WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
WT/CFMC/28 21 May 2010 
 
 
(10-2848) 
Sub-Committee on Cotton  
  
 
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE ASPECTS OF THE 
COTTON-RELATED DECISIONS IN  THE 2004 JULY PACKAGE AND 
PARAGRAPH 12 OF THE HONG KONG MINISTERIAL 
DECLARATION 
 
Item 2C - Coherence Between Trade and Development Aspects:
 
Update on the Development Aspects of Cotton  
 
Secretariat Progress Report  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 This document has been prepa red under the Secretariat's own 
responsibility and without prejudice to the positions of Members 
and to their rights and obligations under the WTO. TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
WT/CFMC/28 Page 2 
 
 
  I. INTRODUCTION 
1. Pursuant to paragraph 12 of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration,
1 this is the Eight 
Secretariat Progress Report to the Sub-Committee on Cotton (SCC) on the Development Assistance 
Aspects of Cotton.  Since the last Progress Report, there have been several developments.  First , the 
Director-General has sustained his interaction with  key parties on the cotton dossier.  The purpose of 
these interactions has been to take stock of progress and outstanding issues in the implementation of the mandate on cotton.  Second
, the 12th Round of the Director-General's Consultative Framework 
Mechanism on Cotton (DGCFMC), took place on 23 October 2009.  Third , as a follow-up to the 
understanding reached at the 12th Round, the Director-General circulated the 8th Version of the 
Evolving Table on Cotton Development Assistance  (WT/CFMC/6/Rev.7), on 9 November 2009.  On 
12 May 2010, the Director-General circulated the 9th version of the ET (WT/CFMC/6/Rev.8) under 
cover of his letter addressed to Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives.  Finally , WTO 
Members have maintained an active interest on a ll aspects of the cotton dossier, as mandated in the 
1 August 2004 General Council Decision – "the Ju ly Framework Package" and, in the 2005 
Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.   
II. 12TH ROUND OF THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S CONSULTATIVE FRAMEWORK 
MECHANISM ON COTTON 
2. The 12th Round of the Director-General's Cons ultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton 
(DGCFMC) took place on 23 October 2009.   
3. The Chairman  welcomed all participants to the 12t h Round of the DGCFMC.  He welcomed 
in particular H.E. Mr. Mamadou Sanou, Minist er for Commerce, Enterprise Promotion and 
Handicrafts, of Burkina Faso;  and, H.E. Ambassador  David Walker of New Zealand, the Chair of the 
Committee on Agriculture Special Session and of its Sub-Committee on Cotton.   
4. Under Item 1, he noted that the Secretariat w as well aware of the urgency of the concerns and 
the desperate economic circumstances of the populations in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), 
particularly in Africa, that were dependent on th e cotton sector.  The facts indicated that the cotton 
sector continued to be seriously affected by the lingering effects of the recent economic and financial 
crises and recession, even though a tentative globa l economic recovery was underway.  The global 
commodity crisis had resulted in many farmers, in  different countries, opting out of cotton production 
to shift to the production of alternative crops.  The global economic and fina ncial crisis had taken a 
heavy toll on the cotton sector.  The satisfactory resolution of the cotton dossier remained a top 
priority for WTO Members.  Cotton remained key in the DDA and was a test of the Doha 
Development Round.  The Secretariat would continue to work with all Members to find an urgent and 
satisfactory solution to the cotton question within the context of an ambitious and balanced conclusion 
to the Doha Round.  It was critical that Members in tensified their engagement so as to bring the Doha 
Round to a conclusion in 2010, as mandated, most  recently at the G20 Pittsburgh Summit.   
A. STATEMENT BY THE C4 COORDINATOR  
5. Under Item 2, a statement was made by H.E. Minister Mamadou Sanou, Minister of 
Commerce, Enterprise Promotion and Handicrafts, of Burkina Faso.   
                                                      
