WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
WT/CFMC/23 7 September 2009 
 
 
(09-4220) 
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 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
I. INTRODUCTION  
1. Pursuant to paragraph 12 of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration,
1 this is the Seventh 
Secretariat Progress Report to the Sub-Committee on Cotton (SCC) on the Development Assistance 
Aspects of Cotton.  Since the last Progress Report,2 there have been several developments.  First , the 
Director-General engaged in regular contacts and stocktaking with the C4 and other cotton proponents 
on the evolution of the dossier.  Second , the Director-General addressed a letter to WTO Members, 
dated 21 April 2009, circulating the updated vers ion of the "Evolving Table on Cotton Development 
Assistance".  This letter also circulated the firs t version of the Table on Domestic Cotton Sector 
Reforms3 in the partner countries that receive cotton development assistance.  Finally , the 11th Round 
of the Director-General's Consultative Fram ework Mechanism on Cotton (DGCFMC) met on 
24 April 2009.   
II. SIXTH VERSION OF THE EVOLVING TABLE 
2. The Director-General addressed a letter to all WTO Members forwarding the updated 
6th version of the Evolving Table on Co tton Development Assistance (ET).4   
3. Entries in the ET indicated that the total num ber of commitments had stabilized around 224;  
of which 149 commitments were development assis tance specific to cotton; and, 75 commitments 
were also related to cotton, but provided with in the overall framework of agriculture and 
infrastructure-related assistance.   
                                                      
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). 
2 TN/AG/SCC/W/10 (WT/CFMC/20), 16 December 2008.   
3 WT/CFMC/21. 
4 WT/CFMC/6/Rev.5: Director-General's Evolving Table on Cotton Development Assistance, 
21 April 2009.   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/11 
WT/CFMC/23 Page 2 
 
 
  4. The Director-General in his letter to Member s highlighted several developments.  The ET 
indicated the important progress made by the development community in partnership with 
beneficiaries.  There had been new contributions  from the African Development Bank, Canada, the 
EC, the US, IMF, ITC, CFC/ICAC, UNIDO and a first time contribution from Brazil.   
5. Particular attention was drawn to contributions by Brazil, China and India for their role and 
contributions to cotton sector development in the cotton proponent countries, using the platform of 
South-South Cooperation for Cotton Sector Develo pment in the Director-General's Consultative 
Framework Mechanism on Cotton (DGCFMC).   
6. The Director-General noted progress and under lined continuing challenges to be addressed: 
• In Part I of the ET, the number of individual beneficiaries decreased to 23 as a result of the 
change in delivery of some activities from indivi dual to regional platforms.  The total number 
of commitments increased from 112 to 149 (an increase of 33%), but slightly decreased in value terms from US$551 million to US$548 million (a decrease of 0.5%); 
• The actual disbursements of the 149 commitme nts in Part I had risen, and now stood at 
US$136 million, an increase of approximately 25%  from the previous US$109 million.  This 
was a welcome development.  However, the Direct or-General continued to urge that  further 
attention be paid to the challenge of disbursements; and 
• In Part II of the ET, under Agriculture and In frastructure-Related Development Assistance, 
the number of commitments remained fairly st able at 75, as did the total value of these 
commitments which amounted to approximately US$2 billion.  The total value of disbursed 
amounts had increased by around 19% from US $134 million to US$159 million in the 
updated version.  But, wide gaps remained between "commitments" and "disbursements".  
7. The Evolving Table continued to be a significant bi-annual transparency mechanism.  In 
addition to serving as an instrument for the Member ship to track and monitor development assistance 
provided to the cotton proponents, it had also em erged as a useful tool for dialogue between the 
development community and receivers of assistance in the cotton sector.   
8. Data in the ET had been under periodic review  since the initiation of the "Verification 
Exercise" by the Director-General in 2006.  As with all development assistance work, it remained 
work in progress.   
9. The Director-General invited Members to keep the Table contents under constant review and 
in the broader policy context.  Cotton was a key test of the development aspects of the Doha Round.  Cotton-producing countries, particularly the propone nts of the Sectoral Initiative on Cotton, were 
being severely affected by the global financial and economic crisis, reflecte d in cotton production, 
export trade and mill use. The financial crisis had made imperative the expe ditious resolution of the 
cotton dossier in the context of the Doha Development Round.   
III. TABLE ON DOMESTIC COTTON SECTOR REFORMS  
10. A new Table - Domestic Cotton Sector Reforms Table - (DCS-RT), was created, following 
consultations with the C4 and other cotton prop onents, and the understanding reached by Members 
and participants at the 9
th Round of the DGCFMC.  In the first version of the Table, cotton proponents 
had begun to set out their priorities for the domestic reform of their cotton sectors.  The stated purpose 
was to identify reform areas, including in on-going reform, for achieving productivity and efficiency gains.  Furthermore, the reforms aimed to al so identify areas for partnerships between the 
development community and proponents so as to ac hieve effective intervention for better targeted 
development assistance.    TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
 WT/CFMC/23 
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  11. Inputs to the first version of the DCS-RT were provided by Benin, Burkina Faso and Chad.   
IV. 11TH ROUND OF THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S CONSULTATIVE FRAMEWORK 
MECHANISM ON COTTON  
12. The 11th Round of the Director-General's Cons ultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton 
(DGCFMC) took place on 24 April 2009.5  Deputy Director-General Harsha V. Singh, Chairman6 
pro tem , delivered a message on behalf of the Directo r-General.  Burkina Faso made a statement on 
behalf of the co-authors of the Sectoral Initiative on Cotton and on behalf of African countries that 
produce and trade cotton.  H.E. Ambassador David Wa lker of New Zealand, the new Chairman of the 
Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture (CoA/SS) and of the Sub-Committee on Cotton 
(SCC), gave an account of the state-of-play in the agriculture negotiations and cotton in particular. 
13. The Chairman  welcomed all participants to the 11th Round of the DGCFMC.  The Chairman 
welcomed, in particular Ambassador David Walker of New Zealand.  He expressed the collective appreciation of all Members and participants to Ambassador Crawford Falconer of New Zealand for 
his outstanding job as Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture Special Sessions (CoA/SS) and of 
it's Sub-Committee on Cotton (SCC).  It was noted that  over the past few years, the contributions of 
Ambassador Falconer in the evol ving draft texts on modalities had enabled progressive engagement 
by Members on both the substance and process of the cotton dossier.   
14. The Chairman noted that since the 10
th Round, the cotton sector had been seriously affected 
by a succession of crises.  The global commodity cris is resulted in many farmers in different countries 
opting out of cotton production to shift to the pro duction of more profitable alternative crops.  The 
global economic and financial crisis had taken a very heavy toll on the sector.  The third crisis was the 
irrational spike in cotton prices in the commodity futures market, which cotton mill purchasers were 
not willing to pay.  As a consequence of this and an ensuing liquidity crisis , several cotton merchants 
hedged their positions at cotton exchanges.  Faced w ith significant margin calls, they had been forced 
into liquidation and bankruptcy.  The ongoing global  financial and economic crisis had adversely 
affected the cotton sector, particularly through re duced production areas, expor ts and revenue and mill 
use.   
15. The Chairman noted that, in light of the successi ve crises that had affected the cotton sector, 
Director-General Pascal Lamy had requested hi m to reaffirm the fundamental position that the 
satisfactory resolution of the cotton dossier re mained a key priority for the WTO.  The 
Director-General had also underlined his position,  earlier communicated to WTO Members that, "if 
before there was a need to act expeditiously to a ddress the cotton dossier in the context of the Doha 
Development Round, the current financial crisis has ma de it an imperative".   Populations in the most 
vulnerable Members were at risk of deeper leve ls of poverty as a result of the adversity being 
experienced in a sole sector of dependency.  The Di rector-General stressed th e urgent necessity to act 
to mitigate this adversity in those areas within th e competence of the Doha Round.  Members needed 
to satisfactorily address the cotton dossier partic ularly in the trade policy aspects within the 
framework of an urgent conclusion to the Doha R ound.  The Director-General was in regular contact 
with the C4, the African Group and the least deve loped countries on the cotton dossier and continued 
to accord priority importance to this issue.  
                                                      
5 The agenda for the consultations is annexed.   
6 Deputy Director-General Harsha Vardhana Singh is chairman pro tem , on behalf of Director-General, 
Pascal Lamy. TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
WT/CFMC/23 Page 4 
 
