WT/GC/154  
WT/CFMC/DG/6  
WT/MIN(13)/3  
 
22 October 2013  
(13-5833)  Page: 1/7  
    
 
DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE ASPECTS OF COTTON 
 
SIXTH PERIODIC REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL  
 
   
 
  
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 
Page 
 
1   INTROD UCTION  .......................................................................................................... 2
 
2   CONTEXT ................................................................................................................... .. 2 
3   IMPLEMENTATION ....................................................................................................... 2  
4   EVOLUTION OF COTTON DE VELOPMENT ASSISTANCE ................................................. 3  
5   SOUTH-SOUTH COOP ERATION ON COTTON ................................................................. 3  
6   DOMESTIC COTTON SECTOR REFORMS ........................................................................ 3  
7   CONC LUSION............................................................................................................... 4  
ANNEX ......................................................................................................................... .... 5 
A. COTTON TRADE ....................................................................................................... 5  
B. COTTON PRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 6  
C. COTTON YIELDS ...................................................................................................... 6  
D. COTTON PRICE ........................................................................................................ 7  
 This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own 
responsibility and without prejudice to the positions of Members 
and to their rights and obligations under the WTO WT/GC/154 • WT/CFMC/DG/6 • WT/MIN(13)/3 
 
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  1  INTRODUCTION 
1.1.  Since the Fifth Periodic Report on the Development Assistance Aspects of Cotton to the 
membership in December 2012 (WT/CFMC/DG/5), another Round of the Director-General's Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton (DGCFMC) has taken place, bringing the total 
number of consultative rounds to date to 19, since 2004. The 20
th Round of Consultations is 
scheduled for 30 October 2013. The Evolving Tabl e on Cotton Development Assistance (ET), the 
tool used by the DGCFMC to measure developments in financial support to the cotton sector,  has 
been updated twice, with the latest update (16th revision) contained in document 
WT/CFMC/6/Rev.15, which I circulated on 26 September 2013. I would like to commend Australia, Canada, the European Union –and several of its Member States-, Japan, Switzerland and the United States; as well as Brazil, China, India and Pakistan on the specific platform of South-South 
Cooperation for Cotton-Sector Development. The engagement of these Members in the 
consultative process has made possible the consolidation and strengthening of a stable partnership between providers and recipients of development assistance for cotton.    
1.2.  Also actively involved in this process, wi th important contributions, have been the following 
multilateral and regional agencies: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Cotton 
Advisory Committee (ICAC), the International Mo netary Fund (IMF), the International Trade 
Centre (ITC), the Organization of the Islamic Conf erence (OIC), the United Nations Conference on 
Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Na tions Industrial Development Organization 
(UNIDO) and the World Bank.   
2  CONTEXT 
2.1.  The global cotton market has been readjust ing after reaching world records in cotton prices, 
production, planted area and stocks in the last tw o seasons. In a context of slow world economic 
growth, there are positive developments in the cotton sector of several LDCs and, in particular, 
African cotton-producing countries. Even with large regional differences across the Continent, cotton production in Africa reached 1.5 million tons in 2012/13, accounting for 6% of world output 
and 14% of the global cotton area. Exports from African countries in the 2012/13 season increased 
markedly by 30% to 1.31 million tons, thanks to a strong upswing in Francophone countries' 
exports. Exports from all major exporters, wi th the exception of the Francophone African 
countries, are expected to fall in the 2013/14 season. The Annex to this Report contains more 
detailed information on developments in the cotton sector worldwide and, more specifically, in 
Africa. 
3  IMPLEMENTATION 
3.1.  The mandate on cotton stipulates a two-tr ack approach: the development assistance aspects 
and the trade policy aspects.  This Report relates to the development assistance aspects.  In this area, concrete results pointing to a steady consolidation of progress in a true partnership of 
enhanced dialogue between providers and recipients  of development assistance are illustrated by 
the increased commitments and disbursements, as well as a narrowing of the gap between them. While the traditional bilateral donors as well as multilateral institutions have been at the core of this process, recent years have seen a greater involvement of and contributions from some 
developing country Members in the framework of South-South Cooperation.  This positive trend 
was complemented and enhanced by a series of  domestic reform effo rts undertaken by the 
beneficiaries of cotton development assistance, as reflected in the eighth revision of the Table on 
Domestic Cotton Sector Reforms, contained in document WT/CFMC/21/Rev.7, which was issued on 
26 September 2013. 
3.2.  On the trade policy aspects of cotton, progre ss is linked to the agriculture negotiations.   
I recall that Ministers at the Eighth Ministerial Co nference (MC8) agreed on specific elements of 
political guidance on the cotton issue, and confirmed their commitment to on-going dialogue and engagement to make headway on the mandate. The Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture Special Session (CoA SS) and of its Sub-Committee on Cotton (SCC) noted at the 19
th round of 
consultations in the DGCFMC that the cotton issue was one of the four areas in the package for the 
Bali Ministerial that the LDC Group had tabled on 31 May 2013 in document TN/C/W/63 and that 
Members remained committed to finding a solution to the cotton issue.    WT/GC/154 • WT/CFMC/DG/6 • WT/MIN(13)/3 
 