1 "We invite the Director-General to  furnish a third Periodic Report to our next Session, with updates at 
appropriate intervals in the meantime, to the General Council, while keeping the Sub-Committee on Cotton fully 
informed of progress"  (WT/MIN(05)/DEC:  paragraph 12).    TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
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  6. The C4 Coordinator  (H.E. Minister Mamadou Sanou) thanked the Director-General for the 
initiative in convening the 12th Round of the DGCFMC.  He also thanked the Secretariat for the effort 
to improve the presentation of the ET and the Reform Table, to take into account the various evolutions of domestic reforms of the cotton sect or.  The cotton sector was the backbone of over 
30 African countries, including the four countries who were co-authors of the Sectoral Initiative in 
favour of Cotton (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali).   
7. The 12
th Round Consultations were taking place a pproximately one month after the G20 
Pittsburgh Summit, 24-25 September 2009.  A number of  important decisions had been made in order 
to respond to the global economic and financial crisis.  It would seem that the very energetic response 
to the problem by developed and emerging countri es had stopped the slide of the world economy and 
stabilized financial markets.  Industrial produc tion was now increasing in almost all of these 
countries.  International trade had also been stimulat ed.  There were signs of a return to normalcy.  
However, not all countries were on an equal footing.  As noted in the G20 Declaration, of the 7 billion 
people of the world's population, 4 billion were insufficiently educated and without enough capital 
and technology to be integrated into the world economy.  The minor improvements in the developed 
countries had not yet led to positive impacts in the poor countries.  These countries were still drafting 
action plans and seeking to attenuate the effects of  the economic and financial crisis in their own 
economies.  In this context, the development aspects of cotton took on great importance.  He asked 
how the C4 and other African cotton producers could turn a blind eye to the trade policy aspects which would have allowed their countries to be able  to use their own resources, had cotton been better 
remunerated in the past.  There had been sizeab le contributions from development community.  The 
C4 and African cotton producers were grateful fo r these contributions.  However, these contributions 
on the development assistance aspects had not b een enough to place the cotton sector on a strong 
footing.  The same could be said for the domestic cotton sector reforms that had been undertaken.  A 
document had been provided on these reform s to the Secretariat of the WTO.   
8. The most recent figures of the International Cotton Advisory Board indicated that cotton 
production had slipped by 2% in 2007/08 and al so dropped by 10% in 2008/09, to a level of 
23.7 million tons, which was the lowest level since 2003/ 04.  This was a sign of the times.  It showed 
that growing cotton had become less attractive than growing corn or soya.  This was mainly because 
of the domestic support measures.  Domestic support  measures were very resistant, although the C4 
had requested time and again for their elimination.   
9. Minister Sanou noted that, in the current cont ext of the cotton sector and to give renewed 
impetus to bilateral commercial negotiations, th e C4 had undertaken a number of initiatives.  As 
Coordinator, he had led a delegation of the C4 to the US from 20 to 23 July 2009.  The C4 had held 
meetings with some members of Congress and the US  Administration.  Furthermore, on the margins 
of the 8
th AGOA forum, in Nairobi, from 3-6 August 2009, as C4 Coordinator, he had held a bilateral 
consultation with Ambassador Ronald Kirk, USTR.  He had also represented the C4 at the informal 
Mini-Ministerial Meeting, in New Delhi, India, from 3-4 September 2009 with the objective of injecting impetus to the Doha Round negotiations.  On 8 October 2009, C4 Trade Ministers met in Ouagadougou, to review the state-of-play of the co tton dossier.  A Declaration had been adopted at 
that meeting, which had been circulated as an official WTO document (TN/AG/SCC/GEN/10 – WT/CFMC/26).  The C4 had participated at the Mi nisterial meeting of the LDCs in Dar es Salam, 
Tanzania.  The C4 would take part at the Cairo meeting of African Trade Ministers, 27-29 October 
2009;  and, the ACP Ministerial Meeting in Brussels, 11-13 November 2009.   
10. Minister Sanou said he had identified several actions undertaken by the C4 in order to 
demonstrate C4 flexibility and openness to negotiations , but also the relentless determination of the 
C4 to find a consensus solution to the cotton qu estion within the multilateral framework.  The C4 
continued to exert itself in search of consensus.  However, the ball was in the other court.  The C4 TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
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  awaited a response and engagement from the other side .  The C4 urged their US and EU partners to 
engage in negotiations on the cott on question within the DDA.  The C4  requested for a solution of the 
cotton question, based on a systemic approach in  accordance with the Doha Mandate on cotton and 
with precise figures that could be understood.  Furtherm ore, in the context of the current crisis, the C4 
would like the cotton question to be addressed within  the framework of an early harvest.  Such an 
early harvest should take into account the cohere nce between the trade policy and the development 
assistance aspects and the necessity to seriously impl ement the decisions that would arise from these 
negotiations.  The C4 considered that the modalities that were achieved in the most recent negotiating 
text on 6 December 2008 must be consolidated and there must be no back-pedalling.   
11. The C4 expressed its appreciation to devel opment partners for their ongoing support and 
contributions to the African cotton sector which wa s facing enormous problems.  It was this support 
that had made it possible for the African cotton sector to survive, so far, and continue with domestic 
reforms.  However, recent studies carried out by the world bank, published in 2008, had shown that 
domestic reforms per se  had not proven to be a panacea in solving the problems of the cotton sector.  
The African cotton sector was at risk of extinction.   
12. Regardless of all the domestic cotton sector reforms that had been undertaken, the C4 
considered it was necessary to eliminate the mass ive and distortive subsidies that some countries 
granted their cotton producers.  While waiting for the elimination of those subsidies, it would be 
useful to re-activate the safety net to save the cotton sector.  The C4 urged their development partners 
to generously contribute to the safety net .  The management of the safety net could be entrusted to an 
international institution such as fo r the fund that was put in place recently in the G20 Summit in 
Pittsburgh to provide further impetus to the food secu rity initiative for countries with low revenues.   
13. In paragraph 12 of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, the WTO Director-General was 
mandated to provide a Third Periodic Report for the upcoming Ministerial Conference.  The C4 
impatiently awaited that report.   
14. The C4 made a suggestion regarding the operati on of the DGCFMC.  In order to improve its 
operation, before the DGCFMC rounds, it could be useful to hold preparatory meetings of the 
designated cotton sector focal points.  This could be used to more directly involve cotton sector focal 
points in the process of the DGCFMC and facilitate outreach regarding the va rious contributions and 
operations in the field.  In order to provide better visibility for cotton development assistance 
programmes, it would be desirable that development pa rtners indicate the beneficiaries in the different 
countries.  This could facilitate the monitoring work th at was to be carried out by the focal points.   
15. The Chairman
 thanked Minister Sanou for his statement on behalf of the C4.   
16. He invited the DGCFMC to take up Item 3:  the trade policy aspects of cotton.  Under this 
item, he invited H.E. Ambassador David Walker, Ch airman of the Committee on Agriculture Special 
Session (CoA/SS) to brief participants on the status  of the trade policy aspect s of cotton within the 
framework of the agricultural negotiations.   
B. TRADE POLICY ASPECTS OF COTTON  
17. The Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture Special Session (CoA/SS) and of its Sub-
Committee on Cotton (SCC)  recalled that the 11th Round of Consultations on Cotton Development 
Assistance, in April 2009, was one of the first mee tings that he attended following his appointment as 
Chairman.  In terms of update on the developmen ts in the negotiations on agriculture and the 
negotiations on cotton in particular, he stated that  he wished he had more progress to report on both 
fronts:  on cotton;  and, on the negotiations on agriculture as a whole.  There had been a number of  TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
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  developments.  However, it would ha ve been better to be able to report that there had been more 
developments.  He felt that there was general awar eness that developments were not solely confined 
within cotton or indeed within the agriculture negotiations, but we re related to overall progress on the 
Doha Round.   
18. He said that, as Minister Sanou noted, there had been a number of activities on the cotton 
front.  He recalled that he had the privilege of exch anging views with Minister Sanou in Delhi at the 
New Delhi Mini-Ministerial.  The Delhi Ministerial ha d called for Senior Officials to meet in Geneva 
to establish a Work Programme over the course of sev eral months with the objective of seeking to 
advance the negotiations towards the overall conclu sion of the Doha Round in 2010 that had been set 
by the leaders of the G8 meeting with leaders of other countries at L'Aquila.     
19. Work in the Agriculture negotiations had been proceeding on a two-track approach.  The first 
track  related to the technical development of "Templates" for the presentation of data, both that 
required for the establishment of modalities and th at required for the eventual scheduling of 
commitments, based on Draft Modalities as contai ned in document TN/AG/W4/Rev.4.  The second 
track of work was the Chairman's informal consu ltations on the bracketed and otherwise annotated 
issues in the Draft Modalities and associated documentation. 
20. He recalled that in the July 2004 Framework Package and in the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial 
Declaration, Members agreed to treat cotton amb itiously, expeditiously and specifically within the 
agriculture negotiations.  In the draft modalities te xt (TN/AG/W4/Rev.4), there was specific language 
on cotton which remained the basis for the negotiations .  That language was not bracketed in the text 
but it was annotated, with the annotation stating that  further work was needed in order to reach a 
multilateral consensus solution, of which Minister  Sanou had referred.  In the course of the 
consultations on modalities, the Chairman informed the DGCFMC that he had consulted on cotton.  
He noted that the issue of cotton was the first item that he had taken up in his programme of consultations on issues that were bracketed or ot herwise outstanding in the modalities text.  The 
Chairman was of the view that it was useful to ha ve those consultations because that suggested a re-
engagement of a process leading towards a negotiate d outcome on cotton and indeed on all the other 
issues in the agriculture negotiations.   
21. In his consultations, all the Members involve d had expressed their continued commitment to 
the Hong Kong Mandate.  They clearly recognised th at the issue of cotton needed to be solved 
satisfactorily before a conclusion to the negotiations  on agriculture and indeed to the Doha Round as a 
whole.  In light of these objectives, the Chairman st ated that he would conti nue with his consultations 
and in accordance with the overall common objective to seek to conclude the Doha Round in 2010.  
22. The representative of the European Union (EU)
 expressed appreciation to the Chairperson 
and to Minister Sanou.  The EU had mobilised signi ficant levels of support for the implementation of 
the EU-Africa Partnership on Cotton.  Indeed the work on the Evolving Table on Cotton Development 
Assistance, over the past few years, was precisely aimed at giving visibility to the subject here in 
Geneva and also in the field.  Action was taki ng place on several fronts and to better connect EU 
colleagues responsible for cotton development assi stance with cotton sector focal points in the 
beneficiary partner countries.  There was improvement in this regard.   
23. Recent figures included in the current version of the ET indicated that the EU, as a whole, 
spent over €320 million on cotton-related projects;  and these only referred to projects and activities 
specifically related to the cotton sector.  At the curre nt exchange rate, €320 mill ion were equivalent to 
about US$450 million.  The EU accounted for betw een 80 to 90% of total disbursements on cotton-
related projects, depending on the exchange rate used .  The EU was, by far, the bigger implementer of TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
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  cotton-specific projects.  The EU was committed  to continued support for the EU-Africa Cotton 
Partnership and the various initiatives that were reported in the ET.   
24. The representative of the EU informed participan ts that the EU-Africa Cotton Partnership had 
recently been subject to an independent external aud it to examine ways to make it even more effective 
and better adapted to country realities.   
25. Some of the actions that had been conducted w ithin the partnership were geared to mitigate 
the effects of price volatility in the cotton sector and reduce the vulnerability of cotton producers such 
as through the " fonds de lissage " and the use of price-based risk management systems.  These 
instruments were also assisting cotton farmers to wi thstand the effect of the current economic crisis.  
However, EU development assistance for cotton producers did not limit itself to action in the cotton 
sector.  It was also complemented by overall development assistance, which was intended to assist countries in difficulty with the crisis.  As a con sequence of the crisis, this assistance was being re-
deployed and fast- tracked, with the realisati on that more had to be done and faster.   
26. From its development assistance experience, ther e were indications of the limits of vertical 
self-standing funds for development assistance in sp ecific areas and on specific issues.  To be 
effective, development assistance had to be holistic and comprehensive;  combining the treatment of 
needs in the cotton sector in the field in conjunc tion with other development assistance needs.   
27. On the trade policy front, the representative of the EU assured the Minister that the EU was 
committed to a specific, ambitious and expeditious ou tcome for cotton in the Doha Round.  As far as 
the EU was concerned, as a result of major internal  reforms that had been launched in 2004 and were 
confirmed in 2008, it had already implemente d aspects of the 2005 Hong Kong Mandate.  The 
concessions that had been made by the EU on cott on were specific, more ambitious than for other 
commodities, and they were expeditious (and went  further than the Hong Kong Mandate).  Since 
2006, the EU had implemented zero duty access to its markets for cotton.  The EU remained very 
sensitive to the needs of the C4.   
28. The representative of Brazil
 welcomed Minister Sanou and thanked him for his 
comprehensive and illuminating remarks on his efforts,  both at domestic and in ternational levels, to 
promote the legitimate interests of the African co tton producers.  Minister Sanou had left no stone 
unturned in reaching out to key players on the cott on issue.  Brazil also expressed appreciation to 
Ambassador Walker, the Chair of the Agricultura l Negotiating Group for his presentation and for his 
work in moving forward agriculture negotiations in general and cotton in part icular.  Brazil made two 
statements:  the first on behalf of the G20;  and, the second, on behalf of Brazil.    
29. On behalf of the G20, Brazil stated that the G20 reiterated its full support for the demands and 
positions of the C4.  In both its trade and development dimensions, cotton must be addressed ambitiously, specifically and expeditiously in accordance with the mandate.  Cotton was a vital 
component of the Doha Round Agriculture Nego tiations and a central outstanding issue on the 
December 2008 Agriculture Text.  The G20 was disa ppointed by the fact that no progress had been 
achieved in the discussion of the trade aspects of co tton during the July 2008 Ministerial.  The G20 
was also concerned that current substantive negotia tions on cotton seemed to be deadlocked and even 
back-tracking in the consultations of the Speci al Session on Agriculture.  Developing country 
producers and exporters of cotton, particularly the poorest among them continued to face unfair competition from developed country subsidies.  The G20 urged developed coun tries, which accounted 
for the bulk of trade-distorting subsidies in cotton to live up to the mandate.  The G20 would continue 
to work closely with the Cotton 4.  The G20 sh ared the common assessment that there could be no 
agreement on modalities without properly addressing cotton.       TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
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  30. On behalf of Brazil, the representative of Braz il made a statement.  Brazil had consistently 
emphasised that each new Round of the DGCFMC w as a renewed tribute to the C4, to draw the 
world's attention to the plight of poor farmers w hose livelihoods were threatened by trade-distorting 
subsidies.  It was also an expression of the importance of cotton for developing countries, especially 
in Africa.   
31. The trade and development assistance aspects of  cotton were vital components of the Doha 
Development Agenda.  Cotton had also evolved into a salient feature of South-South Corporation with 
increasing attention being devoted to the assistance of  cotton producers in Africa.  The G20 statement 
had addressed the trade policy aspects of cotton.  Brazil was extremely concerned about the ongoing 
negotiations on cotton.  The recent ruling of the arbitr ators in the cotton dispute with the United States 
had spelt out, in the clearest possible way, the a dverse effects caused by domestic US subsidies on 
cotton producers worldwide. On the basis of that , from a representative year, the arbitrators had 
concluded adverse effects in monetary terms.  The ruling had opened the way for Brazil to take 
countermeasures that could include the suspension of concessions or obligations in the area of 
services and intellectual property.  In Brazil's vi ew, a speedy and successful conclusion of the DDA 
negotiations on cotton could significantly help eliminate th e need for retaliatory action in this dispute.   
32. On South-South Cooperation, Brazil believed in  its effectiveness and positive impact in the 
developmental dimension.  Bilaterally, as the 7th Version of the ET indicated, Brazil was 
implementing an ambitious programme of cooperatio n, technical assistance, technology transfer and 
capacity building with Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad a nd Mali in the field of cotton.  Also the Brazilian 
Agency of Cooperation and the Brazilian Enterprise for Agriculture Research were forwarding reports 
on the advanced state of the cooperation and implem entation of the programme.  As highlighted at a 
previous Round of the DGCFMC, the main activities included:  a) the construction and development 
of a model cotton farm in Mali for the benefit of all C4 countries; b) capacity building systems for 
cotton cultivation and genetic enhancement; c) introd uction of cotton varieties; d) biological control 
of pests; and, e) enhancement of the profitability of  the cotton industry.  Brazil wished to expand this 
cotton initiative to all cotton-produc ing countries in Africa.  Brazil wa s confident that this cooperation 
would provide a major contribution to address some  of the structural challenges faced by these 
countries.   
33. The representative of Tanzania  spoke on behalf of the LDCs' Consultative Group.  He stated 
that the cotton question was of concern to the LDCs' Consultative Group.  The mandate was that 
cotton would be treated ambitiously, expeditiously an d specifically.  This had not been the case.  Five 
years was long enough to have addressed a question as important as cotton.  LDCs were pleased that 
although the Chairman of Agriculture Negotiations , Ambassador David Walk er, had indicated that 
consultations that he had held so far had not produced results, he  would continue to hold further 
negotiations to seek to reso lve the cotton question.   
34. LDCs recently held their Ministerial meeti ng in Dar es Salaam.  At this meeting, LDC 
Ministers took the position that the cotton question was not being seriously addressed.  Cotton farmers in the developed countries were be ing subsidized while cotton farmers and exporters in Africa and 
LDCs were being left on their own.  In the pr evailing circumstances, where commodity prices were 
declining and developed country farmers were being subsidised, more subsidi es were being given to 
those who were already better off and making the s ituation worse for the LDCs.  The representative of 
the LDCs believed the ambition that was expressed in Hong Kong which was yet to be seen had to be 
re-energised, otherwise cotton farmers in LDCs, pa rticularly Africa would be doomed to perpetual 
poverty.   
35. The LDCs' representative felt that Ministers at the forthcoming 7
th WTO Ministerial 
Conference would make similar statements on the cotton issue.  Members of the WTO could expect a TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
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  lot more to be said in this area.  He urged th at the consultations, which the Chairman of the 
Committee on Agriculture Special Session had indicated that he would conduct, should assume an urgent priority to reflect the ambition that was declared at the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial 
Conference.  The Declarations and lack of action after more than five years were frustrating African 
cotton farmers and called into question the credibility of the Organization.   
36. The representative of Colombia
 acknowledged the efforts made by Ambassador Walker to 
bring the agriculture negotiations to a successful conc lusion.  He stated that the cotton issue was of 
great interest to Colombia.  Colombia had achieve d major results in the sector.  It had been a net 
exporter of cotton in the 90s.  However, since th en, the sector had declined.  Production declined by 
over 70%.  Approximately 190,000 jo bs were lost.  The situation was due to the drastic fall in 
international prices and due to the effect of pr oduction and other trade-distorting subsidies in 
international markets.  This was the reason Colomb ia joined in the 2005 Decision in the Hong Kong 
Ministerial Declaration that cotton would be treated ambitiously, specifically and expeditiously.  Colombia, therefore, re-iterated its support for the C4 and the proposal by the African Group.  
Colombia encouraged other Members involved to s how concrete commitments in this field.   
37. Through the resolution of the cotton question,  the Doha Development Round had the best 
opportunity to show concre te and effective results.  Resolving the cotton dossier would improve the 
living standards of the poorest regions.  LDCs would be able to make the most of it in an area of 
comparative advantage.   
38. The representative of India
 felt that the 12th Round consultations were very timely.  India 
attached importance to the cotton question and support ed the C4.  His delegation fully associated with 
the statements made by Minister Sanou on behalf of  the C4 and by Brazil on behalf of the G20.   
39. India was honoured by the presence of Minister Sanou at the Delhi Ministerial meeting and 
fully supported the Minister's position that cotton should be taken up on a priority basis when 
negotiations resumed.  India was pleased to note from the briefing by Ambassador Walker that cotton 
was the first issue on which he held consultations.  India shared the disappointment of the C4 that no 
progress had been made on the cotton question since 2005.  It was imperative to recognise that it would not be possible to conclude the Doha Round,  unless the issue of cotton was resolved.  It was 
necessary, therefore, to resolve the cotton question in accordance with the mandate.   
40. He considered that the major cause of the critical  situation in the global cotton market was in 
the developed countries.  The issue of subsidies would have to be dealt with meaningfully and directly 
to address the alarming situation in the cotton sector.  The C4 should enjoy enhanced market access in 
the developed countries and there should not be any non-tariff barrier to the exports of their cotton.  
India fully supported the position of the C4, as expressed by the Minister Sanou in Washington in July 2009 that, "the C4 is open to negotiations, it is  open to a dialogue and there will be no solution to 
the Doha Round without a solution to cotton".   
41. India remained committed to fostering cooperati on in general, and to promoting South-South 
cooperation in particular, with the cotton-produci ng and exporting countries in Africa.  His delegation 
attached priority to the cotton question and had in corporated discussions on cotton in its bilateral 
negotiations with the C4 countries.  On 22 October 2009, in Cotonou, the meeting of the India-Benin 
Joint Commission had taken place.  The cotton questi on had been discussed.  India had reiterated its 
full support for the C4 and was providing devel opment assistance to the C4 in this area.   
42. He urged the C4 and LDCs to benefit from Indi a's Duty Free Tariff Preference scheme which 
had come into effect since April 2008.  Taking a dvantage of the presence of Minister Sanou and C4 
officials from capital, India would meet with the C4  delegations to finalise the visit of the Indian  TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
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  delegation to the C4 countries.  India remained  strongly committed to assist the C4 in their 
development efforts, including in the area of cotton.   
43. The representative of Egypt  (on behalf of the African Group) expressed full support for the 
statement by Minister Sanou on behalf of the C4  and other African cotton-producing and trading 
countries.  He also re-iterated support for the Declaration made by the C4 Ministers of Trade on 
8 October 2009 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and th e LDCs' Trade Ministers' Declaration, adopted 
on 15 October 2009 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.   
44. The African Group could not conceive an outco me to the Doha Round without a satisfactory 
outcome on cotton for the C4 countries and other African countries.  The Group remained deeply 
concerned with the lack of progress on the cott on question since 2008 and repeated its call for all 
WTO Members to work to achieve on an early harv est basis, an ambitious, expeditious and specific 
outcome for cotton.  The Group, furthermore, supported the C4 proposal in the agriculture 
negotiations for addressing trade-distorting subsidies granted to cotton producers in major developed 
countries.  The Group supported the approach in the revised text of the draft modalities of 
6 December 2008.   
45. The cotton issue had gained more importance and urgency in light of the current global 
economic and financial crisis.  The African De velopment Bank estimated that losses in export 
revenues for the African continent would reach US$251 billion in 2009 and US$277 billion in 2010, with attendant adverse socio-economic consequences.   This was compounded by the fact that African 
farmers face unfair competition for their production of  cotton from developed country trade-distorting 
subsidies, resulting in increased poverty.  This situati on was unacceptable.  In this context, the African 
Group underscored the urgency of setting up a safet y net mechanism for cotton-producing African 
LDCs.   
46. The African Group thanked DG Lamy for his e fforts to mobilise technical and financial 
assistance as part of the Consultative Framework M echanism on Cotton.  The Group also thanked all 
the donor countries for their cotton specific assistan ce.  In underlining the necessity for coherence 
between the trade and development aspects, th e Group stressed that the development assistance 
aspects should not replace the trade policy aspects.   
47. It is sad that there were no new devel opments to report on cotton since the 11
th Round of the 
DGCFMC.  The report by Ambassador Walker refl ected no progress whatsoever.  The African Group 
would have expected that there would be positive developments in light of the G20 Summit, other 
summits and all the political statements that set the target of concluding th e Doha Round in 2010.  
Nonetheless, the African Group urged all Members to  work constructively on the cotton question.  
There would be no conclusion to the Round without a satisfactory outcome for the C4 countries.   
48. The representative of Argentina  commended the Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture 
and Special Session, Ambassador David Walker, for his efforts to specifica lly focus on the cotton 
question.   
49. Argentina fully supported the G20 statement made  by Brazil.  Argentina was convinced that 
the completion of the Doha Mandate was the only wa y for finding a fair and satisfactory solution to 
the cotton question.  As Brazil said, in its interventi on on behalf of the G20, if this question was not 
solved, concluding the Doha Round would not be possibl e.  Argentina also observed that with regard 
to the draft modalities for agriculture, currently under negotiation (TN/AG/W/4/Rev.4), the provisions 
that Annex B set out, which were contrary to the ma ndate, showed a lot of flexibility in the Green Box 
disciplines.  That situation could offset the benefit that had been proposed for C4.  The risk was that TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
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  the reductions in the Amber Box and the Blue Box c ould in fact be compensated by an increase in 
subsidies in the Green Box; and this  would worsen trade distortions.   
50. The representative of Nigeria
 reiterated his country's fullest support for the positions of the 
C4 in the Doha Round.  He associated his delegatio n with the statements made by Minister Sanou of 
Burkina Faso, Brazil on behalf of the G20, and Egypt on behalf of the African Group.  He requested 
that the appreciation of the Nigerian delegation be conveyed to the Director-G eneral for his efforts, 
encouraging Members to implement the Doha mandate on cotton, including on the development assistance aspects in the DGCFMC.  The minimal progr ess made, so far, on cotton, could be directly 
traced to the unwavering commitment of the Direct or-General and his personal commitment to the 
plight of African cotton farmers, particularly th e C4.  Nigeria welcomed the acknowledgement by the 
Director-General in his communication dated 30 September 2009 that cotton remained key in the DDA and was a test of the Doha Development Round.  Nigeria was monitoring the situation closely.   
51. The current economic and financial crisis had made it imperative to act expeditiously to 
address the cotton dossier in the context of the D oha Development Round.  Nigeria urged Members to 
demonstrate flexibility on the proposal by C4 for a cotton safety net to address the revenue decline in 
the cotton sector.  Nigeria shared the view that cotton was a vital component of the Doha Round agricultural negotiations and a cent ral outstanding issue.  Nigeria was concerned that the C4 in 
particular continued to face unfair competition from de veloped countries' subsidies.  In this regard, 
Nigeria wished to underline the urgency for an ag reement on agricultural modalities in a manner that 
addressed the issue of cotton ambitiously, specifica lly and expeditiously in accordance with the 
mandate.  At the same time, Nige ria welcomed the response of the donor community to support the 
development of the cotton sector in Africa.  Nige ria also supported and was fully engaged in the 
DCGFMC.  He expressed his appreciation to Brazil,  China and India for their contribution towards 
cotton sector development in the context of South- South Cooperation.  Furthermore, Nigeria was 
appreciative of the update on the agriculture negotiati ons in general, and cotton in particular, by the 
Chairman of the CoA/SS, Ambassador Walker.  Ni geria encouraged him to continue with his 
consultations until a favourable outcome was achieved.   
52. The representative of the United States
 welcomed Minister Sanou, thanked Ambassador 
Walker for his report and underlined the active invol vement of the United States in the negotiations, 
as noted by the Chairman of the CoA/SS in his report.   
53. The United States actively continued to provide significant development assistance to the C4 
and others.  The United States was committed to an  ambitious, comprehensiv e and balanced Doha 
Round and remained committed to the 2005 Hong Kong mandate on cotton.  The longstanding 
position of the United States on cotton remained unchange d:  first, a determination must be made of 
the general commitments in the three pillars of the agriculture negotiations be fore a determination of 
the specific commitments on cotton.  In particular , it was important to have better clarity on the 
market access provisions, including those affec ting cotton so as to assess the overall impact on the 
cotton sector.  On market access, it was the interests of all to ensure an ambitious outcome on cotton 
in order to help developing country cotton exporte rs gain better access to the markets of users of 
cotton who were increasingly other developing countries.   
54. The representative of Japan  noted that development was at the core of the DDA negotiations 
and Japan supported the Cotton Initiative.  On the occasion of the 2nd Global Review Meeting on Aid 
for Trade, Japan announced its 2009 Development Initia tive for Trade as a renewed strategy for aid 
for trade.  Under this initiative, Japan would provide US$12 billion through pilot aid assistance for 
trade-related projects from 2009 to 2011.  It was not possible to indicate at the 12th Round of the 
DGCFMC what amount, from this initiative, would be a llocated to cotton-related projects.  However,  TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
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  Japan could assure that development assistance to  cotton-producing developi ng countries constituted 
an important part of its initiative.     
55. The representative of Australia  welcomed the useful and important work undertaken through 
the DGCFMC.  As widely acknowledged, cotton was a priority issue in the Doha Round, and the 
outcome on cotton would be one of the litmus test s of the commitment to make the Doha Round 
genuinely development oriented.  
56. The serious problems faced by cotton producers in developing countries, particularly in 
Africa, caused by trade-distorting subsidies and th e protection provided by the major economies, had 
focussed a spotlight on the real consequences of th ese harmful policies.  A meaningful outcome on 
cotton in the Doha Round was required to blunt th e negative impact of protection and give smaller 
cotton-producing economies the opportunity to compete on a more level-playing field.  
57. Australia remained strongly supportive of effo rts to reform the global cotton market and 
affirmed its support for an ambiti ous, expeditious and specific outcome on cotton as part of the Doha 
mandate.  It was important to remember, however, that  the extent of reform in the cotton sector was 
also linked to the overall Doha outcome on agriculture .  Broad-based reform of  the global agricultural 
market place would deliver greater stability and be nefits to cotton producers, including through 
improved investment opportunities.  For this reas on, Australia remained committed to achieving an 
ambitious and balanced conclusion of the Doha Ro und;  Members should continue to strive for that 
outcome in 2010.   
58. The representative of Pakistan  expressed appreciation for the efforts of the Director-General 
and the Secretariat on cotton development assistan ce.  Her delegation welcomed the statement by 
Minister Sanou and fully supported the C4 position on cotton.  Pakistan also supported the G20 
statement made by Brazil.  She noted that Pakistan had a very liberal trade regime on cotton.  Applied 
import duty on cotton was zero and this applied to everyone.  Cotton-growing countries could benefit 
from this.  At the 10th Round of the DGCFMC, Pakistan had indicated that the Pakistan Cotton 
Research Institute, Multan, which had been declar ed by the Organization of the Islamic Conference 
(OIC) as a Center of Excellence in Asia, was ready to provide training to the C4 and all the West 
African cotton growing countries.  Pakistan had now further developed this concept and had a 
concrete project proposal.  The total cost of th e project, which would extend training facilities to 
cotton scientists from West African cotton-producing countries, would total US$2.16 million.  Pakistan was ready to contribute US$1.31 million;  the balance had to be mobilised.  A few countries 
and financial institutions had been approached to share the cost.  This training of cotton scientists 
would cover such areas like breeding techniques fo r development of high-yielding cotton varieties, 
maintenance of cotton gene pool, cotton irrigation management, sustainable cotton production under 
water-stress environment, techniques for the analysis  of cotton fibre, yarn and yarn spinning, cotton 
diseases management, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), etc.  This document had been shared with 
the C4 and some of the West African countries as we ll.  Pakistan considered South-South Cooperation 
as a vital part of the development assistance aspects of cotton.   
59. The representative of Paraguay
 welcomed the statement by Minister Sanou, reiterated his 
support for the C4 position, welcomed the statement by the Chairman of the CoA/SS, and associated 
his delegation with the statement by Brazil on behalf of the G20.   
60. Paraguay was one of the countries seriously affected by the adversity in the cotton sector.  
Over the years, Paraguay had experienced the dama ging effect of high levels of subsidies on the 
productive agricultural structure.  Agricultural prices ha d been distorted.  This had resulted in a drop 
in the income of the poorest peasants and had in creased unemployment as well.  Paraguay was a small 
and vulnerable economy and was land-locked.  Para guay used to be a major exporter of cotton and TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
WT/CFMC/28 Page 12 
 