 
  16. Eleven delegations intervened.  All the de legations that interv ened acknowledged the 
significant contributions by H.E. Ambassador Crawford Falconer, as Chairman of the CoA/SS and of its SCC, in advancing, inter alia , work on the trade policy aspects of  cotton.  They also welcomed 
H.E. Ambassador David Walker as the new Chairman  of the CoA/SS and of its SCC, and pledged 
their support.   
17. The Representative of Burkina Faso
 (Coordinator for the C4 and Cotton Proponents) 
expressed appreciation to Director-General Pascal Lamy for convening the 11th Round of the 
DGCFMC.  The 11th Round was timely because of the context of the global economic recession and 
the G20 Summit in London, which had taken place three weeks earlier.  Solutions were needed.  
Three weeks were not enough to determine whether or  not all of the measures that had been decided 
were relevant.  More time was needed to ascertain the ambition and impact of the decisions taken.  
Given the commitment of the 20 Heads of State and Government and their cohesion, it appeared that 
they had taken the right decisions and were moving in  the right direction to enable the restoration of 
growth and job creation, while monitoring fina ncial regulations and st rengthening financial 
institutions.   
18. The remarkable fact of the G20 Summit was that  for the first time decisions had been taken 
that went beyond the usual circle of developed countries.  The representative of Burkina Faso 
welcomed the commitments to strengthening fina ncial supervision and re gulation;  resisting 
protectionism, promoting trade and investment;  reach ing an ambitious and bala nced conclusion to the 
Doha Round;  and, monitoring the mandate accorded  to the WTO to report publicly on the adherence 
of the G20 to their trade commitments on a quarter ly basis.  The results from the G20 Summit were 
positive.  This was the first good news since the Ministerial Meeting in July 2008.   
19. Africa was being affected by the global financ ial crisis.  Economic growth in Africa would 
contract, due to a decline in exports linked to in ternational demand, the fall in commodity prices, 
reduced investment and the credit freeze.  Reduction in development assistance was expected with the 
risk that MDGs may not be achieved in the current  global economic context.  The representative of 
Burkina Faso referred to the for ecast by the Project Link, which was set up by the United Nations in 
the University of Ottawa.  According to th e forecast, African growth rates had averaged 
approximately 5% in the last five years.  Under an  optimistic scenario, growth rate could decline to 
4.1% or fall as low as 0.1% under more pessimistic  scenarios.  This forecast excluded petroleum 
exporting countries.  The representative of Burkin a Faso noted that these statistics did not fully 
capture harsh daily realities in these countries.   
20. In 2008 there was a food crisis.  One of the e ffects was increased cost of inputs arising from 
sharp increases in petroleum and petroleum products, used for example in the production of fertilizers.  
The food price crisis resulted in demonstrations in several African countries.   
21. The representative of Burkina Faso reiterated  the position of the cotton proponents.  The 
cotton dossier had become symptomatic of the Doha Round of Negotiations.  The Doha Round 
remained a Development Round.  The C4 reaffirmed  its support for the draft provisions on the trade 
policy aspects of cotton, reflected in the revise d December 2008 draft modalities on agriculture.  The 
draft modalities on cotton resulted from a long pro cess of negotiations between the C4, Brazil, the 
European Communities (EC) and the United States (US).  The C4 felt that the 27 November 2008 
Green Room consultations provided hope that an agreement would be reached that would comply 
with paragraph 11 of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration for an ambitious, expeditious and 
specific treatment of the cotton dossier.  The current  global context of financ ial crisis and economic 
recession added greater urgency for a solution to the problem.    TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
 WT/CFMC/23 
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  22. The C4 was following the evolution of the pr ocedures set up within the Dispute Settlement 
Body (DSB) which had come to its final phase in order to bring the United States into compliance, 
with the decision of the Appellate Body (AB) in  the case brought by Brazil against United States 
subsidies on Upland Cotton.  The C4 and other cotton proponents were waiting for a definitive 
solution that would be in their favour with regard to global market conditions.  C4 countries, at the 
highest level, looked forward to a resolution of th e cotton dossier.  The C4 believed that conditions 
were possible for an early harvest on cotton.  Such an early harvest would enable these most 
vulnerable countries to continue to make social a nd economic progress.  Six years after the launch of 
the Sectoral Initiative on Cotton (SIC), it was time  for the major Members, whose subsidies were 
having a trade distorting effect on the international markets, to understand the damage and the risks to 
the cotton sector in Africa.  The countries affected  would not be able to benefit from globalization, 
unless firm decisions were made to address the cotton issue.   
23. The representative of the C4 stated that, w ithin the framework of the G20 London Summit 
Declaration, the initial C4 proposal for a cotton safety net for African cotton growers should be 
revisited in light of the fact that cotton revenue w as vital for livelihood in several African countries.   
24. The two-track approach, based on the trade po licy aspects and the development assistance 
aspects, was reaffirmed.  The representative of Bu rkina Faso acknowledged the necessity of measures 
and contributions to improve productivity in the co tton sector.  Cotton proponents were fully aware of 
the risks of  mono-culture economies.  Diversifi cation programmes were being designed and set-up.  
Yet, the challenges were even more diffi cult to overcome in the absence of new savoir-faire  for 
producers at all levels of the production chain.  In the proponent countries, cotton was the product 
where comparative advantage was high(est), not only in relation to trade, but also for poverty reduction.  The cotton proponents expressed sa tisfaction with the Consultative Framework 
Mechanism set up by the WTO Director-General.  It provided a forum for discussions that enabled 
better understanding of the problems that existed in the field and put in relief the issues at stake.  It 
also provided a forum for exchange of views on th e entire range of the Cotton Initiative, including on 
lessons learned from the different strategies that had been set up.   
25. The C4 Coordinator expressed appreciation fo r the positive results from the process of the 
DGCFMC since 2006.  Cotton proponents were pleased  with the constant progress that had been 
made and emerging new pa rtnerships.  Emerging ec onomies had begun to translate their commitments 
into concrete support.  Appreciation was conveyed to  several Members namely, Brazil, India, China, 
Egypt, Turkey, Thailand and Indonesia and a programme for capacity building that had been set-up by 
Bangladesh, which was an LDC, to assist other countri es, particularly African countries in the cotton, 
textiles and clothing sector.  The significance of the contribution by Brazil to the ET was underlined.  
Brazil had set-up an ambitious agreement for coope ration with the C4 countries on cotton.  The 
project would address the main obstacles to co tton productivity through improving cotton seed 
varieties and soil fertility, increasing yiel ds and enhancing fibre quality.   
26. The South-South Partnership platform was pr oviding strong support for cotton proponents.  
South-South Cooperation was contributing to impr ove the quality and volume of cotton production.  
This is enabling African producers to capitalise on th eir comparative advantage in the cotton sector.   
27. Burkina Faso stated that the cotton proponent s were hopeful that the new Chairman would 
continue to advance the negotiations from where they were on 27 November 2008.  The expectation 
was expressed that there could be an early harvest on cotton.   
28. The representative of Burkina Faso, on behalf of the cotton proponents, expressed 
appreciation to Director-General Lamy for his lead ership on cotton, and also expressed satisfaction at 
his re-appointment to a second term as Director-G eneral and reaffirmed the support of the cotton TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
WT/CFMC/23 Page 6 
 
 
  proponents and urged him to work towards a su ccessful conclusion of the Doha Round.  The 
representative of Burkina Faso conveyed appreciati on for the strong and consistent support for the 
Cotton Initiative from the LDCs' Consultative Group, the WTO African Group, the ACP and the G20.   
29. Ambassador David Walker, Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture Special Session
 
(CoA/SS) and of its Sub-Committee on Cotton (SCC)  provided an account of the state-of-play on 
agriculture and cotton.  He started by noting that the G20 London Summit had reiterated its 
commitment to an ambitious and balanced conclu sion to the Doha Development Round, noting that 
that outcome was urgently needed.  The agricu lture negotiations were evolving under guidance from 
the December 2008 TNC.  A significant amount of work remained to be done to bring the Agriculture 
Negotiations to conclusion.  In particular, Member s needed to establish the modalities, prepare draft 
schedules, undertake the verification exercise on those schedules and go through a legal drafting exercise.  The Chairman noted that having just b een elected, he would need time to take stock of 
where things stood and consult with delegations  as to how they saw the negotiations evolving, 
following the latest revision of the draft m odalities text on agriculture (TN/AG/W4/Rev.4 and 
associated documents) distributed in December 2008.   
30. On the trade policy aspects of cotton, Members in the July 2004 Framework and at the 2005 
Hong Kong Ministerial Conference, agreed to  treat cotton "ambitiously, expeditiously and 
specifically" within the Agriculture Negotiatio ns.  The draft agriculture modalities texts 
TN/AG/W4/Rev.4 had specific language on cotton and this remained the basis for the negotiations.  
Although the mood in the recent engagement on cotton had been constructive and positive, 
negotiating positions had not yet prod uced concrete results for a revision of the current draft text on 
cotton.  But possibilities existed.  Indeed, consulta tions on cotton had been taking place at all levels 
since July 2008 from the technical level in Geneva to  the highest possible political level in capitals.  
The Chairman referred to the earlier statement by Ambassador Vokouma to the effect that significant 
technical consultations had been held late in 2008 to  seek to closer engage participants so as to reach 
an acceptable deal.  These discussions had led to so me clarity on possible scope for further progress.  
However, additional focused engagement would be n eeded to bridge positions.  The aim was to bring 
Members to discuss specific numbers on possible landing zones for cotton.   
31. With respect to the process over the short-term for agriculture more broadly, the Chairman 
indicated that he would need time to take stock of where things were, as with the negotiations on 
cotton, and to consult with delega tions before putting forward an outline for a possible future work 
agenda on both cotton and agriculture.  All agreed  that cotton issues should be discussed early and 
would be central to any consultations and negotiations.  
32. In conclusion, he noted that, although Member s had a new Chair, the mandate was unchanged 
for an ambitious, expeditious and specific treatment of cotton in the Agriculture Negotiations.  Cotton 
remained at the heart of a successful conclusion to the Doha Development Agenda.   
33. The representative of Brazil
 (on behalf of the G20) made a statement on the trade aspects of 
the 11th Round of the DGCFMC.  The G20 reiterated its  full support for the demands and the positions 
of the C4 in the Doha Round.  The G20 remained of  the view that cotton was a vital component of the 
agriculture negotiations in the Doha Round and a central outstanding issue.  Developing country 
producers and exporters of cotton, particularly  the poorest among them, continued to face unfair 
competition from developed countries' subsidies.  Braz il reiterated that the final levels of developed 
countries domestic support for cotton would be an essentia l test of the level of ambition in the Doha 
Development Agenda.   The G20 would continue to work closely with the C4 in sharing the common 
objective of an agreement on modalities that woul d addresses cotton ambitiously, expeditiously and 
specifically in accordance with the mandate.    TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
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  34. The representative of Brazil also made a follow-up  statement on its behalf.  He recalled that 
almost six years ago President Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso drew attention to the situation of 
cotton in Africa and laid out the facts of developed countries' trade distorting subsidies.  The 11
th Round of the DGCFMC was a tribute to the success of the C4.  It was an expression of the 
importance of cotton for developing countries, esp ecially in Africa.  The trade and development 
aspects of cotton were vital components of the DDA and a fundamental element of South-South Cooperation.  The G20 statement had addressed the issu e of cotton in its trade dimension.  Brazil held 
the position that the situation of cotton was a microcos m of distortions in agricultural trade and of the 
implications of those distortions for developing countries.   
35. The representative of Brazil noted that the ruling of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body 
(DSB) on cotton was a landmark that must be fully  implemented by the party violating the WTO 
disciplines. 
36. On South-South Cooperation, Brazil was a firm  believer in its eff ectiveness and on its 
positive impacts on the development dimension.  In addition, bilaterally, Brazil was engaged in an 
ambitious programme of technical cooperation assist ance, technological transfer and capacity building 
with Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali in the fi eld of cotton.  The Brazilian Agency of Cooperation 
(ABC) and the Brazilian Enterprise for Agricultural Research were fully committed to implementing 
this programme.  The highlights of the ma in activities were identified as follows:   
• Construction and development of  a model farm for cotton in Mali for the benefit of C4 
countries; 
• Capacity building systems for cotton cultivation and genetic enhancement; 
• Introduction of varieties and germplasm tr ough validation and demonstration unities; 
• Biological control of plagues through bio-factories; and 
• Enhancement of the cotton industry profitability.  
37. The representative of Brazil expected to extend this bilateral initiative  to all cotton producing 
countries in Africa.  It was confident that this cooperation would provide major contributions to redressing structural challenges in these countries.   
38. The representative of Tanzania
 (on behalf of the LDCs' C onsultative Group) supported the 
statement made by Burkina Faso as Coordinato r for the C4 and the cotton proponents.   
39. LDCs', particularly African cotton growers, fa ced formidable challenges.  These included the 
challenge of low average yield of approximately 750 kgs of seed cotton per hectare compared to 
higher world averages.  African cotton farmers needed  to improve efficiency.  Low productivity levels 
could be attributed to inadequate extension ser vices as well as limited use of yield-enhancing 
technologies like improved seeds and fertilizers.  Cotton farmers on the Continent had also been adversely affected by the market liberalisation and increased competition from the involved private 
sector, post liberalisation.  There was also the challe nge of lint contamination.  About 80% of African 
cotton was still exported in its raw form.  Value ad dition was minimal.  More  efforts were necessary 
to process the raw cotton into yarn, textiles and appa rel which would be more beneficial for African 
cotton producers.  TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
WT/CFMC/23 Page 8 
 