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  4  EVOLUTION OF COTTON DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE 
4.1.   Development assistance to the cotton sector  provided by Members and relevant multilateral 
agencies shows a positive trend. The latest information is reflected in the sixteenth version of the Evolving Table (WT/CFMC/6/Rev.15), which I fo rwarded to the membership on 26 September 
2013.  In summary, the results are as follows:   
 In Part I, on Cotton Specific Development Assistance  (of active operational activities), 
the number of individual beneficiaries stands at 32. The total number of commitments is 
46, and the total value of these commitm ents is approximately US$363 million.  
Disbursement flows reached US$118 million. The ratio of total disbursements to total commitments is 33%.  
 In Part II, on Agriculture and Infrastructure-Related Development Assistance  (of 
active operational activities), the number of individual beneficiaries stands at 28. The total 
number of commitments is 46, and the total value of these commitments stands at US$4.86 billion. The disbursement flows re ached US$2.19 billion. The ratio of total 
disbursements to total commitments is 45%. 
4.2.  Work in the Consultative Framework is moving forward. Notable factors include: the 
enhanced reporting by donors in all parts of the Evolving Table (ET) and the significant reduction 
in the gap between commitments and disbursements, in particular  in the area of Agriculture and 
Infrastructure-Related Development Assistance, shown in Part II of the ET.  There is still, 
nevertheless, scope for improvement and I would, therefore, urge beneficiaries and providers of 
assistance to pursue this positive trend and redouble efforts to narrow even more significantly this 
gap. 
4.3.  The increasing significance of the work und ertaken in the DGCFMC is also illustrated by the 
development of the initiative aimed at having a qualitative assessment of the assistance provided 
to the cotton sector, through the projects listed in the ET. This is done through an in-depth 
analysis of the results of the projects on the ground, identifying constraints and searching for 
possible solutions. The discussions on this qu alitative aspect, which is complementing and 
enriching the quantitative figures, reveal the ac tive engagement and involvement of all actors 
towards the collective monitoring and follow-up of projects to enhance the delivery of assistance. All participants in the consultative process have signalled their commitment to work towards this goal by deepening the dialogue even further and expanding the information exchange between 
donors and recipients.  
5  SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION ON COTTON 5.1.  Since the mandate established in paragraph 12 of the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration 
to promote and support South-South cooperation,  and the subsequent Seminar on South-South 
Cooperation for Cotton Sector Development organized at the WTO in 2007, Brazil, China, India and Pakistan have been providing exemplary leadership in this area. There is widespread appreciation 
of the important contributions and support initiatives of these Members in favour of LDCs and 
African countries. This support covers several areas across the entire cotton sector value chain, including, inter alia : technology transfer for improved cotton productivity; research on genetic 
variability adapted to varying local conditions; access to new cotton seed varieties free of costs 
and royalties; increased cotton yield and producti vity, fibre quality and by-products; integrated 
pest management strategies; information technology use for improved productivity; organic cotton production; and training and capacity-building on product classing, spinning mills, ginning and 
cotton market trade flows. The substantial contributions to the cotton sector on the platform of 
South-South Cooperation are emblematic of the spirit of collaboration and partnership that has been forged amongst WTO Members and related multilateral and regional institutions.  
6  DOMESTIC COTTON SECTOR REFORMS 
6.1.  I would like to commend beneficiaries of cotton development assistance, and the C4 
countries in particular, for keeping Members regularly informed about their domestic reform priorities and action plans, on which the most recent information is shown in the eighth version of 
the Table on Domestic Cotton Sector Reforms, contained in document WT/CFMC/21/Rev.7, which WT/GC/154 • WT/CFMC/DG/6 • WT/MIN(13)/3 
 