 
  high quality fibres but this advantage had been lost, not through superior or more effective 
competition, but because of protection afforded less competitive producers through high levels of subsidies.  Paraguay, therefore, reiterated its full support for the C4 Sectoral Initiative on Cotton 
(SIC).  Paraguay also agreed with the G20 Decl aration that it would be impossible to envisage a 
conclusion to the Doha Round without a satisfactory solution to the cotton question.   
61. The representative of China
 welcomed the opportunity for an exchange of views and 
information on issues related to cotton with all Me mbers, in particular with African Members and 
friends.  He said he had recently had the opportunity to attend the 6th Ministerial meeting in Dar es 
Salaam, Tanzania.  The conference had adopted a Mi nisterial Declaration, which had emphasised the 
cotton question.  China was carefully studying the Declaration, specially the proposals related to 
cotton.  China's reaction to the Declaration w as very positive.  China strongly supported the C4 
position on cotton and their demand for the substantia l reduction of trade-distorting domestic support 
for cotton by developed Members.  In accordan ce with the mandate, cotton should be addressed 
ambitiously, specifically, expeditiously and w ithin the framework of the DDA.  China was 
disappointed with the fact that no progress had been made on cotton in the DDA.  It called on all 
parties to make the necessary efforts required for resolving the problem.   
62. China continued to provide cotton-related assist ance to African countries and continued to be 
open to cotton trade with Africa.  On trade, rega rdless of the global financ ial and economic crisis, 
China still maintained its trade policy on cotton ope n and stable and placed importance on Africa as 
one of the major sources for cotton import.  In 20 08, China imported African cotton valued at more 
than US$600 million.  Since January 2008, China had provided duty-free, quota-free treatment to 
more than 30 African LDCs having diplomatic relati ons with China.  Most of the priority export 
products from LDCs such as cotton, cotton products, and cotton textiles and clothing were covered by 
the duty-free quota-free treatment.   
63. On development assistance and aid, China had provided assistance to African cotton 
development in various forms, such as donations, in puts, investments, loans with preferential rates 
and training courses.  At this time, China had cont ributed more than 20 pr ojects on cotton and textiles 
facilities to Africa.  It had provided agricultural m achinery, chemical fertilizers and pesticides.  On 
investments, at the end of 2008, China had invest ed US$673 million in the African textiles industry, 
representing an increase of 262% over the last two y ears.  By the end of 2006, China's accumulated 
investment in Africa's textile industry had reached US$186 million.  China had contributed to training 
courses.  Since 2008, China had hosted 18 training cour ses in relation to cotton and textiles for Africa.  
More than 400 trainees from African countries had been  trained in these courses.  China was actively 
participating in aid for trade for LDCs.  Since 2008, China had donated US$400,000 in aid for trade and had contributed to training thousands of technical staff in LDCs.   
64. China would continue to attach great importa nce to aid and cooperation for promoting the 
African cotton industries.  It would work to con tinue enlarging the scale of aid, and improving the 
efficiency of the utilization of capital in aid, and the expansion of economic and technical cooperation 
with African countries through various measures a nd different approaches.  China welcomed the 
strengthening of communication between the ma jor cotton producers in Africa and the Chinese 
Government, with the coalitions of  cotton and textile enterprises.  China would contin ue to provide 
assistance within its capability and in light  of the specific needs of Africa.   
65. Minister Sanou of Burkina Faso (C4 Coordinator)
 responded to several questions and issues 
raised.  He stated that the C4 was very appreciativ e to Members and delegations that had pledged their 
support to the C4 position within the framework of  the Doha Development Round.  The C4 position 
was a very just cause that they were supporting.  The support of Members was for millions of poor 
cotton growers.  Support for the C4 was a contribution to the fight against poverty, and growth- TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
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  promotion in the cotton-producing countries.  Pove rty reduction and growth were vital objectives.  
The C4 position was firm:  until an acceptable solutio n was found for the cotton question, C4 efforts, 
mobilisation and position would be maintained;  there would be no slowing down.  Firmness and 
perseverance were essential for success.   
66. Minister Sanou expressed his appreciation to the United States and the European Union for 
the different types of support they were providing to  the C4 and other cotton-producing countries.  It 
was a fact that development assistance positively im pacted on the cotton sector.  However, the best 
effect would result from eliminating the subsidies to cotton or at least by a significant reduction in the 
amounts that were being paid to cotton growers in  the US and the EU.  The elimination or the 
substantial reduction in the use of trade-distorting domestic subsidies mattered to the C4.  The C4 had 
said this before and was re-affirming this positio n.  The cotton sector was a major part of the 
economies in the C4.  Cotton growing and farming were the means for developing the C4 economies, 
without having to ask for aid.  What the C4 re quired was to have the opportunity to develop 
responsibly and autonomously in a level-playing fiel d.  However, as long as subsidies were paid to 
cotton growers, then, the role played by cotton in  C4 economies would be limited and would never be 
able to maximize its potential contributions to poverty reduction and development in the C4.   
67. Regrettably, the cotton sector in the C4 and many African countries was disappearing.  The 
recent example of Burkina Faso attested to this.  In Burkina Faso, the la rgest cotton company was 
SOFITEX.  It accounted for about 90% of the sector.  SOFITEX was in very difficult straits.  The rules of commercial trading laws in Burkina Faso were clear.  They provided that if a company had 
consumed more than a certain percentage of its capit al (equity), then a decision had to be made about 
its continued operability.  In the practice of the rule, if a company had used up a certain amount of its capital, then it should be liquidated.  Recently, the Board of Directors of SOFITEX had met to decide 
whether or not SOFITEX had to be  liquidated or if they could keep doing business.  SOFITEX (the 
cotton sector in Burkina Faso) was on the razor's edge.  That was the r eal situation;  those were the 
facts.  Speed was of the essence.  If action was not taken quickly, the cotton sector in Africa would 
disappear.  The cotton sector was a vital mainstay of Burkina Faso's economy.  SOFITEX was in a 
very perilous situation.  However, the Board of Directors could not wind it up.  Efforts were underway to explore options to exit the crisis throug h restructuring the company, but not to liquidate 
it.  However, to exit the crisis and resolve the situation, the real proble m had to be solved.  At the core 
of the problem were the subsidies paid out in other countries.  In other words, the solution was beyond 
their control and out of their hands.   
68. The C4 was appreciative of the development assistance for cotton from the developed 
Members, but the best and most effective assistance would be to eliminate the trade-distorting subsidies that were damaging the C4 and other A frican economies.  The C4 was seeking a solution 
which was acceptable to both sides.   The C4 had made proposals.  Those were on the table.  The C4 
awaited for reactions to its proposals from other parties.  The C4 remained open to discussion and 
exchange of ideas to conc lude the negotiations.   
69. The Chairman
 concluded the item by expressing appreciation to Minister Sanou and the 
Chairman of the CoA/SS for their statements and e ngagement.  He noted that it was evident from the 
exchange of views that cotton remained an issue to  which Members attached priority.  He was certain 
that Ambassador Walker would take away with him the feedback from these consultations to his 
various consultative formats.   
C. ITEM 4:  DOMESTIC COTTON SECTOR AND OTHER REFORMS / NATIONAL FOCAL POINTS  
70. The Chairman  invited participants to take up Item  4 of the Agenda, on: "Domestic Cotton 
Sector and Other Reforms / National Focal Points".   TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
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  71. He noted that domestic cotton sector and wide r reforms have been on the agenda of the 
consultations from the very beginning in 2004.  Th e First Version of the "Table on Domestic Cotton 
Sector Reforms for Cotton Sector Development" (WT/CFMC/21) had been circulated before the 
11
th Round of Consultations, based on inputs from se veral cotton proponents (Benin, Burkina Faso 
and Chad).  Mali had presented and introduced info rmation and data on its Domestic Cotton Sector 
Reforms at the meeting, and signalled that a submi ssion would be subsequently made as inputs to the 
Table.   
72. Recent inputs had been forwarded to the Secretariat by Burkina Faso (on 9 October 2009) and 
Benin (on 8 October 2009).  They were received too la te to be reflected in a revised version.  The 
updated inputs had been reproduced and were availabl e in the room.  The substantive contents would 
be reflected in the next version of the Domes tic Cotton Sector Reform Table (DCS-RT).  He 
expressed his appreciation to Benin, Burkina Faso and Chad for specific inputs to the Table and to 
Mali for the information provided2.  The process of updating the Reform Table would be facilitated 
with the provision of inputs along the lines of the agreed tabular format.   
73. Over time, the constructive donor / recipient dialogue, under this item, had underlined the 
strong relationship between resour ces provided by the development community, on the one hand, and 
more efficient resource use and greater openness amo ngst recipients of assistance, on the other.   
74. The Chairman invited participants to co mment on the Table entries in document 
WT/CFMC/21, and also on the updates by Benin and Burkina Faso which were available at the back 
of the room, as well as the documents circulated by Mali.   
75. The representative of the United States  thanked the C4 and others who had contributed to the 
update of the Reform Table.  His delegation had only just seen the documents by Mali.  Comments by 
his delegation were, therefore, just preliminary.  Th e contributions were valuable and the procedure in 
the DGCFMC to provide an opportunity to comment on those reforms were usef ul and welcome.  The 
United States wanted that procedure continued, w ith perhaps more frequent and continued reports by 
the countries on their domestic cotton sector project  coordination and implementation mechanisms.  
In particular, it urged continued attention to  the enhanced South-South advocacy and the 
establishment of, and adherence to, the emerging framework table on South-South Cooperation for 
cotton sector development.  The US appreciated the updated information from Chad and Mali on the 
efforts that they were making relative to thei r respective cotton sector reform processes.   
76. His delegation found the communication from Mali especially useful.  In particular, the 
Annex to that document was very well formatted a nd facilitated understanding of planned activities.  
This document, WT/CFMC/25, appeared to have b een prepared in November 2008 but in the Annex, 
it was noted that the cotton classing board, the OCC, and the Malian Cotton Industry Association, the 
IPC, were stated to become operational by Febr uary 2009 and December 2008, respectively.  As 
noted in their specific objectives 4.1 and 4.2., his delegation requested from Mali whether or not they 
could confirm that the OCC and the IPC had in f act been created and if they were currently 
operational.  Also, in Annex 1, specific objective th ree, involved the privatization of the CMDT.  The 
document provided an excellent and detailed list of activities to achieve that, but it was unclear from 
the WT/CFMC/25 document whether the activities had been implemented and the objectives had been 
achieved.  Document WT/CFMC/24 also appeared to have more detailed information and his 
delegation would undertake a more careful review.   
                                                      