 
  40. The fall in global cotton prices had created dramatic effects on the cotton sector in most 
cotton growing countries, including Tanzania.  Wh ile during the last season prices ranged between 
US$330 and US$450 dollars per ton, there were expectations that the price could decline to as low as US$167 in one year.  The fall in global cotton price was having serious consequences on the 
economies of cotton farming communities, which were  already in desperate survival struggles.  
Individuals in these areas already liv ed on less than a dollar a day.  LDCs made up the only region(s) 
in the world where people still lived in abject poverty.   
41. Another development result from the fall in co tton prices had been the increased cotton stock 
from previous seasons.  Buyers were refraining from buying additional stocks for fear that they would 
not be able to make ends meet.  Buyers also faced  the problem of insufficient trade finance to procure 
additional cotton purchases.  Dealers had also st opped dealing in cotton because of financial 
difficulties.  They were demanding compensation fro m their governments who in turn had not been 
able to respond for lack of financial resources.  A vicious circle existed:  governments could not assist 
farmers and the farmers, in some instances, had re sorted to stop planting cotton and were exploring 
for alternative crops.   
42. The trade distorting subsidies, applied by th e developed countries, through domestic support 
to cotton growers as well as export subsidies for t hose who were exporting cotton to other countries, 
had been damaging.  They had caused havoc to co tton producers particularly in the LDCs'.  This 
situation needed to be remedied, otherwise cotton production would disappear.   
43. In the past, cotton was referred to as "the poor  man's white gold"; but no longer because of 
these changes and range of factors, which had adver sely affected cotton production.  Tanzania agreed 
with the position of Burkina Faso, on behalf of  the cotton proponents, that the attainment of 
development goals was becoming unattainable.  The effect was that poverty would deepen, and 
continue to threaten the livelihoods of more that  1.4 billion people in LDCs .  This was why LDCs 
shared the position of the Director-General, that the cotton dossier deserved urgent attention more 
than ever, in light of the global financial crisis.   
44. The representative of Nigeria
 associated himself with the stat ements made by the C4, the G20 
and the LDCs' Consultative Group.  He expressed appreciation to the Director-General for his 
leadership on the cotton dossier, as reflected in  the regularity of rounds of the Consultative 
Framework Mechanism.  Progress, on cotton, so far could be directly attributed to the relentless 
efforts by the Director-General and his commitm ent to the plight of African cotton farmers, 
particularly the C4. Nigeria was appreciative of the Director-General's efforts to implement the 
mandate by Ministers in Hong Kong in 2005. The representative of Nigeria in particular, underlined 
the reference in the 21 April 2009 communication from the Director-General to Members, stating that 
the financial crisis made it more imperative than ev er to act expeditiously to address the cotton dossier 
in the context of the DDA.  He urged Members to  demonstrate flexibility on the proposal by the C4 
for a safety net to address the income declines in the cotton sector.  Nigeria shared the position that 
cotton was a vital component of the Agricultura l Negotiations in the Doha Round and a central 
outstanding issue.  The representative of Nigeria was concerned by the fact that the C4 in particular 
continued to face unfair competition from develope d countries' trade distorting subsidies.  
He underscored the urgency for an agreement on m odalities in a manner that would address the cotton 
dossier ambitiously, specifically and exped itiously in accordance with the mandate.   
45. On the development assistance aspects, Nigeri a welcomed the response of the development 
community to support the cotton sector in Africa.  Progress continued to be made on this aspect in the 
DGCFMC.    TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
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  46. Nigeria welcomed the statement by the new Chair of the CoA/SS and of its SCC that, 
although new, the mandate for an ambitious treatment  of cotton had not changed and remained at the 
heart of the successful conclusion of the DDA.   
47. The representative of Australia  stated that his country for many years had been at the 
forefront of efforts to reform world agricultural tr ade and remove the full array of distortions which 
impact negatively on trade.  In this context, Au stralia recognised the important role that the cotton 
sector played in the economies of various Memb ers and its particular importance to many 
least-developed and developing countries.  Australia  supported and welcomed the continued focus on 
the development assistance aspects of cotton, particularly in Africa, which could make an important 
contribution to further enhance the competitiveness of  cotton producing countries, and specially in the 
current difficult global economic situation.  The re presentative of Australia affirmed his delegation's 
continuing support for an ambitious, expeditious  and specific outcome on cotton as mandated in 
Annex A of the July 2004Framework Agreement.  In this regard, Aust ralia welcomed, with others, the 
constructive role of the C4 and the statement by Burkina Faso for the cotton proponents.   
48. Australia was a significant producer of cotton a nd had consistently been one of the world's 
leading cotton exporters.  While th ere were broader benefits of operating in a developed country, 
nevertheless, Australian cotton farmers operated wi thout the benefit of either production or export 
subsidies and hence were exposed to world market  trends.  Largely as a result of the drought in 
Australia, there had been a major reduction in the value of cotton production in 2007 and 2008.  The 
value of cotton production would only be  about 20% of the normal value.   
49. Concluding the Round and delivering an outcome on cotton that meets this distinct mandate 
would represent a major step forward for this sign ificant sector of world trade.  Australia would 
continue to push hard for the early conclusion of  modalities and for the expeditious and satisfactory 
completion of the Doha Round.  In the current globa l economic crisis, trade and the conclusion of the 
Doha Round were integral parts of the solution to the global crisis.  Trade had not created the crisis 
but trade could certainly assist in alleviating the difficulties.   
50. The representative of the United States  restated its commitment to achieving an ambitious and 
balanced outcome to the Doha Development Agenda ;  an outcome that opened markets and created 
significant new trading opportunities in agriculture as well as in industrial goods and in services.  
Such an outcome would generate economic grow th and development that was needed in all 
economies.  Ultimately, the most effective way to remove trade barriers and strengthen open markets 
in agriculture was through a Doha package that addre ssed all three pillars in market access, domestic 
support and export competition.  Cotton needed to be integrated into this p ackage.  The United States 
was committed to working with its trading partners  to achieve such an outcome.  The United States 
was pleased that the WTO continued to underscore  the importance of the Consultative Framework 
Mechanism which continued to address all important  development aspects of the cotton discussions.  
Energetic and comprehensive development work in their respective cotton sectors would yield 
meaningful export opportunities for C4 countries in  coming years.  The United States looked forward 
to information from the C4 on the progress they were making on reforms in their domestic cotton 
sectors.   
51. The representative of Cuba  supported the statements by Burkina Faso for the cotton 
proponents, Brazil on behalf of the G20, Tanzania  for the LDCs and statements by other African 
countries.  The issue of cotton was crucial in the Doha Round.  In this regard, Cuba expressed its 
appreciation for the tireless efforts of Director-G eneral Pascal Lamy.  Cuba agreed with the 
assessment by Director-General Lamy, in his 21 April 2009 communication to Members, of the positive role played by Brazil, China and India on  South-South Cooperation.  Members should follow 
this good example.   TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
WT/CFMC/23 Page 10 
 
 
  52. On the trade policy aspects, Cuba regretted th e fact that despite the efforts made on many 
sides, it had not yet been possible to come up with a compromise solution.  Therefore, in order not to 
excessively pressure Ambassador Walker, the new Chai rman, Cuba hoped that this dossier would be 
completed quickly and that Members would not have to  wait for more meetings in order to achieve an 
expeditious and ambitious result. 
53. The representative of India
 conveyed the appreciation of his delegation to the 
Director-General for convening the 11th Round of the DGCFMC.  He also thanked Burkina Faso for 
its pertinent and comprehensive statemen t on behalf of the cotton proponents.   
54. He noted that on 22 April 2009, the IMF had warned that hard-won progress in Africa was 
under threat from the global economic crisis.  The ma in problem for Africa was the deterioration of 
the global economy as a whole which was negatively  affecting exports from Africa as well as 
remittances from African immigrants abroad.  Th e sharp fall in commodity prices was adversely 
affecting resource rich countries in the region, and the credit crunch was hurting investment.  The 
representative of India recalled the statement by Director-General Lamy at the UNCTAD High-Level 
Multi-Stakeholder Meeting on Cotton, in Gene va, on 2 December 2008.  At that meeting, 
Director-General Lamy had stressed that, "the time has come to deliver on the promise of a fairer global trading system in cotton as this issue aff ects the poorest and weakest of our Members".  The 
representative of India noted that since the 10
th DGCFMC the only change was that the impact of the 
global financial and economic  crisis had been, unfortunately, most felt by African countries.  This 
situation necessitated extending support to the concerne d countries in their struggle to overcome the  
development challenges they faced at this critical  time.  India was indeed disappointed that no 
progress on the cotton issue had been made since 2005.  It needed to be acknowledged that unless the issue of cotton was resolved, it would not be possible to  conclude the Doha Round.  It was, therefore, 
necessary to work strenuously to address this issu e as mandated, i.e. ambitiously, specifically and 
expeditiously.  India fully associated with the stat ements made by Brazil on behalf of the G20.  
55. The situation in the economies of the cotton proponents was critical.  These countries were 
confronted by the prevalence of a high level of trade distorting  subsidies in developed countries.  The issue of subsidies would have to be dealt with mean ingfully and frankly, if the situation were to be 
sincerely addressed.  India fully supported the proposals of the C4 in this regard.  There was a strong 
expectation that this issue, which was of cr itical importance for the C4 countries, would be 
expeditiously resolved.  The C4 should now see a positive outcome for which they had waited 
patiently.  The C4 countries should also enjoy enha nced market access in developed countries and 
there should not be any non-tariff barriers to their cotton exports.   
56. The representative of Egypt
 (on behalf of the African Group) supported the statement made 
by Burkina Faso on behalf of the C4 and the co tton proponents.  He thanked Mr. Lamy for all his 
efforts in relation to the trade aspects of the cotton issue and also for his efforts to mobilise 
development aid, within the CFMC, to assist Afri can cotton producers.  The African Group reiterated 
its unequivocal support for the C4 and their proposal in the agriculture negotiations on how to address 
the trade distorting subsidies granted to cotton producers in major developed countries.  The African Group could not envisage an outcome to the D oha Round without a satisfactory outcome on the 
cotton issue for the C4 and African countries.  The Group furthermore supported the approach advocated by the outgoing Chair of the CoA/SS and of its SCC on the re duction on domestic support 
for cotton, reflected in the last revised text of  6 December 2008.  The African Group welcomed the 
position by the new Chairman that this text w ould be the basis for future negotiations.   
57. The representative of Egypt recalled the manda te of the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial 
Conference to deal with the cotton issue ambitiously, expeditiously and specifically.  In light of this 
mandate, the African Group was of the position that cotton should be considered for an early harvest,  TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
 WT/CFMC/23 
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  also because of the negative impact of the financial crisis on the cotton sector.  There were sad stories 
of millions of poor African farmers, whose business es had gone into bankruptcy not only because of 
the global crisis but also due to the unfair compe tition they faced in world markets.  This was why 
Egypt, on behalf of the African Group, was urging Me mbers to work constructively to reach a fair and 
balanced resolution of the issue.   
58. The cotton dossier had acquired greater prominence  in light of the financial crisis.  Reports 
from various international institutions indicated  that trade flows from developing countries, 
particularly African countries, were the most vul nerable and were facing increased barriers in world 
markets.  This current situation was of grave con cern to the African Group in Geneva.  Furthermore,  
reports indicated that African economies would be further impacted negatively, due to the massive 
stimulus packages, bail-out plans and the increased trade distorting subsidies granted by developed countries to various agricultural and industrial ac tivities.  The African Group was concerned regarding 
the far-reaching impact of the crisis on African nati onal development plans.  The crisis was negatively 
affecting sensitive economic sectors in African count ries, with complex ramifications for production, 
exports, employment, investments, commodity prices, tourism and remittances, etc.   
59. The representative of Egypt, on behalf of the African Group, called on all parties to work 
constructively to assist African countries dependent  on cotton as a major export to ensure that the 
dossier was constructively and satisfactorily addr essed so that cotton production in Africa would not 
disappear.   
60. The representative of the European Communities
 welcomed the convening of the 11th Round 
of the DGCFMC and the renewed opportunity to re -engage with friends.  The EC had already 
implemented aspects of the Hong Kong mandate.  The concessions by the EC on cotton were specific.  
These were already more ambitious than other comm odities as the EC had already eliminated its most 
trade distorting subsidies for cotton.  EC conces sions were certainly expeditious.  They had gone 
further than the Hong Kong mandate as they had already been implemented with zero import duty, 
zero export subsidies and zero amber box support to da te.  The EC would continue to play a very 
active role on cotton in the framework of the Doha R ound.  It was particularly supportive of the trade 
interests of developing countries and believed that  a substantial outcome on cotton in accordance, 
with the Doha mandate, was still within reach.   
61. To conclude, the representative of the EC noted  that the value of EC development assistance 
related to cotton since 2004 amounted to more than €300 million, i.e. more than US$400 million.   
62. The representative of Pakistan  expressed the hope that the new Chairman of the CoA/SS and 
of its SCC would be able to resolve the cotton issue ambitiously, specifically and expeditiously.  
Pakistan also associated its delegation with the statements made by the G20 and the C4.  Cotton 
remained at the heart of the Doha Development Round.  Pakistan was a leading cotton grower and 
was keenly observing the entire negotiation process, because it was clear that this would have an 
impact on the levels of poverty in developing countries.   
63. The new Chairman of the CoA/SS and of its SCC, Ambassador David Walker  intervened at 
the end of the list of speakers to state that he had listened carefully and noted the interest of Members on the cotton dossier.  He thanked Members for their comments and for the many expressions of good will and support.  He looked forw ard to working with all Members to produce an outcome on cotton 
which would be ambitious, expeditious and specific, in accordance with the mandate.  He also hoped 
that this could be achieved as soon as possible. TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
WT/CFMC/23 Page 12 
 