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  I circulated to the membership on 26 September 2013. The domestic reforms envisaged or 
undertaken revolve, inter alia , around the following areas: reorganization of cotton producer 
associations; preparation and implementation of national cotton sector strategies; rural development policies; sustainable cotton production; cotton classification and certification 
systems; commercial standardization of instrument testing systems; and management of 
production costs and inputs.  This kind of information is essential in better targeting the assistance needed, promoting efficiency in the utilization of resources and fostering the partnership between 
providers and recipients to enhance cotton development assistance. 
7   CONCLUSION 7.1.  Although concrete progress on the develo pment assistance aspects has been made, I would 
like to highlight the necessity for continued engagement in order to achieve coherence and 
complementarity between the two aspects of the cotton dossier. On this particular track, areas for 
improvement could include sustained engagement and enhanced coordination between assistance providers and recipients to upgrade the inform ation on the state-of-play of projects; an 
increasingly high quality of operational reports; and a greater emphasis on projects to support the 
long-term and sustainable development of the cotton sector, in particular in the LDCs. Even if the dynamics are pointing in the right direction, it is necessary to accelerate the pace and reduce more 
meaningfully the gap between commitments and disb ursements, as shown in the Evolving Table.  
7.2.  The cotton dossier is part of the core of  the development dimension of the multilateral 
trading system. Progress on both tracks will produce a lasting illustration of the sensitivity of WTO Members to the development concerns and priorities of developing countries, particularly the least-
developed ones.   WT/GC/154 • WT/CFMC/DG/6 • WT/MIN(13)/3 
 
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  ANNEX 
COTTON SECTOR DEVELOPMENTS1 
A. COTTON TRADE 
1. The volume of world cotton trade increased slig htly in 2012/13 compared to the last season, 
reaching 9.8 million tons. Continuing a steady fall from the record reached in 2010/11, the 
average price of cotton slipped by 12% to 88 US ¢ per pound in the 2012/13 season, driving cotton 
farmers to switch to more profitable alternative crops. As a consequence, the world cotton area 
shrank by 6% to 34 million hectares and production decreased by 5% to 26.4 million tons. 
Conversely, global consumption surged by 6%. Cotton plantings dropped by 10% in China to 
5 million hectares, by 36% in Brazil to 887,000 hectares and by 26% in Australia to 
442,000 hectares, while it increased by 32% in Francophone Africa to 2.49 million hectares.  World 
cotton stocks jumped by 19% to a record 18.2 million  tons, most of the gain taking place in China, 
where stocks reached 9.4 million tons. In 2012/13 the global stocks-to-use ratio attained a record 78%, the highest level since World War II. 
2. In the context of sluggish world economic gr owth, important changes were registered both 
in export and import flows in 2012/13, showing a mixed picture amongst the main actors. Exports from African countries increased significantly by 30% to 1.31 million tons. Exports from the largest 
world exporter, namely the United States, rose by 15% to 2.9 million tons, accounting for 30% of 
total world exports, while those from India and Br azil dropped by 30% and 10% to 1.6 million tons 
and 938,000 tons, respectively. Imports from China, the largest importer in the world, fell by 21% 
to 4.2 million tons.  As a consequence, China's sh are of total global cotton imports declined from 
55% (5.34 million tons) in 2011/12 to 43% (4.24 million tons) in 2012/13. This drop was offset by 
higher imports from other countries, in particular, Turkey, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Viet Nam. China's imports as a share of world trade are forecasted to continue their downward trend to 36% 
in 2013/14. Exports from all major exporters, wi th the exception of the Francophone African 
countries, are expected to fall in the 2013/14 season.     
3. The top 10 cotton exporters and importers in  the 2012/13 season are shown in the Table 
below. 
  
TOP 10 COTTON EXPORTERS AND IMPORTERS 
2012/2013 SEASON 
Total of global cotton exports (in thousand tons):  9,795 
Total of global cotton imports (in thousand tons):  9,646 
EXPORTER EXPORT VOLUME  
(Thousand Tons) IMPORTER IMPORT VOLUME  
(Thousand Tons) 
USA 2,902 CHINA 4,426 
INDIA 1,615 TURKEY 804 
AUSTRALIA 1,345 BANGLADESH 593 
BRAZIL 938 INDONESIA 558 
UZBEKISTAN 653 PAKISTAN 463 
BURKINA FASO 240 VIET NAM 429 
MALAYSIA 215 THAILAND 329 
TURKMENISTAN 200 KOREA, REP. OF 286 
MALI 198 INDIA 255 
COTE D'IVOIRE 171 CHINESE TAIPEI 220 
 
4. Focussing more specifically on Africa, the trade performance in African countries in 2012/13 
reveals an uneven picture: exports declined in  Northern Africa, while those from Eastern and 
                                               