2 See documents WT/CFMC/24 and WT/CFMC/25.    TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
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  77. The representative of Mali  thanked the D-G and the Secretariat for organising rounds of the 
DGCFMC, which had emerged as an important bi-annual rendez-vous  in Geneva.  He made two 
preliminary comments before responding to the ques tions from the US delegation.  He noted that 
participation in rounds of the DGC MC involved challenges to be reso lved for C4 participants.  For 
instance, participation involved expenditure for C4 pa rticipants from the capitals.  In the case of Mali, 
a visa for the participant had to be obtained.  Th e participant had to travel from Bamako to Dakar to 
obtain the visa, prior to travel to Switzerland.   
78. Responding to the questions and comments from th e US delegation, he noted that the process 
was still underway.  It had not yet been finalised.  Regarding the OCC and IPC, a formal answer could 
not yet be provided at this stage.  As soon as the Malian delegate arrived, a communication would be 
forwarded to the Secretariat with a request for it to be circulated.   
79. The Chairman  concluded the item with several remarks.  First, he expressed particular 
appreciation to Benin, Burkina Faso and Chad for their inputs, which had made possible the preparation of the First Version of the Reform Table.  He also expressed appreciation to Mali for 
submitting the data which would be in corporated in the next version.  He considered that Members 
and participants had found the Table useful.  Fo llowing the 12th Round Consultations, the Secretariat 
would update the Table with more recent inputs, including inputs provided within the due time.  
Second, he thanked Members who had commented on th e Table and encouraged them to continue to 
further review the information and to deepen the pr ocess of engagement.  Third, he encouraged those 
who had not yet done so to consider  submitting their inputs to the Secretariat, as early as possible for 
the second version of the Table.  Finally, the Chairm an proposed that note be taken of all statements 
made and they be reflected in the records of the 12th Round of the DGCFMC.   
80. It was so decided
. 
D. DESIGNATION OF THE NATIONAL COTTON FOCAL POINTS  
81. The Chairman  invited Members and participants to consider the sub-item:  "Designation of 
the National Cotton Focal Points".  Under this sub-ite m, he announced that, so far, the Secretariat had 
only received and registered returns from 7 cotton proponents;  the same number as at the last Round in November 2008.  The Focal Points were listed  in Part IV of the Table on Cotton Development 
Assistance (WT/CFMC/6/Rev.6).  He urged cotton pr oponents to take action, as quickly as possible, 
to designate their National Cotton Sector Focal Points  and also to notify when action was completed.   
E. 
ITEM 5:  COTTON PRODUCTION AND TRADE TRENDS  
82. The Chairman  invited Members and participants to take up Item 5:  "Cotton Production and 
Trade Trends".  In this agenda item, it was pertin ent to note, once again, that the cotton sector had 
been subjected to a considerable degree of a dversity resulting from a succession of crises.  Many 
cotton-producing and exporting countries had been a ffected, particularly the African countries, of 
which several depended on the cotton sector for thei r growth and poverty-reduction strategies, as well 
as for rural well-being and livelihood concerns.  This  situation explained some of the reasons why the 
WTO had the cotton dossier on the agenda of the Doha Round.   
83. He invited Mr. Andrei Guitchounts, an economis t with the International Cotton and Advisory 
Committee (ICAC), to make a factual presentation on the state of the global cotton sector.   TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
WT/CFMC/28 Page 16 
 
