.  Chinese officials and specialists 
had visited government agriculture departments and cotton research and technical institutions in the 
C4 countries, and exchanged views and ideas with officials and experts.  A common understanding in 
the field of cotton cooperation had been reached.  Based on the information collected and the progress 
made from the field study and in consideration of suggestions made by C4 countries, China intended 
in three years to focus its cotton cooperation with C4  in four areas:  (i) Supply of production materials 
and farm machines:  China to provide C4 count ries with cotton seeds adapted to the local soil 
condition and climate pattern, small- type farm machines, chemical fer tilizers and pesticides.  The total 
quantity of these equipment and production material s could be sufficient for growing more than 
100 hectares of cotton in C4 countries;  (ii) Technical training and extension:  China had drawn up a training plan containing six training courses to be conducted in Beijing and in cotton producing 
provinces in China for technicians and government  officials from C4 countries.  More than 
150 trainees from the C4 countries were invited to come to China for training courses and research 
seminars.  At the same time, the Agriculture Technical Demonstration Centre, established in Mali 
with China's assistance jointly w ith the Cotton Technical Cooperation Project between China and 
Benin, would be utilized as a platform to enga ge in cotton production technology transfer and 
extension, conduct technical training courses fo r local technicians and small cotton farmers 
management, demonstrating cotton production technologies in the C4 countries;  (iii) Technology 
upgrading for cotton processing facilities:  Ch ina to conduct feasibility studies on expanding 
production capacity for the joint venture of a te xtile factory in Mali and a feasibility study on 
technology upgrading for a joint venture of a textile  factory in Benin.  China to provide ginning 
equipment to cotton processing factories in Chad to  encourage Chinese enterprises to invest and to 
expand processing of cotton in Chad, as part of a wider project to encourage Chinese private investment in cotton processing in the C4 countri es;  and (iv) Science and Technology Research 
Programme:  before establishing the research progra mme, a Symposium to be held in China on cotton 
cooperation between China and the C4 countries was under preparation.  Government officials and 
representatives from the industry and production manage ment, technical and research specialists from 
C4 countries to be invited to explore more effec tive ways for the cooperation in the field of cotton 
production, processing and textile industry.  China w ould provide scientific research instruments to 
agriculture research institutions in C4 countries, to assist technicians and agriculture fellows to carry 
out their research work in cotton production a nd processing.  China will be exchanging cotton 
production experts and specialists with C4 countries to enhance academic res earch work.  It would 
also expand the functions of the Agriculture Techni cal Demonstration Centre in the C4 countries to 
include cotton production technology transfer, exte nsion and demonstration;  for instance, the 
implementation of a cooperation project of go od quality cotton seeds and adaptation testing.  
62. He went on to say that China's assistance to cotton production in African countries within the 
framework of South-South cooperation was deep and broad;  it would assist in increasing C4 TN/AG/SCC/W/17 
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  countries' cotton production and the purchase of Afri can cotton.  China fully understood that cotton 
was at the core of the Doha Round Agriculture negotia tions and that these issues needed be resolved.  
He added that South-South cooperation was a good mechanism to help the C4 countries and other 
African country cotton producers to develop th eir Agriculture economy and increase the cotton 
farmers' income.  He emphasized that China would con tinue to make more efforts in the area of cotton 
development and South-South cooperation.  He c oncluded by saying that Members would be updated 
on any development.  
63. The representative of Pakistan said that a lthough her country had recently gone through a 
series of floods and was meeting other challe nges, South-South cooperation was one area where 
Pakistan was fully committed.   Since the 1980s, Pakistan had moved from a complete domination by 
the public sector towards a robust industry-led soci ety with 700 private sector companies.  Pakistan 
was open to sharing its experiences of private sector development in the cotton seed industry and to promote its collaboration with interested Member s of the C4 countries and other African and LDC 
cotton growers. 
64. The representative of Nigeria complimented the good work done by Ambassador Vokouma of 
Burkina Faso and expressed appreciation for hi s leadership.  South-South cooperation was an 
important complement to North-South cooperation in the development and transformation of the 
cotton sector in the C4 countries, in particular, a nd in the rest of the cotton producing countries in 
Africa.  He acknowledged the support and contributi ons made by Brazil, India, China and Pakistan, 
aiming at enhancing the development of the cott on sector through transfer of technology.  He 
underlined the need to continue intensifying regul ar dialogue and consultations within and between 
the beneficiaries and donors, and to follow up on th e various important initiatives in the context of 
South-South cooperation.  
65. Ambassador Vokouma of Burkina Faso thanked th e bilateral partners and those involved in 
South-South cotton cooperation for their valuable assistance allowing C4 countries' industries to 
survive while awaiting a long-term solution to the mu ltilateral trade negotiations.  He stressed that the 
areas in which projects were carried out were vita l sectors for the survival of the cotton industry, 
notably the selection of the most productive seeds in order to increase production and yields.  He underscored that the C4 countries were happy with South-South cooperation, determined to spare no 
effort to do their task at the national level and to  take on ownership in a comprehensive way.  He 
noted that it was also a call for th e C4 countries to work together in synergy with scientific experts of 
other countries.  
66. The representative of Malawi thanked the represen tatives of Brazil, India, China and Pakistan 
for the information on the assistance provided unde r South-South cooperation.  In Malawi, cotton was 
a strategic crop contributing significantly to pove rty reduction strategies and generating foreign 
exchange.  This assistance was valued, and she h oped that it would broaden further in order to 
substantially cover Southern Africa. Referring to  the presentation made by ICAC, she noted that 
cotton production had significantly increased, leadi ng farmers in the region to receive technical 
assistance and support for technology transfer in or der to enhance efficiency in the production.  