 
  V. DOMESTIC COTTON SECTOR AND OTHER REFORMS / NATIONAL FOCAL 
POINTS  
64. The Chairman
 invited the 11th Round of consultations to take up item 4 on the agenda: 
− Domestic Cotton Sector and other Reforms / National Focal Points. 
65. He noted that domestic cotton sector and wide r reforms had been on the agenda of each 
Round of the DGCFMC from the very beginning in 2004.  Discussions under this item had now taken a decidedly positive turn with inputs from severa l of the cotton proponents.  Inputs had enabled the 
circulation of the first version of the Do mestic Cotton Sector Reforms Table (DCS-RT)
7 for cotton 
sector development.  The Chairman expressed apprec iation to  Benin, Burkina Faso and Chad who 
had invested time and effort in domestic coordination to provide the inputs for the preparation of this 
first version of the Table.  Over time the cons tructive donor / recipient dialogue under this item had 
underlined the strong relationship between resource s provided by the development community, on the 
one hand, and the more efficient resource use and greater openness amongst recipients of assistance, 
on the other.  He suggested that consideration of  the item be focused at two levels:  comments by 
Members and participants on the first version of the DCS-RT;  and, a status report by the Secretariat 
on the designation of focal points by the cotton proponent countries and receivers of cotton 
development assistance.   
66. The representative of Mali  noted that his delegation had forwarded an input to the Secretariat 
on 23 April 2009 for inclusion in the first version of  the DCS-RT.  Mali's input was also available as a 
conference room document, entitled:  "the revised calendar of Mali's Cotton Sector Reform Process".  
The document contained an overview of Mali's refo rm activities.  Six specific objectives had been 
identified in the restructuring of Mali's cotton sector .  An initial appraisal of the reform objectives 
indicated that the critical conditions for success existed. 
67. The Chairman  thanked Mali for the information provided and confirmed that indeed Mali's 
inputs were received by the Secretariat the day before  the meeting.  The DCS- RT would be updated to 
reflect Mali's inputs.  In past consultations, Mali had participated very actively on this item.   
68. The representative of the United States  thanked the C4 for providing the information reflected 
in the first version of the DCS-RT and also expressed appreciation to the Secretariat for providing sufficient time for discussions of the agenda item.  The US would carefully review the information 
provided.  Detailed comments would be provided at  a subsequent round of co nsultations.  However, 
this was an excellent beginning and the US was appreci ative of the response of the C4 to this aspect of 
the work of the DGCFMC.   
69. The representative of the European Communities
 expressed appreciation to the C4 for the 
information supplied.  Being a provider of informat ion on cotton development projects, the EC noted 
that it was well aware that the information submitted by the C4 involved time and effort.  Information 
provided on domestic reforms was useful and impor tant.  The EC would welcome further additions 
from the other non-C4 cotton producers which benefited from development assistance.   
70. The representative of Burkina Faso  intervened to say that when the US delegate asked for the 
floor, he had hoped that the US would announce refo rms of its agricultural sector.  The C4 would 
continue to be hopeful for the reduction or e limination of trade distorting subsidies.   
                                                      
7 WT/CFMC/21.  TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
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  71. The representative of Chad  reverted to the subject of cott on focal points.  He reiterated the 
comment by Chad at the 10th Round of the DGCFMC that there were no real contacts between the 
WTO Secretariat and cotton focal points.  To demonstr ate this, he stated that invitations forwarded by 
the Secretariat to Permanent Missions of the C4 in  Geneva had neither been forwarded nor received 
by the cotton sector focal points in  the capitals.  In order to incr ease the effectiveness of these focal 
points, they needed to be invited directly and provided with the means to attend these meetings.  
Unfortunately, the C4 had not received any reply to its request for the funding of capital-based focal 
points to participate at rounds of the DGCFMC.  The C4 had written to the Secretariat in the month of March, but no reply had been received so far to the request.  The C4 wanted to draw the attention of 
the Secretariat to this outstanding request and also request development partners to assist and enable 
focal points to attend these consultations.  Particip ation of the focal points would improve the quality 
of information and of the consultations.   
72. On the beneficiaries of cotton development assi stance, as shown on the ET, the EC had just 
suggested that the DCS-RT could include other beneficiary countries, beyond the C4.  Chad believed 
this would be interesting because it would enable all participants to see that the universe of 
beneficiaries was larger than the C4.  This would assist in correcting the impression that only the C4 
were recipients of assistance from the development partners.  Such transparency would be very useful.  The delegation of Chad would, therefore, like to  see other beneficiaries of cotton development 
assistance reflected in the DCS-RT.  There were non-C4 countries receiving twice as much or three 
times as much funding as the C4 countries. 
73. The Chairman
 recalled that he had, earlier in the year, discussed several of the issues raised 
by Chad with the C4.  He indicated the issues were being reviewed and examined.  The Chairman 
undertook to cross-check and revert.  On the speci fic issue of extending invitations to consultative 
meetings directly to focal points, he pr omised that the Secretariat would do so. 
74. On the objective of enlarging contributors to th e DCS-RT, the Chairman shared that the Table 
would be usefully enriched with the inclusion of inputs from non-C4 countries, as long as the 
information was provided by beneficiaries of development assistance for cotton.  The Secretariat would continue to request additional information from all participants for the update of the two tables:  
i) the Director-General's Evolving Table (ET) on Cotton Development Assistance;  and, ii) the 
Domestic Cotton Sector Reform Table (DCS-RT). 
75. On the second aspect of the item related to the designation of national cotton focal points, the 
Chairman informed participants that, so far, the Secretariat had only received and registered returns 
from seven proponent countries.  In other words, the number of designated focal points remained the 
same as at November 2008.  He urged cotton propon ent countries to take action as quickly as possible 
to designate the national cotton sector focal points;  this would help in taking the process forward.   
76. To conclude, the Chairman expressed appreciati on to the C4 countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, 
Chad and Mali) for their inputs which had made it possi ble to prepare the first version of the DCS-RT.  
Inputs for the preparation of the Table and the initia l discussions had been constructive steps forward.  
Others were encouraged to review the informa tion provided, which would make future discussions 
even richer and which should provide the basis for an update to the Table.   
77. The Chairman proposed that the 11
th Round of the DGCFMC take note  of the first version of 
the DCS-RT, circulated reports and statements made.   
78. It was so agreed .   TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
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  VI. COTTON PRODUCTION AND TRADE TRENDS 
79. The Chairman invited the 11
th Round of the DGCFMC to consider item 5 on the agenda, on 
cotton production and trade trends.  The cotton sector had been subjected to a considerable degree of 
adversity resulting from a succession of crisis.  Many cotton producing a nd exporting countries had 
been affected, particularly African countries, of which several depended on the cotton sector for their 
growth and poverty reduction strategies as well as for rural well-being and livelihood concerns.   
80. The representative of the Internati onal Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)8 made a 
statement (complemented by a co-ICAC representative).9   
81. To precede ICAC's presentation on cotton production and trade trends, the ICAC 
representative informed participants that 2009 had b een declared the International Year of Natural 
Fibres by the United Nations General Assembly.  ICAC and sister organizations were representing 
jute, wool, silk and many other natural fibres a nd were raising awareness about the importance of 
natural fibre production and consumption.   
82. The representative of ICAC made a chart-b ased presentation on the evolution of cotton 
production and consumption in the most recent ten years and the forecast for the 2009/10 season.  
Cotton production stood at a little under 20 million t onnes in 1999, rose to a record of 27 million 
tonnes in the middle of the current decade and was currently experiencing one of the largest declines 
in history with a forecast of about 23½ million tonnes in the current season (ending July 2009).  Mill use had also been rising until the last season (2007/ 2008).  It had experienced a 13% decline so far 
this year, which was the largest single pe rcentage decline since World War II.   
83. Successively, in the past five seasons (partic ularly from 2004/05), production had either been 
equal to, or greater than, consumption.  The im plication was that cotton stocks were large and 
growing.  This was placing downward pressure on cotton prices.  Cotton stocks were increasing.  
Producers and exporters were being forced to carry larg er stocks than they would like to and, in some 
cases larger stocks than for which they had warehouse capacity.  Importing countries were not 
purchasing as much as had been the case in the past.   
84. On prices, the Cotlook A Index
10 averaged US¢74 per pound of cotton lint during the 1970's, 
80's and 90's.  In the past 10 years, the Cotlook A Index had averaged just US¢56 per pound.  Although there had been year-to-year variations, the average had been some US¢18 per pound lower 
than was the case in previous decades.  The estima te for the current season that ended in July was 
US¢59 per pound (similar to the price average from the past 10 years).  The forecast average for the 
season that would begin in August 20 09 and end in July 2010 was US ¢56.  The statistical range of 
error around that forecast, given the uncertainties in supply and use, at the time was between US¢44 
to US¢62 per pound.  The point to be stressed was that even in a best ca se scenario, where prices 
could be expected to reach the top of the for ecast range, these prices would still be well below the 
average of US¢74 that applied during the 1970's, 80' s and 90's.  As a consequence, there was indeed 
substantial pressure on all cotton producers, par ticularly those in developing countries. 
                                                     