 
  84. The representative of the Interna tional Cotton Advisory Committee
3 (ICAC)  in his opening 
remarks highlighted the importance of cotton.  Co tton was one of the most important and widely 
produced agricultural and industrial crops in the worl d.  In terms of land use, it accounted for about 
2% of the world’s arable land, making it one of th e most significant in terms of land use after food 
grains and soybeans. Cotton was produced in 80 countri es in the world.  It wa s also a heavily traded 
agricultural commodity, with over 100 countries involved in exports or imports of cotton.   
85. More than 100 million family units were engaged directly in cotton production. When family 
labour (hired farm labour) and workers in ancilla ry services such as transportation, ginning, baling 
and storage were considered, total involvement in  the cotton sector was estimated at 300 million. It 
provided employment to additional millions in allie d industries such as agricultural inputs, machinery 
and equipment, cotton-seed crushing and textile manufacturing. Cotton cultivation contributed to food 
security and improved life expectancy in rural areas of developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin 
America. The value of world cotton production was estimated at approximately US$30 billion.   
86. World demand for cotton had increased at an impressive pace since the 1950s, rising from 
7 million tons in 1950 to 26 million tons in 2007, for an  average annual rate of growth of more than 
2%.  The first half of this decade saw extraordinar y rates of growth in cotton use. During the period 
from 1970/71 through 1998/99, world cotton use rose at an annual rate of 1.5%, but between 1998/99 
and 2006/07, cotton use rose by 4.5% per year.   
87. International cotton prices had declined in r eal terms over the last six decades because of 
advances in technology, and this process was continuing. During the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, the 
average world price of cotton in nominal terms was US¢70 per pound, but the average international 
price during the current decade would be  between US¢50 and US¢60 per pound.   
88. The cotton industry faced many challenges. The larg est challenge would be to supply fiber.  It 
was expected that the world population would in crease by 7 billion during th e next 4 decades and 
demand for food would double, and cotton demand would also grow.  Other challenges included 
financial stress for producers with stagnant or belo w-average yields, the need to encourage universal 
implementation of sustainable production systems, and competition with polyester.   
89. Until the current economic recession, the worl d cotton industry had experienced robust 
growth in demand and supply.  New technologies, more extensive use of existing technologies, and 
new areas dedicated to cotton had resulted in dramatic gains in production.  Since the mid-1990s, the world yield had risen from less than 600 kilograms pe r hectare to nearly 800 kg.  While harder to 
quantify, it was clear there had been similar gains in productivity per litre of water use, per active 
ingredient of pesticide application, per kilogram of fertilizer use.   
90. Based on data from 2006/07, the average total cost of production, excluding the cost of land 
rent and the value of cotton-seed sold after ha rvest, averaged about US¢50 per pound, and if 
economic and fixed costs were also excluded, the resulting marginal cash costs of production 
averaged between US¢40 and US¢45 per pound.  These data indicated that the average land owner, 
producing cotton at average cost and gaining av erage yields, assuming no changes in prices of 
competing crops, would tend to maintain or e xpand production when farm prices exceed US¢40 to 
US¢45 cents per pound of lint, translated into CIF pr ices reflected in the Cotlook A Index of between 
US¢50 and US¢60 per pound. With the Cotlook A Inde x currently above this range, increased world 
cotton production could be expected, starting in  2010/11 and trending higher into the future.  
However, price trends also depended on the prices for competing crops.   
                                                     