67. The representative of Senegal thanked the bilate ral partners in the context of South-South 
cooperation.  He hoped that Brazil's pilot phase, be ing carried out with the C4 countries, would be 
extended to other African country producers.  
68. The Chairman thanked the speakers both for pr esenting the details of their assistance as well 
as for their assistance offers.  This part of the exercise had grown in importance over the years.  He 
congratulated Members that had taken major steps in this complicated area.  He noted that technology 
transfer under South-South cooperation had become in creasingly important in the multilateral context.   TN/AG/SCC/W/17 
 WT/CFMC/38 
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  DOMESTIC COTTON SECTOR  AND OTHER REFORMS /NATIONAL COTTON FOCAL POINTS  
69. The Chairman recalled that the Fifth Version of the ''Table on Domestic Cotton Sector 
Reforms for Cotton Sector Development'' (WT/ CFMC/21/Rev.4) had been circulated on 
31 May 2012, with inputs from Benin, Burkina Faso, and Mali.  The delegation of Chad had since 
also provided comments on domestic reforms of its cotton sector.  At the request of the C4, the 
Secretariat had recently issued, document WT/CFMC/ 30/Rev.2, containing information received from 
the ICAC on the domestic cotton sector reforms in the C4 countries.  He said that over time, the constructive donor/recipient dialogue under this item had underlined the relationship between 
resources provided by the development community, on the one hand, and more efficient resource use 
by recipients of assistance, on the other.  
70. The representative of Benin said that cotton cons tituted one of the main export products of his 
country and played a major role in export revenue for the country.  In Benin, the cotton industry 
management was under the control of the government  together with a national association holding the 
monopoly of cotton commercialization.  Since the 1980s, the government had become involved in 
major reforms of the sector, which had led to its  progressive retracting from all the production activity 
and provision of services in the sector.  Informa tion on the national reforms carried out in the cotton 
industry had been sent to the Secretariat (WT/CFMC/21/Rev.4).  The implementation of these reforms had led to a better organization of the industry a nd improved technical capacities.  Nevertheless, 
functioning problems in the sector remained, basical ly due to national regulations.  He concluded by 
thanking the international community and partners  for the support provided to Benin which had 
contributed to the implementation of these reforms.  He also thanked the WTO Secretariat and China 
for their contributions enabling the participation of the national focal points.  
71. The representative of Mali mentioned that refo rms undertaken by her country were contained 
in document WT/CFMC/21/Rev.4.  She provided additiona l details with regard to the privatization of 
the Compagnie Malienne pour le Développement de Textiles (CMDT).  A public offering was 
launched in 2010, and after various stages, th e Chinese company YUEMEI had been selected, and 
negotiations had started on 23 Marc h 2011.  Nevertheless, the negotiations had not yet succeeded due 
to obstacles from both sides.  The government was in the process of declaring the public offering 
unsuccessful and re-launching a new public offeri ng.  For the 2012-2013 season, the production was 
expected to reach 500,000 tons, and the price to the producers 255 CFA/kg.  For the success of this 
campaign, the government had renewed th e subsidies for agricultural inputs.  
72. The Chairman thanked the speakers and expressed particular appreciation to the delegations 
of Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali for the latest inputs.  He also thanked the delegation of Chad for the 
comments provided.  The information provided made the meetings more substantive and meaningful.  
It also deepened the engagement and reinforced confidence in partnership.  He encouraged LDCs 
other than the C4 countries to consider submitting their inputs to the Secretariat, as early as possible 
for the next version of the Table.  Finally, he proposed that the 17th Round of Consultations take note 
of the reports, updates provided and statements made , which would be reflected in the records of the 
17th Round.  With regard to the su bmission of coordinates of design ated National Cotton Focal Points, 
he announced that since the last meeting, the Secr etariat had received two additional communications 
making it a total of nine focal points.  He urged cotton proponent countries to take action as quickly as 
possible to designate other national cotton focal point s to make the list more meaningful and, in the 
context of the qualitative assessment, to make the dial ogue and exchange more substantive.  He also 
encouraged exchange of experiences among focal point s.  This process could also serve as a platform 
enabling an exchange of information amongst the don or community, Geneva negotiators and actors in 
the field.  TN/AG/SCC/W/17 
WT/CFMC/38 Page 18 
 
 
  73. The Chairman concluded the meeting with the fo llowing points:  (i) the presence of the focal 
points had added value and he expressed apprecia tion for the financial assistance that had been 
provided by China.  He reiterated the standing positi on of the Director-General of the emphasis he put 
on both the cotton development assistance and the trad e policy aspects;  (ii) the work of Members and 
invited participants in the DGCFMC was part of the contribution to the overall efforts to reinforce the 
development dimension of the rules-based multilateral trading system.  He underlined that the Secretariat would continue to work to assist this process.  A smooth transition had been seen in that 
regard, and the monitoring and reporting of Members' progress on any activities delivered and 
harvested would continue as well as that of new c ontributions, disbursements of current commitments, 
and operational status relating to the commitments undertaken by the development community.  Of 
equal importance, and based on inputs from the recipients of development assistance, was the 
progress in monitoring the implementation of dom estic cotton sector reforms, which would also 
continue;  (iii) South-South c ooperation had emerged as a key aspect  of the implementation of the 
mandate on the development-assistance aspects of cotton and the work in this forum.  There was great 
interest in this dimension of the work.  The significant contributions of Brazil, China, India and 
Pakistan were acknowledged with a ppreciation.  This area of Members' and participants' work would 
continue to be deepened and extended;  (iv) he would conduct consultations to  take forward some of 
the suggestions which had been made, to seek how to  make more effective a process which had grown 
substantially;  and finally, (v) he suggested that th e next round of consultations take place before the 
General Council meeting at the end of the year.
3  
 
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3 Subsequently, the date of the next meeting has been set for 7 December 2012