 
8 Mr. Terry Townsend, Executive Di rector of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC).   
9 Mr. Ibrahim Malloum.   
10 The Cotlook A index is an indicator  of the average level of world prices for cotton delivered to Far 
Eastern markets.  These were not farm prices.  They  were prices received by farmers at the major import 
terminals in the Far East.    TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
 WT/CFMC/23 
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  85.  For the 2009/10 season, production was expected to decline in China from approximately 8 
million tonnes to about 7½ million tonnes.  Production in  India and Pakistan was expected to be near 
their averages;  i.e. for India about 5 million tonnes;  and, for Pakistan about 2 million tonnes.  Production was declining in the United States fro m 5 million tonnes in 2006, to 4 million tonnes 
in 2007, and about 3 million tonnes were expected in the new season.  Production was declining in 
Brazil, Uzbekistan, the zone of the nine countries comprising the Currency of Francophone Africa, and Turkey.  It was evident that the pressure on world cotton producers because of lower prices was 
having effects on almost all cotton producing countries.   
86. Three specific crises had affected the global co tton market, namely:  the global commodity 
price crisis that affected the cost of cotton productio n;  the crisis specific to the cotton market, spiked 
by the unusual volatility in futures market prices;  and, the global financial and economic crisis.   
87. First the global commodity crisis.  Cotton was pr oduced with a range of inputs.  On average, 
fertilizer costs alone accounted for about 20% of total production costs in most countries.  Nitrogen 
fertilizer was made directly from natural gas, and phosphate and potassium , which were mined and 
were also energy intensive.  The cost of tran sportation of resources for fertilizer production was a 
significant component of the price paid by farmers.  As crude oil prices rose in 2007 and significantly 
in 2008, the price increases had a direct impact  on fertilizer cost. The World Bank Fertiliser Price 
Index rose by a factor of more than 10 between its average level in 2006 and the peak rate of in 
autumn 2008.  The peak level of prices in Sept ember, October and Nove mber 2008, unfortunately 
coincided with the time when cotton producers we re purchasing fertilizer for use in the 2009 planting 
season.  Energy and fertilizer prices had retreated  from their peaks.  The Fertiliser Price Index 
compiled by the World Bank was still about three times the average level in 2006.   
88. The second crisis that affected cotton in partic ular was the crisis that occurred in the New 
York Futures Market in March 2008.  There was su bstantial correlation between New York Futures 
prices and world cotton prices.  Many merchants used the New York Futures market to hedge cotton 
prices not only from the United States but also from Br azil, Central Asia and Africa.  Importers also 
used the New York Futur es market to hedge their purchases.  It was common for textile mills in 
Japan, Korea, Germany, or elsewhere, to use that  same New York Futures contract as a hedging 
mechanism.  In March 2008, the New York Futures prices for cott on rose steeply and unexpectedly.  
Many cotton merchants were caught on the wrong si de of the market.  Cotton merchants form an 
indispensable component of the world cotton production, demand and supply chain.  The impact of 
that particular event in March 2008  was still reverberating throughout th e cotton industry.  Four of the 
ten largest cotton merchant firms in the world decl ared bankruptcy.  Two additional firms declared 
that although they were not bankrupt, they had elected to exit the cotton business.  The remaining 
firms were in financially weakened positions.  Th e consequence of this w as that cotton merchants 
were no longer willing to buy forward as they might ha ve done in the past.  So, for instance, in April 
2009, it was very common for African cotton producers to try to sell a portion of their crop that they 
expected to harvest later in the year;  i.e. to sell a portion of their expected harvest at a fixed price so 
as to hedge their production and use the revenue to  purchase inputs.  But because of the weakened 
state of cotton merchants, the later were not w illing to buy forward.  As a result, many cotton 
producing countries were unable to sell forward.  This was disrupting the supply of inputs in many developing countries.   
89. The third crisis was the on-going economic crisis, which has resulted in the largest percentage 
decline in world GDP since World War II.  The la test forecast from the IMF and the World Bank 
suggested a recovery in 2010.  However, even w ith recovery in 2010, the rate of economic growth 
was not expected to return to levels where it was earlier in the decade.  Th e decline in GDP growth TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
WT/CFMC/23 Page 16 
 
 
  was having a direct impact on world cotton mill use.
11  A 13% decline in mill use was forecast for the 
season ending in July 2009.  This decline in mill u se was the largest since World War II.   A modest 
increase in cotton mill use in the new season, be ginning August 2009, was forecast corresponding to 
the modest recovery in economic growth expected to  begin in 2010.  However, mill use would still be 
much lower than it had been earlier in the decade.   
90. The impacts of these three crises were having a dir ect effect on the cotton industry in Africa.  
Production for all of Africa stood at more than 2 m illion tonnes in the 2004/05 season.  Since then, it 
had declined every season.  ICAC estimated that  production across all of Africa would drop below 
1.3 million tonnes, a more than a 30% decline.  The decline in African co tton production was a result 
of both decreasing area under cultivation and declin ing yields.  Cotton area had dropped from more 
than 5 million hectares to about 3½ million hectares.  Yields had also declined, a direct reflection, 
inter alia , of the inability to purchase fertilizer.  Yields of  cotton lint in Africa as a whole had declined 
from about 400 kgs per hectare to about 375 kgs per h ectare.  The combined impact of reduced areas 
under cultivation and lower yields added up to about ⅓ decline in production.  Production declines 
had been steepest in the Francophone zone, wh ere production had decreased from 1.2 million tonnes 
to about 500,000 tonnes;  in other words cotton pr oduction in the CFA zone had dropped by more 
than half.  
91. Production had remained about the same level in  Eastern and Southern Africa in total, but 
was also declining in North Africa where produc tion had decreased from around 400,000 tonnes to 
300,000 tonnes.   
92. Africa's cotton exports had also been affected.  Earnings from exports had also dropped.  In 
the 2005/06 season, Africa exporte d 1.6 million tonnes of cotton fibre.  During the current season, 
Africa was expected to export about half of that amount, approximately, 800,000 tonnes.  With economic growth and some recovery in mill use, IC AC expected some recovery in exports in the 
2009/10 season.  However, this would still leave Africa in a dramatically reduced position in terms of 
export earnings.   
93. The Co-presenter (Mr. Ibrahim Malloum)
, in the joint presentation by ICAC, underlined 
specific points in the production and trade trends in  Africa and the adversity being experienced in the 
African cotton sector.   
94. Reduced cotton production in Africa had resulte d in a drastic drop in income for poor and 
vulnerable farmers.  Reduced income had reduced  resources for poverty alleviation programmes.  
Families dependent on the cotton farmers were no longe r able to fund the education of their children, 
pay for health care and housing.  Purchasing power  had decreased.  Reduced income from declining 
cotton production had created the vicious circle, wher e farmers were unable to purchase fertilizer and 
essential agricultural equipment.  In effect, ther e were also negative effects for agricultural 
productivity in Africa as a whole, particularly for cereals, where production had also dropped.  It was 
essential to underline the fact that the cotton crisis in Africa also reflected the larger crisis in 
agriculture and food production.  Poverty was on the increase in the cotton regions because of the 
drop in cotton production a nd fall in prices.    
95. The consequences of the various crises were be ing felt beyond the cotton sector to the larger 
agriculture sector in general.  Land fertility was be ing diminished because of reduced fertilizer use.  
As a consequence, yield was decreasing.  Gove rnments did not have the resources to finance 
agronomical research.  Plans were no longer being fo llowed for obtaining newer, stronger, high-yield, 
disease-resistant seed varieties.  Ac cess to credits was minimal to non-existent.  The cotton industry 
was at risk of disappearance.   
                                                      
11 Mill use refers to the industrial use of cotton in textile plants.    TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
 WT/CFMC/23 
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  96. The representative of ICAC (Mr. Terry Town send) concluded the joint presentation by 
expressing the hope that the world cotton industry re mained an opportunity for income and wealth.  
Although in the current season cotton production and consumption were declining by the largest 
amounts since World War II, the global economy was in  the midst of the worst economic crisis and at 
some point, the crisis would abate and cotton c onsumption would revive.  World-wide, consumers 
were expressing a preference for cotton products .  New technologies were also resulting in 
increasingly sustainable cotton production practices around the world.  ICAC expected that cotton mill use would rebound from the ne w season beginning August 2009 and by the middle of the next 
decade could exceed 30 million tonnes.  Conseque ntly, opportunities existed for all producers 
including African producers to achieve income a nd wealth from the cotton industry over the long 
term.   
97. The representative of Benin
 stated that as Coordinator of the 8-Member West African 
Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), his dele gation would like the WAEMU to be represented 
at these rounds of consultations.  The Sectoral Initiative on Cotton (SIC) originated from the 
WAEMU countries in 2003.  It was in that year that the alarm bells rang and the sector was now 
mired in crisis. In that year also, WAEMU asked for the sum of US$800,000 to invest in the textiles and clothing sector, which would assist in saving the cotton sector.  WAEMU should have been listened to in 2003.  If this had been the case, th e international community would not be addressing 
the issue of unsold and mounting cotton stocks.  The request for investment support for value-added 
in the textiles and clothing sector linked to the cott on dossier had been on the table since 2003.  It was 
time to revisit the request and provide support so that the problem affecting the entire supply chain (in 
the cotton sector) for the eight countries of WAEMU c ould be taken into consideration in the poverty 
reduction programmes.  In this way, millions of producers and those dependent on them could be 
saved.   
98. The representative of Brazil
 expressed appreciation to the ICAC representatives for their 
illuminating presentations.  They had provided a g ood account of some of the underlying factors 
affecting cotton producers worldwide.  The situation was difficult, particularly the comment related to 
the cotton associations in Africa.  Developed countr ies were grappling with the complex situation of 
toxic liabilities, which created a number of c onstraints for government's support for economic 
activities.  One could only imagine the complex ch allenges facing African cotton producers.  There 
were many factors impacting the cotton sector.  This was one of the reasons for the integrated 
approach as reflected in the combination of the trade policy aspects with the development assistance 
aspects. 
99. It was necessary to carefully examine the trad e aspects.  The representative of Brazil observed 
from the ICAC presentation that it was clear that as a result of the global economic crisis cotton 
producers throughout the world were making adjustme nts in quantities.  The presentation also showed 
that as most producers had adjusted through dec lines in production, there was a small rebound in the 
US.  India was growing and appeared capable of ma intaining its production level.  This could be 
attributed to the fact that they were increasing th eir productivity relative to GDP.  However, in all 
producers, the end result was the tendency to adjust  via reduced production.  The representative of 
Brazil expressed the view that in the case of the USA,  perhaps this adjustment was not as large as it 
should be.  The average global price in the pe riod 1973-97 was US¢74 per pound.  This price was 
quite close to the target price for counter-cyclical payments (CCPs) for cotton in the USA, which was 
currently about US¢71.  This indicated that fro m 1997 onwards, while the average world price was 
US¢56 per pound, the international price would be  low enough to trigger CCPs payments throughout 
the entire period.  As a consequence, there woul d be a sort of automatic stabilisation of cotton 
producers via constant payments of  CCPs.  Furthermore, in the next period of 1998 to 2006, we saw 
the international average price at US¢56 per pound.  This  price was also very close to the loan rate in 
the USA which was about US¢54.  The implication was that in some of these years, amber box TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
WT/CFMC/23 Page 18 
 