 
3 Mr. Andrei Guitchounts.    TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
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  91. Despite dramatic gains in yields since the mi d-1990s, average revenue per hectare in real 
terms is declining.  During the th ree-year period ended in 1988, average revenue per hectare of cotton 
production in 2008 dollars was US$1,350;  and, in the three-year period ended in 2008, average revenue per hectare was US$1,130, a decline of one-sixth in real purchasing power for cotton 
producers.  For more efficient producers, costs of  production also declined during this period.   
92. The stress arising from lower prices was particul arly acute in countries where yields had not 
increased. For example, yields in countries using the Currency of Francophone Africa (CFA) were 
about 80% of the world average in the early 1980’s, but fell to 75% of the world average in the early 
1990s.  Francophone African yields were two-thirds of the world average by the early 2000’s, and 
during the three most recent cotton seasons, the yield in the CFA zone was less than half the world 
average. Thus, the competitiveness of cotton in the CFA zone had declined relative to other cotton-
producing countries over the last three decades.  Simila r patterns of declining yields or yields that 
were rising more slowly than the world average could be found in other regions, including East Africa, Central Asia, Pakistan, and South America, ot her than Brazil.  Brazil had very high yields.   
93. The ICAC representative referred to sustaina ble cotton production, based on the definition 
developed within the UN system.  Sustainable co tton production was the ability to produce cotton, in 
the present, without diminishing the ability of future  generations to produce cotton.  Over the past 
four decades, as the use of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides had been inco rporated into production 
practices, farmers and researchers had been wo rking to develop ecologically sound production 
systems for cotton and other crops. More insecticides  were now used per hectare of cotton than for 
other row crops.  Interest in developing sustai nable production systems had focused on cotton.   
94. Changes in production practices, driven by risi ng input costs, new technologies and increased 
awareness of sustainability concerns, had resulte d in a rise in the proportion of world cotton 
production that met sustainability criteria.  One me tric by which the world cotton industry had been 
judged was pesticide use (including herbicides, insec ticides, and all other crop protection chemicals).  
Since 1988, the percentage of world pesticide sale s formulated for application to cotton areas had 
fallen from 11% to 8%.  The ICAC Secretariat estimated that about 60% of world cotton production met the definition of a sustainable production;  a nd, this share was increasing.  The expectation was 
that this trend would continue into the future.   
95. Income and population growth were major factor s driving increases in cotton consumption, in 
contrast to relative fibre prices and competition from polyester which were important factors affecting 
cotton use.  ICAC had observed a decline in cotton share in world fibre consumption.  To a large 
extent, this decline was accounted for by very strong competition from polyester.  
96. The United States cotton industry had long supported demand enhancement through the work 
of Cotton Incorporated and the Cotton Council Intern ational.  This had resulted in rising per capita 
consumption of cotton at the retail level by the US  consumer during the past two and a half decades. 
The cotton industries of Australia, Colombia, Egypt, Germany, Poland, and South Africa also 
implemented programmes to provide  positive information about cott on to consumers.  The positive 
development was new industry-led efforts by the China Cotton Association and the Cotton 
Association of India, which were being inaugurated  to strengthen consumer demand for sustainable, 
renewable and comfortable products made from cotton.   
97. After declining significantly in 2008/09, both world cotton mill use and production were 
expected to stabilize in 2009/10. World cotton pro duction was forecast slightly down at 23.3 million 
tons due to reduced area.  As the world economy gradually stabilized and economic prospects for 
2010 improved, in most parts of the world, global co tton mill use was expected to recover by a small 
amount to 23.6 million tons.   TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
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  98. The representative of ICAC noted that durin g 2007/08, the season-average Cotlook A price 
Index had increased by 23% to US¢73 per pound. Factors other than fundamental changes in cotton supply and use had contributed to the significant incr ease in the level and volatility of cotton prices in 
that season. These included such factors as the w eakening of the US dollar, soaring prices of 
commodity futures, and increased participation of in stitutions and individuals not involved in physical 
cotton trade in the cotton futures market.  In  2008/09, the season-average Cotlook A Index was 
US¢61, a decrease of 16%.  Based on expected changes in supply and use, the ICAC Secretariat forecasts a 2009/10 season-average Cotlook A Index of US¢64 per pound, with a 95% confidence interval ranging from US¢56 to US¢73 per pound.   
99. He noted that in the next five years, the e xpectation was that world cotton yields would not 
increase as fast as they did during this decade because the rate of expansion in biotech cotton planting 
would decline.  It was possible, however, that new advances in technologies would focus on optimizing the use of inputs such as water, fertili zer, and pesticides; therefore, affecting mainly 
production costs and not yields.  World cotton yield w as expected to grow by an annual average rate 
of about 1% over the next 5 seasons;  a little over 800  kg/ha.  World cotton area was expected to vary 
from year to year, but to remain below 31 million hectares over the next 5 seasons.  World cotton production was, therefore, expected to increase gr adually, but would remain below the levels 
observed during the second half of the current decade.   
100. Global trade was expected to increase slightly from the current low to reach 7.2 million tons 
by 2014/15. The origin and destination of cotton trade would likely experience variations over time, 
as cotton mill use would continue to migrate to regi ons with the lowest costs of yarn production.   
101. Finally, the shares of Asia in world cotton pr ocessing and trade were expected to continue 
increasing, although its share in world cotton production could stabilize.   
102. The Chairman
 thanked the representative of ICAC for his statement and the information 
provided.  In the absence of questions and co mments from Members and participants, he proposed 
that the 12th Round of the DGCFMC take note of the presentation.   
103. It was so agreed . 
F. ITEM 6:  THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL 'S EVOLVING TABLE ON COTTON DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE  
104. The Chairman  invited Members and Participants to take  up Item 6:  "The Director-General's 
Evolving Table on Cotton Development Assistance".  He noted that the Evolving Table (ET) had 
emerged as a common transparency tool, for tracking and monitoring the commitments and 
disbursements by the development community in the implementation of the mandate on cotton 
development assistance.  It was the common plat form for development dialogue between the donor 
community and recipients of assistance for co tton sector development. These points were also 
highlighted in the Director-General's letter, date d 30 September 2009, circulating to the Membership 
the latest version of the Evolving Table, containe d in document WT/CFMC/6/Rev.6.  On the basis of 
the Director-General's letter and the updated, ci rculated Evolving Table, the Chairman asked 
Chiedu Osakwe, from the Secretariat, to highlight briefly the key points.   
105. The representative of the Secretariat4 noted that the current version of the ET - 
WT/CFMC/6/Rev.6, was the 7th version.  This current version had been prepared on the basis of 
inputs from Brazil, Canada, the EU and several of its individual Members, specifically France, the 
Netherlands and Germany.  The US had also provide d inputs, which for logistical and timing issues 
                                                      
