WT/MIN(17)/39  
10 December 2017  
(17-6774) Page: 1/1 
Ministerial Conference  
Eleventh Session  
Buenos Aires , 10-13 December 2017  Original: English  
 
MINISTERIAL STATEMEN T BY NET FOOD -IMPORTING  
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES  (NFIDCS)  
 
The following joint statement , dated 10 December 2017, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation s of Botswana, Cuba,  Dominican Republic,  Egypt, Honduras, Jordan,  Kenya, Morocco,  
Pakistan, Sri Lanka and  Tunisia . 
 
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We, the Min isters of Botswana, Cuba,  Dominican Republic,  Egypt, Honduras, Jordan,  Kenya, 
Morocco,  Pakistan, Sri Lanka and  Tunisia,  strongly reiterate our strong interest in continuing 
agriculture reforms, and correcting inherited imbalances in Agreement on Agriculture that severely 
affected our countries’ agriculture sector since the inception of the WTO.  
We underscore that agriculture is a vital part of our economies and a means to achieve food 
security, livelihood security and rural development. We have continuously raised concerns to 
ensure that agriculture trade liberalization and reform will not negatively affect our cou ntries.  
We are strongly concerned that 22  years after the establishment of the WTO, in spite of the 
acknowledgement made in the preamble to the Agreement on Agriculture of the challenges faced 
by NFIDCs to ensure food security to their populations, and de spite the resolution made by the 
United Nations to end poverty and hunger by 2030, we remain gravely concerned with our food 
security situation.  
Some food security indicators bear testimony to this fact. The cereals food import bill of the least 
developed and net food importing developing countries (NFIDCs) has increased from USD 4.6 
billion in 2001 to USD 20.3 billion in 2015. NFIDC share in global imports of cereals has increased 
from 12.3% in 2001 to 18.1% in 2015. The number of undernourished people has  remained 
stubbornly high across NFIDCs, amounting to around 218 million in 2013.  
Likewise, NFIDCs share in global food production has decreased significantly since the launch of 
the Doha Round. In 2001, NFIDCs accounted for 8.8% of the value of global foo d production 
according to available FAO statistics. This dropped to a low 3.6% in 2013. According to UN World 
Population Prospects 2017, NFIDCs accounted for 17.6% of the global population in 2001 and 
19.8% in 2014. Such trends do not appear to be sustaina ble. 
We recognize that NFIDCs have been put at a disadvantage for decades due to the vast 
imbalances within the Agreement on Agriculture with respect to various elements on the top of 
which is domestic support entitlements. This has constrained our ability  to deal with challenges of 
national food availability, sufficiency and price stability. In this connection, we agree that Net 
Food-Importing Developing countries listed in G/AG/5/Rev.10 shall not be subject to any limits to 
subsidization nor undertake red uction commitments in domestic support. We further agree that 
NFIDCs shall not be subject to any enhanced commitments under Export Prohibitions and 
Restrictions discipline  
Finally, we strongly call that in any outcome of agricultural negotiations,  Net Food -Importing 
Developing countries  (NFIDCs) shall be accorded specific measures and flexibilities in order to 
effectively pursue our shared objectives of food security, livelihood security and rural 
development.  
Buenos Aires, 10 December 2017  
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