 
  payments would be triggered.  This would mean also  that in 2001/02 there would certainly have been 
simultaneous payments of amber and blue boxes.  This would have involved record levels of 
distorting payments taking place.  The US had ways of insulating its producers.  This was precisely 
the topic participants had to take up here in the WTO.  All producers should be  compelled to make the 
same sort of adjustments and not just some or only the most vulnerable ones.   
100. The representative of Japan
 expressed appreciation to the Chairman for the presentations and 
assessments of the economic crisis and its impact on the LDC countries and Africa in the cotton sector 
in the Doha Development Agenda.  The mandate w as to find a balanced solution to the problem.  
Cotton was at the heart of the development and economic growth for the C4.  Since 2005, Japan's 
development aid for the C4 totalled US$3 million.  In Japan, development was at the heart of 
diplomacy and trade.  Japan respected the owne rship of its partner countries and was willing to 
continue looking at the projects being prepared by  the C4.  Japan looked forward to receiving these 
project proposals being put forward having regard to its partnership with ITC and the Industrial 
Bureau in Africa.   
101. The representative of Mali  asked a question regarding the comparability of indices for the 
price of oil and the price of fertilizers, as set out in  the ICAC presentation.  He expressed surprise at 
the range in the two indices:  100 to 200 for oil;  a nd, 100 to 800  in the fertili zer index.  What was the 
explanation for the varying range of the two indices?   
102. What was the impact on fertilizer price resulting fro m the increase in the price of oil?  Finally, 
could ICAC provide additional clarifications on the evolution of African cotton exports by marketing 
year? 
103. The representative of ICAC  responded.  The data were accura te and the delegate of Mali had 
correctly observed the difference in scales:  for crude oil prices, ranging from 100 to 200;  and, for the 
Fertilizer Price Index from 100 to 800.  However, ICAC  could not explain that due to the fact that the 
data and the indices were obtained from the World Ba nk.  Essentially, the point underlined by the two 
slides was to show the dramatic impact on the cost of cotton production, for African producers, 
arising from the increase in input costs.   
104. On African exports, the chart began with th e season in August 1999 and ended in July 2000 
when exports from Africa were about 1.2 milli on tonnes.  Thereafter, each bar was for each 
succeeding season.  The season 2005/06 marked the peak of exports, approximately 1.6 million 
tonnes.   
105. The representative of Burkina Faso  invited a presentation on the situation of the cotton sector 
in Africa from Mr. Traoré, a member of the delegation of Burkina Faso12.   
106. The representative of Burkina Faso, in his capacity as President of APROCA, expressed 
appreciation to ICAC for its presentation.  Mr. Traoré  further elaborated on the situation of the cotton 
sector in Africa.  On reforms, the priorities for the sector had to be properly set and achievable.  
Currently, the reforms appeared to be synonymous w ith liberalization.  This would involve providing 
incentives or inviting investors to acquire interests in  the sector.  At that time, the private sector was 
in crisis.  Would the private sector be able to acqui re and or manage interests in the cotton sector, or 
would governments be re-invited back into the cotton sector because the private sector itself was 
challenged and in crisis as well? 
                                                      
12 Mr. François Traoré, President of the African  Producers Association of Cotton (APROCA).    TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
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  107. Based on the current situation, the question was whether or not the reforms that were being 
undertaken, should be undertaken without the accompan iment of their partners.  Africans wanted to 
be the actors in their own societies.  They want ed to be the ones who were taking these initiatives.  
They wanted to participate in the management of their cotton sector.  It was in that sense that when 
they created APROCA, they created a structure that they would have wanted to see directly involved 
in the reform, based on ownership.  They wanted to be  sure also that in this process of reform, people 
were listening to one another, and that private indi viduals were involved with the appropriate level of 
expertise and professionalism.  Producers found themselv es in a very difficult situation.  They had the 
capacity for reform, but there were political decisions that had to be made.  There was the capacity to 
move faster, and support was also needed from partners.   
108. The representative of Tanzania  expressed appreciation to ICAC for an excellent presentation 
that touched on various useful aspects, including the challenges but also opportunities for business 
growth in the cotton sector.  Tanzania was pleased to hear that there was a future for cotton.  
Tanzania, however, wanted to introduce the dimens ion of climate change.  Global warming was a 
reality and would worsen.  Lighter clothing would be  required.  These in most cases could be obtained 
from cotton textiles;  this would be good marketi ng for increased cotton production.  Beyond cotton 
fibre, however, there were additional beneficial uses of cotton such as cholesterol-free oil from cotton 
seeds.   
109. The representative of Benin  responded to the concerns expressed by the President of 
APROCA with regard to the cotton sector and its viability.  These concerns were along the lines on 
which Benin was reflecting for decision-making, fo llowing analysis of Benin's reforms of which the 
implementation started in 1999.  A document was be ing considered for elaboration, focused on a new 
global approach to the management of the cotton se ctor.  This new approach would enable the State 
and the private sector to sit together, at the same  table following their decision to integrate their 
management systems in order to achieve the set-u p of a public private partnership.  Benin had 
launched a series of programmes to assist the cott on sector to increase yields.  The objective was to 
achieve cotton tonnage that would cover the tota l capacity of mills in Benin.  Government 
involvement was needed at some level in the cotton sector.  There were questions related to budgetary 
organisation and transparency, so that partners and all participants could benefit from a win-win 
situation.  It was estimated that about CFA5 b illion would be dedicated to this programme.  This 
information was to enable partners better unders tand the progress in their reform programme.   
110. The representative of the United States  thanked Brazil for the views expressed and for the 
references to the United States' trigger prices for lo an rates and CCPs.  These issues could be taken up 
more specifically at two other fora where their two countries were discussing cotton.  The price 
averages presented could be a bit misleading because these prices were volatile.  One effect was that 
marketing loan rates and CCPs did not move as rapi dly as the price fluctuations in reality.  It, 
therefore, was maybe inaccurate to make that comparison.  However, the DGCFMC was about the 
development aspects.  Good information had been received from ICAC.  In the past when Members 
had discussed the crisis facing the cotton sector, the United States recalled that the discussions had related to the competition with synthetics and othe r non-cotton and non-natural fibres.  Could ICAC 
provide information about the competition between cotton and synthetic substitutes? 
111. The representative of ICAC
 in response, informed participants that in the 1980's cotton 
accounted for about 50% of world fibre use, including polyester, nylon, rayon, wool, silk;  all fibres.  
Cotton's share fell precipitously during the 1990's to approximately 40%.  This year, cotton's share of world fibre use was 38%.  Polyester was the chief co mpetitor to all of the natural fibres.  This was 
why 2009 had been declared the International Year of Natural Fibres, to raise awareness.  Natural 
fibres were renewable, comfortable and beneficial  for both producers and consumers.  This was an 
important message for all governments to receive.     TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
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  112. The Chairman proposed that the 11
th Round of the DGCFMC take note  of the presentations 
and all statements made.   
113. It was so agreed .   
VII. DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S EVOLVING TABLE ON COTTON DEVELOPMENT 
ASSISTANCE – UPDATED TABLE (WT/CFMC/6/REV.5)  
A. COMMENTS BY BILATERAL DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY AND DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS  
114. The Chairman invited the 11th Round of the DGCFMC to consider item 6:  the 
Director-General's Evolving Table on Cotton Development Assistance.  The Secretariat was invited to 
highlight the key points in the 6th version of the ET.   
115. The Secretariat (Mr. Osakwe)  informed Members that the relevant details in relation to the 
updated version of the ET were fully reflected in th e letter by Director-General Pascal Lamy to WTO 
Members on 21 April 2009.  The ET was not new;  it had evolved since 2005 (with the original version forwarded by Director-General Lamy to Ministers at the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Conference).  Systematic tracking, verification and measurement of progress on commitments, 
disbursements and operational impl ementation began in 2006.  Figures in the ET were cumulative;  
and over time had been cross-checked , verified and the subject of repeated exchange of views by 
providers and recipients of cotton developmen t assistance.  Although disbursements reflected 
progress, this was still the area constituting the biggest challenge.   
116. The current update was based on inputs from the bilateral development community (Canada, 
EC, and the US) and from the multilateral deve lopment community (African Development Bank, 
IMF, ITC, ICAC/CFC and UNIDO).  The inputs from the World Bank would be reflected in the next 
update.   
117. It was useful to underline the widespread satisf action with the contributions by Brazil, China 
and India on the platform of South-South Coopera tion.  On this platform, Brazil was the first 
developing country to contribute inputs to the ET.   
118. The purpose of the ET was to track, monitor and ensure transparency on development 
assistance provided to the cotton proponents in accor dance with the Doha mandate.  Furthermore, 
after the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Conference, the DGCFMC began to measure progress on commitments and disbursements, on the basis of the parameters established by the Director-General.  
In addition, the ET had provided a basis for develo pment dialogue between providers and recipients 
of assistance to the cotton sector.   
119. On capital-based cotton focal points, the Secretar iat noted that only seven had been notified 
out of a total of 36.   
120. In response to the question raised by the represen tative of Chad as to whether the participation 
of capital-based focal points could be funded, the S ecretariat informed participants that regrettably 
there were no financial provisions in the budget lin es for such funding.  Furthermore, in order to 
sustain and maximize contacts be tween development partners (pr oviders and recipients), the 
Secretariat also recalled for participants the understanding earlier reached, at previous rounds of 
consultations, that recipients of cotton devel opment assistance should engage with development 
agencies in-country as points of primary contact, to th e extent that there were resident development 
agencies in-country.    TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
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  121. The representative of the United States   welcomed the opportunity to update participants on 
the US Government's development programme since the last round of consultations in 
November 2008.  The update would focus on two items.  The first was on the West African Cotton Improvement Programme (WACIP).  This programme  had been scheduled for completion in 2009.  
The programme had now been extended to 2010;  a nd this was reflected in the updated ET.  The 
details of the programme were familiar from earlie r descriptions and discussions.  However, it was 
useful to underline that the programme was desi gned to improve incomes of cotton farmers and to 
assist cotton farmers with various elements of pr oduction, ginning and ma rketing of cotton.   
122. The representative of the United States referr ed to document WT/CFMC/W/46, with project 
proposal titles from the cotton proponents, circulat ed, on their behalf, to Members by the WTO 
Secretariat.  He noted that the WACIP programme was already engaged on several of these project titles with the cotton proponents.  For example, th ere were WACIP projects on-going in Benin with 
regard to project numbers 2, 6, 7, 11, 12 and 13, as reflected in document WT/CFMC/W/46.  WACIP was involved in working with the recipient countri es on these projects.  There were project titles from 
Cameroon and Cote d'Ivoire, listed in the document.   WACIP had no activities with either of those 
countries.  Although Uganda had a number of proj ects listed, the US had not received any contacts 
from Uganda.     
123. The second update related to the programme on bio-technology and bio-safety awareness 
workshop by US Department of Agriculture.  This  was a programme with the value of US$50,000.  
The beneficiaries were the C4 plus Senegal.   
124. The representative of th e European Communities
 thanked the Secretariat of the WTO for the 
work done, the update of the ET and documentation provi ded.  The EC was aware that the Secretariat 
had been under a tight schedule because of the very  late transmission of in put data.  As mentioned 
previously, the EC had mobilised significant leve ls of support for the implementation of the 
EU-Africa Partnership on cotton.  The update of th e ET demonstrated higher levels of commitments 
and disbursements from the EC budget.  For this year, the allocation stood at nearly €160 million with 
over €80 million disbursed;  disbursements were alre ady more than 50% of the allocation.  The EC 
was by far the largest disburser of assistance to  cotton at the current exchange rates.  The EC 
representative noted that her reference was to Part I of  the ET.  In line with past practice, the EC had 
not included assistance in Part II of the ET (assistance  indirectly related to cotton), even though there 
was considerable EC assistance that covered relate d areas, such as for general agricultural projects, 
infrastructure, product sector development and genera l macroeconomic assistance.  For instance, there 
was EC macroeconomic assistance for the main cotton producers even though this was not reflected.  
The EC representative underlined th e fact that, in addition to funding from the EC budget, individual 
Member States (particularly, France, Germany a nd the Netherlands) had also provided significant 
support for cotton.  Overall, since 2004, the EC as a whole had allocated over €310 million to cotton 
programmes and projects.   
125. The representative of the EC recalled that at pr evious meetings, she had signalled an external 
review of the EU-Africa Partnership on Cotton whic h had been initiated in September 2008.  This 
external review had re-examined various achieveme nts to date in comparison with the original 
expectations.  In March 2009, the EC Secretariat hos ted a meeting of all stakeholders in which the 
findings of the external review were presented.  It  had been unanimously decided at that meeting that 
the EU-Africa Partnership on Cotton continued to be  highly relevant as a framework for development 
cooperation.  Stakeholders also indicated that a ll axis of the action plan needed to be pursued, 
although some aspects needed to be updated and adap ted to the current context.  In particular one 
main issue that arose was whet her assistance should continue to be focused on improving cotton 
competitiveness.  Such focus would concentrate on th e more efficient producers in Africa.  It would 
have a broader orientation and provide more support to diversif ication, including accompanying 
marginal farmers to grow crops other than cotton.   TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
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  126. Finally, the EC representative commented on the list of projects awaiting financing, circulated 
in document WT/CFMC/W/46.  She announced that three of the projects submitted by Côte d'Ivoire 
were already in Part I, totally covered by EC assistance, while a fourth project, also submitted by 
Côte d'Ivoire, was yet to be traced.  She advised  the partners from Côte d'Ivoire to contact EC 
development colleagues in-country.  Feedback w as being awaited from EC delegations in-country 
with regard to the other pending projects.  The EC also invited all cotton producers with pending 
projects to continue liaising with EC in-country offices and directly discuss possible modalities for support and delivery.   
127. The representative of Burkina Faso
 stated that the ET was very important for cotton 
proponents.  Members should explore ways to make it more beneficial and profitable.  If the table 
were published far earlier in time before the meeting,  participants could maybe better tap into it and 
comment.  This was not a criticism of the WTO Secret ariat in light of the fact that Burkina Faso 
communicated its data only three days before the meeting.  A deadline should be fixed for supplying 
data to the Secretariat.  This would make it possibl e for participants to have this table at least one 
month prior to the consultations.  This would allow participants to closely examine the ET with their 
capital-based focal points and to better understand the reality of the project and the funding in the field in comparison with the data circulated in th e ET.  This would make the job of the Secretariat 
much easier.   
128. The representative of Chad
 thanked the Secretariat for the ET, introduced in great detail.  The 
ET was a net improvement compared to previous  years.  Recommendations for improvement had 
been taken on board.  The ET showed the importance of capital-based focal points, who were the ones 
with the expertise and in-country knowledge to check  the figures/contents of the ET.  Chad agreed 
with the EC on the point that there was a need to  cross-check the details with those on the field, 
particularly in respect of disbursements.  It was vital that the focal points directly provide data and 
comments.  This approach would raise the level of responsibility on all sides and increase data 
reliability.  The representative of Ch ad again expressed appreciation to the Secretariat for the difficult 
conditions of data compilation and monito ring under which they were working.   
129. The representative of Mali  expressed appreciation to the Secr etariat for its work in updating 
the 6th version of the ET.  Mali had several comments to make, which would be developed in further 
direct contacts with the Secretariat.  First, subs tantively, the ET could be improved in relation to 
classification, such as with some Japanese projects.  Second, improvements could be made to the 
"readability of the table".  Ideas would need to be further developed.  Third, perhaps, the activities 
already completed in relation to the mandate could be excluded from the ET.  Fourth, it could be a 
good idea if disbursements could be specified as a pe rcentage of the commitment.  This would assist 
to better appreciate the efforts made.  The re presentative of Mali thanked the donors for their 
contributions.   
130. The representative of Benin  thanked the Secretariat for the documents provided and for the 
compilation of the figures in the ET.  The ET reflected clear improvements, but there was yet scope for further improvements.  The representative of Beni n agreed with Burkina F aso, the C4 Coordinator, 
that ideally it would have been best to have r eceived the ET well in advance of the meeting.  Early 
receipt would have enabled cont act and groundwork with capital-based focal points.  Such an 
approach would also enhance transparency a nd foster progress.  The representative of Benin 
acknowledged that both providers and recipients of inputs had not provide these on time.  These 
delays made the job of the Secretariat difficult.  He  appealed to all participants to try and improve on 
timelines in data provision.  The objective should be  to ensure that the analysis and commentary of 
the data proceeded from bottom up to ensure full transparency and greater reliability.      TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
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  131. The representative of India  sought clarification from the Secr etariat in respect of resources 
from multilateral agencies, like IMF, under Part I II of the ET;  whether these resources were 
exclusively committed to cotton?  Would it be corr ect to categorize these resources for cotton?   
132. The representative of Japan,  in response to the comments by the delegation of Mali, stated 
that Mali's comments would be forwarded to Tokyo.  Japan would work closely with all participants 
to improve the ET. 
133. The representative of the United States  welcomed the lively exchange of views by 
participants on the ET and expressed the hope that su ch an exchange would also take place on the 
Domestic Cotton Sector Reform Table (DCS-RT).  Enough time should be made available for the 
discussion of these items. 
134. The representative of the US congratulated Brazil for contributing to Part I of the ET.  This 
was an excellent and welcome development.  The US would encourage other developing countries, in 
a position to do so, to step up the cotton issue, as it was very important.  Those with the capacity 
should contribute.  He referred to the initial st atement made, providing an  update on WACIP, and 
suggested that Benin contact Accra, Ghana, b ecause that was where the programme was based.   
135. The representative of the WTO Secretariat  expressed appreciation for all the issues raised by 
the participants who had intervened.  He responded to the specific issues rai sed by participants under 
the item.  First, the Secretariat had noted the stro ng wish of all participants to have the updated 
version of the ET circulated well in advance.  The Secretariat was strongly committed to providing 
this service for the DGCFMC as long as inputs were received on time.  The next version of the ET 
would be the 7th version.  Following the 11th Round of consultations, the Secretariat would send out 
the standard fax request for inputs to the ET and th e DCS-RT.  If the inputs were received on time, 
participants would have the Tables circulated one m onth in advance.  Also in response to the request 
by participants, the Secretariat was thereby maki ng a preliminary announcement to request inputs 
from concerned participants to the ET and the DCS- RT.  These inputs would be required by the first 
week of September.   
136. Second, he underlined that the numbers on th e ET were not new.  Those numbers were 
cumulative and had been consolidated from the 1st version of the ET.  The majority of the entries and 
figures had been largely unchanged in the past three y ears.  Modifications in the past three years were 
minimal;  the entries and figures had been thoroughly  checked.  The same entries would be reflected 
in the next version with whatever modification providers wished to make.   
137. Third, the response to the question from the delegation of India, as to whether Part III 
resources were specifically dedicated to cotton, w as reflected in footnote number 15 on page 21 
(of the English version).  Footnote 15 stated cl early that Part III resources were not specifically 
dedicated to cotton, but were available for use by the countries involved should they decide to draw on these resources in accordance with domestic economic  priorities.  Footnote 15 was inserted in the 
ET when this question first arose in 2007 prio r to the High Level Session (HIS) on Cotton.   
138. Finally, the questions raised  by Mali had been addressed earlier at the cotton seminar 
organized in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in 2006.  The figures to the entries had not been inflated.  
These figures were cumulative and the result of an on-going verification exercise following the 
2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.  The Secr etariat would follow-up with the delegation of 
Mali after the consultations to further clarify the issues raised.   
139. The Chairman
 underlined the fact that the timelines  in the issuance of  the Tables was of 
concern for the Secretariat.  The Secretariat could not, however, meet this goal unless inputs were received on time.  The Secretariat shared the view of all participants.  All participants and the 
Secretariat had to work closely together to achie ve this goal of timely circulation of the Tables. TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
WT/CFMC/23 Page 24 
 