4 Mr.  Chiedu Osakwe, Director of the Accessions Division.    TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
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  had not been included in the current 7th version, but which should be in cluded in the next version of 
the ET.  The US contributions were at the tabl e outside of the conference room.  The multilateral 
institutions that had contributed were the Afri can Development Bank, FAO, IMF, UNIDO and the 
World Bank.  The Table had been circulated in the three languages to Members on 
30 September 2009.   
106. Part I of the Table indicated that the number of beneficiaries remained stable at 23.  
Previously, there had been 30 beneficiaries.  Ho wever, the number had slightly decreased because 
several programmes and activities had been consolidated on regional platforms.     
107. In Part I, the commitments had increased from 149 to 153 and the actual value increased from 
US$548 million in the previous 6th version to US$564 million, a 2.9% increase.  The financial crisis 
and increased fiscal deficit in many of the cont ributing developed Members had not affected the 
contributions to the Table.  In Part I also, ther e was also positive news on the disbursement flows.  
Disbursement flows had increased by 58% from a US$136 million in the last version to US$250 million in the current 7
th version.   
108. In Part II, the number of beneficiaries remained the same as in the previous version, a total of 
41.  The number of commitments increased by 5% from 75 in the 6th version to 79 in the current 
version.  The value of commitments remained fairly stable.  There was a less than marginal increase,  
from US$2.3 billion to US$2.32 billion.  In Part II,  disbursements flows had increased, by 12% from 
US$159 million in the 6th version to US$178 million in the current 7th version.   
109. The representative of the Secretariat concluded by underlining several points.  First, he 
stressed that the numbers reflected in the current 7th version of the ET were cumulative.  Since 2005, 
these numbers had been subject to a process of cross-check and verification with Members and participants.  Second, there had been marked im provements in disbursement flows.  However, 
disbursements remained a challenge.  The challe nge rested on both provide rs and consumers of 
development assistance.  On the part of the contributing participants from the development 
community, there was a need to improve disbursement e fforts.  On the part of the recipients of cotton 
development assistance, there was also homework to be done through increasing the rate of absorption 
of assistance provided.  Only 7 out of about 36 Foca l Points had been designated.  Finally, there was 
scope for improving in-country engagement between  providers and recipients of development 
assistance for cotton.   
110. The Chairman
 invited the development community to provide updates, focusing on the 
specific issues of:   
- operational implementation; 
- commitments; and - disbursements.  
111. The representative of the United States
 welcomed the opportunity to provide an update on US 
Government development programmes since the last  meeting in April 2009.  He provided an update 
on the implementation of the West African Cotton Improvement Programme (WACIP), being provided by the US Agency for International De velopment (USAID).  He informed the DGCFMC 
that the Millennium Challenge Cooperation (MCC) had programmes being implemented in the C4 
and Senegal.  In addition, there were several other activities by the US Department of Agriculture 
(USDA).   TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
WT/CFMC/28 Page 20 
 
 
  112. Since the 11
th Round Consultations, WACIP had carried out a variety of activities related to 
increasing the incomes of cotton farmers.  Research and extension activities ha d been carried out on 
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and integrat ed soil fertility management.  These activities were 
designed to allow participants to exchange expe riences, present and analyse results, propose ways to 
improve approaches during the up-coming 2009/10 growing season.  WACIP had developed an 
ambitious programme to support the national agricultura l research institutes in the C4 countries.  It 
had finalized and signed a grant agreement with the Permanent Interstate  Committee for drought 
control in the Sahel  and the Institute du Sahel  to lead this particular effo rt.  As part of the long-term 
strategy of WACIP for increasing cotton yields, it w as working with regional institutions to strengthen 
bio-safety.  In particular, WACIP was working closel y with the Burkina Faso Bio-Tech Association to 
develop local networks for informa tion exchange about bio-safety and bio-technology.  In the area of 
cotton ginning, as follow-up to the training on ginning last October in Mali and the competitive selection of two C4 gins during the last quarter, WACIP staff had worked with ginning specialists 
from Coton Afrique  to conduct baseline diagnostics for the two winning firms;  Socoma of Burkina 
Faso and Sodafitex of Senegal.  In the area of co tton artisanship, WACIP was continuing its efforts at 
artisanal product design in development.  One success  that had been registered was the decision by 
Robert Redford's Sundance Catalogue, which specia lises in handcrafted natural products for the 
home, to feature WACIP-sponsored cotton textile products from Benin in their online catalogue.   
113. In the area of the Millennium Challenge  Cooperation (MCC) programmes, the US 
Government was pleased to be engaged with partne rs in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal in 
discussing major investments in these countries.  On ce a country became elig ible for assistance based 
on a decision by the MCC board, the eligible country  could propose projects to the MCC.  The MCC 
did not influence the eligible country on what pr ojects to propose.  Most recently, on 16 September 
2009, the US Government, through the MCC and the Republic of Senegal signed a US$540 million 
compact, aimed at reducing poverty and investing in economic growth, by investing in the agricultural 
productivity in Senegal, rehabilitati ng major national roads, and investing in strategic irrigation and 
water resources management.  Further details could be provided on this particular programme.  The 
delegate of the US recalled that the MCC had also concluded compacts with Benin for 
US$360 million, with Burkina Faso for US$480 million, and Mali for US$460 million.   
114. Finally, the US Department of Agriculture had a number of bio-technology and SPS-related 
programmes that had been carried out in a number of C4 and other African countries.  Every effort 
was being deployed to fully implement all these projects and activities in partnership with the 
recipient countries.     
115. The representative of the European Union
 expressed appreciation to the WTO Secretariat for 
the valuable work in compiling the ET, which provided a very helpful overview of ongoing development assistance projects and also assisted  with donor coordina tion on cotton.   
116. As mentioned on previous occasions, the Europ ean Union had mobilised significant levels of 
support for the cotton sector, inter alia , within the framework of the EU-Africa Cotton Partnership to 
which the EU had earlier referred.  The update of  the ET showed higher level of commitments and 
disbursements from the EU and its Member States.  According to the Table, the EU had allocated over €300 million and disbursed over €141 million.  On cu rrent exchange rates, these figures were quite 
substantial.  Depending on the exchange rates, EU  contributions represented between 80-90% of total 
disbursements that were included in the Evolving Tabl e.  The EU was very proud of its contributions.   
117. The EU appreciated the comments and feedback from several beneficiaries on the Table.  The 
EU shared the view of the Chair that it was importa nt to cross-check information contained in the ET 
so that all partners would be confident and comfor table that entries on the ET represented reality.  EU 
data entries were verified with delegations in -country.  The feedback from EU country offices  TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
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  indicated, inter alia , that while countries were eligible, they  were not immediately benefiting.  The 
advice would be for all cotton focal points to establish contact with EU country offices so as to ensure 
that all the projects that were at their disposal we re effectively used and implemented.  To recall a 
standing position, EU entries had been concentrated on Part I of the Table – cotton-specific assistance, 
which was where it believed that assistance for cotton should be concentrated.   
118. The representative of the EU provided Member s and participants with an update on the 
EU-Africa Cotton Partnership.  An external inde pendent evaluation had ta ken place in early 2009 of 
the EU-Africa Cotton Partnership.  The evaluation had drawn lessons from implementation so far and 
suggested improvements.  As follow-up to this evaluation, there had been several rounds of 
consultation of cotton stake-holders .  This involved cotton beneficiar ies, international organisations 
and other donors.  The evaluation had confirmed the relevance and importance of the EU-Africa 
Cotton Partnership, the need to uphold it, and the necessity to adjust it to present circumstances.  In 
particular, the review had made evident the importa nce of providing support to the cotton sector in the 
context of the family farm concept, which sought  to maintain a balance between cotton and other 
crops, including food crops, in order to ensure the right mix between cotton-related income for 
families and the need to ensure food security.  U pon the recommendation of the evaluation, the action 
plan of the EU-Africa Cotton Partnership had been  revisited.  A new draft proposal had been 
developed and circulated to cotton stake-holders fo r comments.  There were efforts to better present 
the activities of the partnership.  Using a framework  approach, which clearly specified the results to 
be achieved, the activities to be undertaken and levels of responsibility, accountability and 
effectiveness of results, would improve.  The represe ntative of the EU confirmed that the EU would 
respect its commitments on cotton.   
119. The representative of Brazil  complemented the initial statement by the delegation of Brazil in 
relation to the details of the Brazilian programme for cooperation with the C4.  He underlined that 
encouraging reports had been received from the Brazilian cooperation centre in Mali.  The essence of 
these reports had been reflected in the ET.  He was pleased to report that Brazilian Minister Celso 
Amorim was in Mali at that time.  He had visited the model farm in Sotuba and was taking stock of 
the état des lieux  of cooperation with the C4.  He had met with several Ministers but also with the 
President and the Prime-Minister was consulting w ith them on ways to impr ove cooperation.  Brazil 
attached the highest importance to cooperation w ith the C4.  Following the visit, Brazil hoped for 
further good news for the 13th Round of the DGCFMC.  Nonetheless,  coherence was required with the 
trade policy aspects.   
120. The representative of the World Bank  stressed four points.  First, the global outlook and the 
forecast by the World Bank indicated that cotton prices had come down from their peak.  They were still, probably, 25% hi gher than they were in the first part of  this decade.  The outlook was for some 
recovery in 2010, as the global economy picked up from its current state.  The recovery was now 
underway and the most acute phase of the global cr isis was over.  However, there was a degree of 
uncertainty about the intermediate outlook.  The p ace of recovery was about 3.5% for the US, which 
was slower than the pace of recovery from the previous three major recessions that the US had 
experienced before.  There was reason for optimis m, and improvements from a few months before, 
about the state of the global economy.  However,  there was continued uncertainty and questions, 
which had immediate effects for cotton price projec tions.  If developing countries did not grow at 
about the rate of 4% being forecast, then the likelihood was that the forecast for global cotton price 
would be diminished.   
121. Second, the Doha Round was crucial and was li nked to the work underw ay in the DGCFMC.  
With the decline in cotton price in the major global markets, in 2008, and in the first part of 2009, the 
World Bank had registered an increase in cotton s ubsidies in the industrial countries.  Increased 
domestic cotton subsidies depressed the world market  price over what it should otherwise be.  As a TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
WT/CFMC/28 Page 22 
 