1 Data source:  International Cotton Advisory Committee. WT/GC/154 • WT/CFMC/DG/6 • WT/MIN(13)/3 
 
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  Southern African countries were up by 18%. Cotton exports increased by 30% in Francophone 
African countries from the previous season. Examples of countries which increased significantly their cotton exports in 2012/13 include, among ot hers:  Benin (+60%), Burkina Faso (+41%), 
Mali (+31%) and Togo (+22%). The following Tabl e lists the top 10 African cotton exporters in 
2012/13: 
 
TOP 10 AFRICAN COTTON EXPORTERS 
2012/13 SEASON  
COUNTRY EXPORT VOLUME 
(Thousand Tons ) 
BURKINA FASO 240 
MALI 198 
CÔTE D'IVOIRE 171 
ZIMBABWE 136 
BENIN 105 
ZAMBIA 87 
CAMEROON 86 
EGYPT 76 
TANZANIA 67 
MOZAMBIQUE 53 
 
 
B. COTTON PRODUCTION 
5. Following a record level in the previous season, world cotton production fell by 5% to 
26.4 million tons in 2012/13, driven mainly by reduced plantings, in reaction to lower cotton prices. Significant decreases in production were re gistered in Brazil and Turkey, where production 
dropped by approximately one third and one qu arter respectively, compared to the 2011/12 
season. Production in India and Australia also diminished. In contrast, cotton production rose by 11% in the United States to 3.4 million tons. Cotto n production in Francophone Africa increased to 
926,000 tons in 2012/13, up 29% from the last season. In 2012/13, world cotton production 
exceeded consumption by 3 million tons and its value fell from US$61 billion to US$51 billion. In 
the 2013/14 season, global cotton production is expected to continue its decline to 
25.6 million tons, triggered mainly by a notable fall in the United States, where production is 
forecasted to decrease by 25% and the harvested area by 18%, mostly due to competition with other crops.  
6. As regards African countries in particular, Africa accounted for 14% of the global cotton area 
and for 6% of global cotton output in 2012/13. Cotton production decreased in Northern, Eastern 
and Southern Africa, while it continued its expansion in Francophone countries. Production declined in most Eastern and Southern African countries (-26%), with the exception of Ethiopia and Kenya. 
In 2012/13, Zimbabwe posted a 22% drop in production and it also declined by 19% in Tanzania 
and by 55% in Zambia. In Northern Africa, the steepest drop was registered in Egypt (-40%), followed by a significant drop of 38% in the Sudan. Continuing with a strong rebound in the last 
season, Francophone African countries registered significant increases in cotton production in 
2012/13. Burkina Faso recovered its title as Africa 's number one cotton producer by increasing its 
production by 50% from the previous season, and Benin's output expanded by 60%. Cotton production was also up in Chad (+50%), Cameroon (+28%), Côte d'Ivoire (+24%) and Togo 
(+22%). 
C. COTTON YIELDS 
7. Cotton yield per hectare is a fundamental variable, not only as regards the short-term 
output performance of producing countries, but also as a key indicator of the long-term and 
sustainable development of the cotton sector. Th e world average yield for cotton, measured as 
kilogram of cotton per hectare (kg/ha), remained stable at 776 kg/ha in 2012/13.  The following 
yields of a select range of countries show that large differences remain across regions: Australia 
(2,138 kg/ha); China (1,467kg/ha), Brazil (1,426 kg/ha), United States (994 kg/ha), Egypt WT/GC/154 • WT/CFMC/DG/6 • WT/MIN(13)/3 
 
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  (895 kg/ha), Pakistan (740 kg/ha), India (514 kg/ha), Benin (450 kg/ha), Burkina Faso 
(444 kg/ha) and Mali (345 kg/ha).   
D. COTTON PRICE 
8. Contrary to the high volatility seen in the last two seasons, international cotton prices 
declined moderately in the 2012/13 season, trading slightly above their long-term average despite 
weak demand. The substantial accumulation of worl d stocks contributed to the stability of prices. 
The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)  Price Model forecasts a rise in the season 
average Cotlook A Index to more than one dollar in the 2013/14 season. However, it is to be noted 
that the expected future changes in the volume of stocks currently held in certain countries will have an impact on the international cotton trade, and result in a downward pressure on cotton prices. The pace at which important cotton stocks are released in the market will need to be 
managed carefully in order to avoid an abrupt fall in global prices. 
9. The following graph shows the evolution of cotto n prices since the year 2000 to the present. 
 
Source:  ICAC. 
 
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