 
  140. On the question of the participation of capita l-based focal points, there was a need for 
improved coordination.  All parties concerned needed to operate at the same level.  The Secretariat's 
first line of contact was with delegations in Ge neva.  With the current request of the C4, the 
Secretariat would now also systematically copy the capital-based focal points.  The Secretariat would 
also welcome further comments regarding practical improvements to the ET.   
B. 
COMMENTS BY THE MULTILATERAL DEV ELOPMENT COMMUNITY AND DEVELOPMENT 
PARTNERS  
141. The representative of the FAO  provided an update on its contributions to the ET.  In response 
to the point raised by India, the FAO clarified that  the budget in the ET in respect of the entry by the 
FAO was over-stated at US$7.4 million and needed to be adjusted to US$2 million.  The funding was 
being provided by the Netherlands.  The FAO represent ative also requested that the operational status 
of this particular entry be changed from "Project  Formulation Stage" (PFS) to "In Progress" (IP), as 
the work had been underway for two years.  Furthe rmore, he noted that there had been additional 
funding from the EC for this entry totalling US$1 million.   
142. The FAO representative also commented on aspects of the operational implementation of its 
specific commitments.  FAO had carri ed out a number of national and regional workshops in the C4 
and other African cotton producing countries.  A number of studies had been conducted to identify 
market opportunities for higher value relative to production for local and export markets and to 
explore their classification options.  Consultants had been used for various cotton data applications.  
Most of the workshops and studies had been for the application of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) 
and Integrated Pest Management (IPM).  They ha d been conducted through farmer field schools.  The 
findings of these workshops had been shared with ot her stakeholders to discuss application.  The FAO 
representative said he would share the details with th e WTO Secretariat.  Details would be forwarded 
to interested delegates on request.  To cite a fe w examples, in Burkina Faso, a workshop had been 
conducted for the cotton farmers union and another w ith the Ministry of Agriculture to review 
experience and Good Agricultural Practices.  Findings had been shared with other stakeholders for 
replication.  In Mali and Benin, consultants ha d been fielded to review opportunities for the 
application of GAP.  The study of market opportuni ties for higher value-added rates of production for 
local and export markets was conducted in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal.  These were only a few 
examples.   
143. Under the ACP Agriculture Commodities Progr amme, a number of programmes had been 
conducted.  These included policy advocacy, assessment of  supply chain, finance issues, feasibility of 
risk management tools concerning cotton developmen t of business model systems, facilitating market 
linkages between organic cotton producers and the tex tile industry, promotion of GAP and IPM, etc.  
The list was longer.  The representative of the FAO promised to convey this list to the Secretariat to 
circulate to participants on request.     
144. Finally, 2009 was the International Year of Natural Fibres.  FAO was coordinating a number 
of activities during this year.  These included the hol ding of a symposium, exhi bition, fashion shows, 
development of a website and video, application of  posters and brochures, designation of a logo etc.  
So far, FAO's activities had been undertaken with  minimum support. Little more could be done by 
FAO unless it received additional funding. 
145. The representative of the International Trade Centre  provided an update of its entries on the 
ET since last November.  It elaborated on two items .  First, ITC was facilitating the development of 
the original strategy for cotton, textiles and clothing for Eastern and Southern Africa, which was 
actually being developed by the COMESA Secretariat  together with its private sector partner, the 
African Cotton Textiles Industry Federation.  The doc ument was at an advanced stage.  There was 
still some work to be done, prior to circulation to its Members for adoption.  If approved, this would 
be a good framework for assistance in the cott on sector in Eastern and Southern Africa.    TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
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  146. ITC was exploring possibilities for a similar fr amework for Western and Central Africa.  
Discussions had been held with the WAEMU Secretar iat.  Discussions had also been held with the 
Secretariat of the CEMAC to develop a regional stra tegy for the two regions.  The discussion with the 
regional Secretariats would be the first step forw ard for a regional development strategy for Central 
and Western Africa on cotton.   
147. The representative of UNCTAD  reported on the recent work of UNCTAD, since 
November 2008.  In December 2008, UNCTAD organi sed a Secretary-General's Multi-Stakeholders 
Meeting on Cotton.  Six African Trade Minister s, whose countries depended on cotton exports, 
participated at the meeting.  These Ministers called for fair play in international cotton trade and for 
donor countries to bridge the gap between pledges and delivery of aid to the African cotton sector, 
while outstanding trade issues were being addressed.  As a follow-up activity to the 
Secretary-General's Multi-Stakeholders Meeting on  Cotton, UNCTAD was preparing another meeting 
in Benin.  The main issue at the meeting would be  to identify and encourage investments in activities 
and projects that would increase productivity in the cotton sector, and increase their participation in 
the global supply chain based on the enhanced supply capacity, processing and the marketing of 
cotton.   
148. UNCTAD was also currently executing the EC funded ACP Agriculture Commodities 
Programme in cooperation with four  international organizations, namely, ITC, FAO, World Bank and 
the CFC.  Under this programme, UNCTAD had tw o cotton related projects, one of which was a 
country-level project in Côte d'Ivoire.  The main obj ective of this project was to help revive the cotton 
sector and to develop a guarantee fund that woul d enhance the success to finance cotton producers 
and processors along the value chain with greater par ticipation of local banks.  The feasibility study of 
this project was being finalized.  The second project  aimed to improve the cotton market information 
system in West Africa.  UNCTAD was worki ng jointly with ITC on this project.   
149. The representative of the World Bank  appreciated the opportunity to inform the 11th Round of 
the DGCFMC on the Bank's recent programmes and project  development.  It would be pleased to take 
note of any specific questions which either required clarification or a response.  The Bank had made 
several contributions to assist cotton producers, pa rticularly the C4, given their dependence on export 
earnings from cotton and the implications for thei r poverty reduction efforts.  The Bank and other 
partners were trying to assist countries to diminish their vulnerability to cotton price fluctuations and 
the risks related to weather exposure.  Bank ac tivities were also designe d to the objectives of 
increasing competitiveness through support for trade f acilitation, strengthening research capacity and 
facilitating the dissemination of new production tech nology.  The Bank noted that it would do its 
utmost, with other participants, to ensure timely submission of data for the ET.    
150. The representative of Benin  informed the Chairman that Benin had invited the representative 
of WAEMU (as part of the delegation of Benin).  With the agreement of the Chairman, the 
representative of the WAEMU  intervened to make a statement on behalf of the President of WAEMU.  
The WAEMU had been involved with the cotton dossier from the very beginning.  It had a programme with the C4 and a cotton agenda wh ich had been active since 2003.  Implementation 
efforts were focused on responding to different concerns  that had been raised even before the crisis.  
The African Development Bank (AfDB) had accepte d to provide financing to the C4 of some 
CFA38 billion (approximately US$31 million).  The teams were already working in the field.  
Projects had been launched in the four countries at  a regional level.  A process was now underway to 
call for tenders so as to place equipments in the fi eld for improved cotton productivity, marketing, 
processing and capacity building.  TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
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  151. The management in the four countries was alread y operational.  A number of studies had been 
launched.  The year 2010 would be key for activ ities in areas where WAEMU would intervene, in 
cooperation with the FAO in order to improve productivity and production through good farming 
practices.  Another area of focus in WAEMU's ac tivities in the C4 was improving cotton warehousing 
and storage.  Project activities had also been desi gned for value-added and transformation of locally 
produced cotton.  For these project activities, a budget of approximately US$800 million was needed. 
152. Development partners were being encouraged to join in partnership and play their role at a 
regional level.  There was a partnership progra mme with APROCA, which was playing an outreach 
role so that the cotton sector could play its part in  the domestic economies of the concerned countries.  
WAEMU had prepared a document for circulation to  participants that provided detailed project 
description.  The African Development Bank was pl aying an important role.  A global strategy and 
support by all development partners were required in order to satisf actorily address the problem faced 
by the cotton sector.   
153. The representative of Mali
 asked UNCTAD for confirmation of  recent information regarding 
the establishment of a multilateral group on cotton, in the context of the UNCTAD 
Secretary-General's 2 December 2008 Multi-Stakehol ders Meeting on Cotton.  As understood, the 
multilateral group would organise th e implementation of the recommendations that emerged from the 
2 December 2008 meeting.   
154. The representative of UNCTAD  responded to say that she was a stand-in for the regular 
representative but would cross-check and revert to the representative of Mali.   
155. The representative of Benin   offered to answer the question by Mali and clarify the issue to 
the representative of UNCTAD.  He noted that  indeed one of the recommendations from the 
UNCTAD meeting addressed the question of setting up a multilateral group.  However, no action had 
yet been taken because a follow-up meeting was for eseen in Cotonou.  It was envisaged that action 
would be taken after the Cotonou follow-up meeting.   
156. The Chairman , in conclusion, noted that a large numb er of issues had been covered under the 
item.  These related to various aspects of the deve lopment assistance for cotton.  Several key points 
that had emerged in the discussions included:   
• The necessity of bridging the commitments/d isbursement gap to deepen implementation; 
• The relationship of the cotton development assistance implementation exercise, on the one 
hand, with broader issues of trade capacity building and poverty reduction, on the other; 
• The greater scrutiny to which the devel opment community was subjected regarding 
implementation of its commitments linked to a predictable calendar; 
• Support and encouragement to the Director-Gener al to continue to place full spotlight on 
cotton and related issues; and 
• Bridging the gaps between commitments and disbursements, involved stronger 
provider/recipient partnerships.  Developmen t partnerships were a pre-condition for the 
implementation of commitments.   
157. The Chairman invited the 11th Round of the DGCFMC to take note  of all statements made.   
158. It was so agreed .    TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
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  VIII.  SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION FOR COTTON SECTOR DEVELOPMENT  
159. The Chairman invited participants to consid er item 7:  South-South Cooperation for Cotton 
Sector Development.  He recalled the Semina r on South-South Cooperation for Cotton Sector 
Development, organized by the WTO Secretariat on 22 November 2007.  This was an item where 
strong and effective leadership was being provided by Brazil, China and India.  He expressed 
particular appreciation to Brazil for its first time input to the Directo r-General's Evolving Table.  This 
was an important example of South-South Cooperation.    
A. BRAZIL – DEVELOPMENT OF THE CO TTON SECTOR IN THE C 4 
160. The representative of Brazil  presented its technical project already signed by  Brazil with 
the C4.  The project was being implemented by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency and the Brazilian 
Agricultural Research Enterprise (EMBRAPA).  
161. The main objective of the programme was to contribute to the development of the cotton 
sector in the C4 countries.  To accomplish this objective, Brazil would provide the transfer of Brazilian technology to promote productivity increase in these countries.  Hopefully, this would have 
implications for employment.  Brazil was prepared to share its experiences in tropical agriculture.   
162. The objectives were to improve cotton productivit y, quality and commerce.  Success in these 
areas would contribute to food security.  Increased revenues would be generated for producers.  The 
concept was based on a validation and demonstration m odel unit.  A research centre would be used to 
validate and to refine the varieties, improve techniques, train and implement capacity building 
activities.  The model unit would also function as a technology dissemination centre for information 
and training of technicians.  From this centre, technology could be disseminated to other partner 
countries.  The strategy would be to produce cotton associated with other food  cultures.  Capacity-
building would also involve inviting specialists from the C4 countries to visit Brazil and the validation 
demonstration unit in Mali.   
163. As mentioned by the FAO representative, the idea had originated from an FAO experience 
with the farmers' field school.  Efforts would be  directed to the implementation of agriculture 
techniques and good practices adapted to local conditions.   
164. The main objective was to increase productivit y by adopting environmentally sustainable 
agricultural techniques.  The centre would be estab lished in Bamako in Mali.  The choice of Bamako 
was made after a technical visit to all C4 countries.   For logistical reasons, Sotuba in Mali had been 
chosen.  Activities to be developed would focus on soils, plant nutrition, ge netic enhancement, bio-
technology and integrated pest control management. It was important to note that Brazil would work 
with partner countries on the principle of South-S outh Cooperation.  This was designed to be a 
partnership.  The agents of development were the partners who received cooperation support.  The 
concept of partnership was overriding.  The start of the training would be to form multiplication 
agents.  In the second phase, Brazil would be working side-by-side in training with the multiplication 
agents.  At the end, the results would be assessed.  
165. All projects had a series of integrated and coordinated actions.  The start of the 
implementation of the research would be the trainee unit, and the next stage would be to demonstrate to the people the results of their efforts, th rough "technology display".  Technology would be 
available and within the reach of all interested user s, research specialists and producers.  The results 
of activities in training, genetic enhancement, soil fertility, and integrated applied control would be 
published in manuals for the use of producers a nd would be established as good practices.  Further 
project assessments and evaluations would ascertain if other actions were necessary and of interest to TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
WT/CFMC/23 Page 28 
 