 
  consequence, more efficient producers were forced  out of the global marketplace.  Therefore, the 
World Bank supported an expeditious resolution of  the negotiations on modalities and for progress on 
the Doha Round.  A successful conclusion to the D oha Round was the only way to cap agricultural 
subsidies worldwide, including subsidy use in emerging markets.  Disciplines on subsidies would 
have systemic value and serve everyone well.  The importance of the Doha Round could not be 
overestimated.   
122. Third, the World Bank was contributing to th e Director-General's Evolving Table on Cotton 
Development Assistance (ET).  The World Bank's contri butions listed in the ET were in three areas in 
particular:  project support;  debt relief;  and, budget support.  As re gards projects, the value underway 
in the C4 stood at approximately US$34 million, including projects that were under preparation.  For 
example, the World Bank was now working on a GEF Bio-Safety programme in several of the cotton-
producing countries.  The World Bank would continue to  work with its clients in a range of areas, 
including assisting them to identify responses to commodity price risks, diversify, introduce new 
technologies wherever possible, not only on the production side but in the transport logistics and 
marketing side of cotton production.  Moreover,  the World Bank was working intensively with 
countries to respond to the needs generated by the financial crisis because many countries in the 
cotton-producing areas had experienced slow-down in  growth, their overall revenues had declined and 
this had created considerable fiscal gaps.  To a void recourse to non-inflationary financing, the WB 
had accelerated its budget support lending through the International Development Association (IDA) - 
the soft loan window of the World Bank to countries  in the region.  For example, the World Bank had 
recently given a loan of US$100 million to Burkina Faso;  one of the C4.  Obviously, that loan would 
have a direct bearing on the cotton-producing country.  The World Bank also intended to frontload, to the extent possible, no-interest credits to developi ng countries.  To move rapidly on this course of 
action,  governments had to approach the World Bank and request budget support in areas of their 
domestic priorities.  This general budget supported th e entire level of expenditure in areas of domestic 
priorities, including transports, highways, health a nd nutrition, education, et c.  Budget support could 
also be used to develop agricultural extension ser vices that would directly affect cotton and other 
investments.   
123. Finally, because the World Bank had made more r esources available to its clients, including 
on BOP, Budget Support, cotton, etc, it needed resources from donors for the next replenishment of the IDA resources, perhaps at a new level.  The 16
th IDA Replenishment, beginning from January 
2010, was important.  The views of WTO Members, pa rticularly the views of developing countries 
were extremely important to the replenishment process.  All donors were experiencing increased 
demands for fiscal austerity.  As a result, resources donated through the IDA 16 Replenishment would compete with resources directly deployed in the ho me markets of the donor countries.  The only way 
that Official Development Assistance could be main tained at its current high level was for developing 
countries to stand up and make their appeals to the NGOs and to the constituencies in the donor 
country markets that were part of the development community.   
124. The representative of UNCTAD
 informed participants that UNCTAD was in the process of 
organising the 2nd Multi-Stake Holder Meeting on Cotton in partnership with the Government of 
Benin and the ACP secretariat.  UNCTAD hoped to have  the meeting before the end of the year.  It 
would welcome any support from development partners to realize that event.  The focus would be to 
identify and follow-up on investment opportunities.  The activity would be organized around an 
investment forum and on developing South-South Cooperation in relation to cotton.  UNCTAD had 
already circulated the Concept Note and the Draf t Programme to the Cotton Secretariat in Brussels 
and the main stake-holders in the Central and West  African region.  It was still open to comments and 
suggestions in relation to the focus of the meeting.    TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
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  125. The Chairman  concluded the item by underscoring a number of points.  First, it was necessary 
to continue bridging the commitment/disbursement ga p so as to deepen implementation, while taking 
account of the progress made in this regard as refl ected in the forwarding letter by the Director-
General.  Second, there was a relationship between  the cotton development assistance implementation 
exercise to the broader issues of trade capacity bui lding, aid for trade and poverty-reduction.  That 
relationship was important.  Third, the Director-G eneral would continue to place full spotlight on 
these issues.  Finally, bridging gaps also i nvolved partnerships, support and pro-activity from 
domestic cotton sector focal points.  The majority of these focal points still had to be notified.   
G. ITEM 7:  SOUTH -SOUTH COOPERATION FOR CO TTON SECTOR DEVELOPMENT  
126. The Chairman  noted that a number of statements in the discussion on the trade policy aspects 
of cotton, had already referred to South-South Coop eration, such as Brazil.  The mandate for South-
South Cooperation was reflected in paragraph 12 of  the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.  He 
recalled that on 22 November 2007, a seminar had been organized on "South-South Cooperation for 
Cotton Sector Development" by the WTO Secretariat.  Contributions on the platform of South-South 
Cooperation was voluntary.  This was an area wh ere strong and effective leadership was being 
provided by Brazil, China and India.  He also not ed Pakistan's statement in this context.  The 
International Trade Centre (ITC) was also maki ng important contributions in this area.   
127. The representative of Pakistan  invited the C4 and West African cotton-growing countries to 
provide any comments on the draft project that they had already received.  A number of training activities were already listed, on which the C4 and other cotton-producing LDCs may want to 
comment.   
128. The representative of the International Trade Centre (ITC)
 provided an update on its activities 
on South-South Cooperation.  Since the last round of consultations, the ITC had facilitated three 
South-South Cooperation activities:  for West, Centra l, Eastern and Southern Africa.  Emphasis had 
been placed on Eastern and Southern Africa.  Ch ina, Turkey, India and Thailand had contributed 
significantly to these activities.  The activities were  focused on the entire value chain of cotton, 
capacity-building and promotion of African cotton to these markets.   
129. The feedback from Benin, Mali and other A frican cotton-producing and exporting economies 
were positive and encouraging.  They indicated that  the shipments to the Asian markets had increased 
after support and intervention from the ITC.  Fo r the first time, three Eastern African countries 
reported direct sales to the markets of China, Bangladesh and Thailand.   
130. In 2010, activities had been planned on the platform of South-South Cooperation with 
Viet Nam.  There would also be activities with China and India.  ITC programmes had also been funded by the EU, under the EU All ACP Commodities Programme.   
131. The Chairman
 concluded the Item on South-South Cooperation for Cotton Sector 
Development.    He stressed that updates enha nced implementation and strengthened South-South 
Cooperation, which constituted a critical element of  development cooperation and was emerging as a 
substantive element of the development aspects of the DDA.  He encouraged developing countries to 
deepen their voluntary contributions in this ar ea of cooperation.  These contributions would be 
accorded due recognition in the report of the Director-General on cotton, including in the report of the DG to the MC7.  He proposed that note be ta ken of all statements made under the item.   
132. It was so agreed
.   TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
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  III. CONCLUSION  
133. The Chairman
 concluded the 12th Round of the DGCFMC, in the absence of any item under 
Any Other Business.  He expressed appreciation to Me mbers and participants that had intervened with 
statements and important contributions.  He concluded with a few remarks.   
134. He expressed his belief that the consultations  had been useful.  Work on the development 
assistance aspects of cotton continued to evolve pos itively.  More specifically, on the development 
assistance aspects, the Secretariat would continue to  work to assist this process.  The Secretariat 
would continue to monitor and report to Memb ers the progress on disbursements and operational 
commitments relating to the commitments undertak en by the development community.  Based on 
inputs from the recipients of development assistan ce, the Secretariat would continue to monitor 
progress in the implementation of the domestic cotton sector reforms.   
135. It was evident that South-South Coopera tion had emerged as a key plank of the 
implementation of the mandate on the development assistance aspects of cotton.  Director-General 
Mr. Pascal Lamy had asked him to express his hope that this co-operation would deepen and 
intensify.   
136. The next Round of Consultations would take place in the first half of 2010.  The Secretariat 
would consult with regard to the specific dates.   
137. As mentioned earlier, the Director-General would present his Third Periodic Report to the 7th 
WTO Ministerial Conference.  This report would be available, at least 10 days before the Ministerial Conference.   
138. The Chairman, in closing, thanked all pa rticipants for their contributions.   
139. He adjourned the 12
th Round of the DGCFMC.    TN/AG/SCC/W/12 
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DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S CONSULTATIVE FRAMEWORK MECHANISM ON COTTON 
 
12
TH ROUND OF CONSULTATIONS ON COTTON DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE 
 
 23 October 2009 (9.30 a.m.) 
 
AGENDA  
 
 
1. Introductory Remarks – Chairman   
2. Statement by C4 Coordinator – H.E. Mr Mamadou SANOU, Minister for Commerce, 
 Enterprise Promotion and Handicrafts, Burkina Faso  
3. Trade Policy Aspects:   
- Briefing by Chairman CoA Special Session/Chairman SCC  
- Exchange of Views  
4. Domestic Cotton Sector and Other Reforms/National Cotton Focal Points:   
- Update by Cotton Proponents   
- Exchange of Views   
5. Cotton Production and Trade Trends: 
- Presentation by the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) 
- Exchange of Views 
6. Director-General's Evolving Table on Co tton Development Assistance (WT/CFMC/6/Rev.6) 
- Secretariat Remarks 
- Updates by the Development Community 
7. South-South Cotton Cooperation 
- Update by South-South partners  
8. Any Other Business 
__________