 
  partners for further pursuit.  In sum, the overall el ements of this cooperation for technology transfer, 
on a non-commercial basis, and transfer to the C4  autonomy in good agricultural practices, would 
draw from the experience of Brazilian institutions , such as EMBRAPA.  As many specialists as 
necessary would be transferred to achieve a positive and proper implementation of  the project with C4 
partners.  It was expected that partners would desi gnate individuals to work with Brazilian partners in 
the transfer of Brazilian technology.   
166. This South-South Cooperation project with th e C4 had already started under a technical 
cooperation agreement signed with the African Union (AU).  This framework provided an opportunity 
for other African countries that may be interested.   
167. The representative of Chad
 expressed appreciation to the Government of Brazil and assured 
Brazil of the support of his authorities for the initiativ e.  He appealed to other emerging countries to 
foster South-South Cooperation.  This was very beneficial.  Chad was in the process of opening a 
diplomatic mission (Embassy) in Brazil.  Sout h-South Cooperation on cotton was already having a 
positive impact in international re lations with other countries.   
168. The representative of Benin  expressed appreciation to the Government of Brazil for the 
project with the C4.  His delegation was pleased to  see that the South-South Cooperation on Cotton 
was now being implemented in reality.  His de legation encouraged othe r developing country 
governments to operate along similar lines.  While  welcoming the efforts by developed country 
partners, his delegation encouraged  developed country partners to deliver assistance similar to the 
Brazilian model.  Brazil was contributing real savoir-faire .  These forms of assistance were directly 
related to poverty reduction.   
169. The representative of Tanzania  expressed appreciation to the Government of Brazil.  The 
Brazilian initiative for the project with the C4 w as very welcome.  This was positive evidence of 
South-South Cooperation.  His delegation stressed three points, highlighted in the Brazilian C4 
cooperation project, related to training , research and technology transfer:   
• Training:  this was essential, including on particular aspects like extension services and 
strengthening the diffusion of knowledge; 
• Research:  this was vital as this would contribute, inter alia , to produce improved seed 
varieties which were necessary to increase produc tivity.  The cotton seed varieties in many 
cotton producing countries were inferior, outdated and lacking in high yield capacity; and 
• Technology transfer:  this would be very benefi cial, particularly on account of the fact that 
Brazil was providing this benefit on a non-commercial basis. 
170. Tanzania supported the idea of this model dem onstration unit for the C4.  However, it urged 
and hoped that such an initiative would be expande d to other African cotton growing countries.  As 
self-evident, there were many other countries whic h were also important stakeholders in cotton 
production.  Tanzania was very pleased to hear th at Brazil had already consulted with the African 
Union.  It hoped that this would e xpand the scope of this initiative.   
171. The representative of Mali  provided updated information, with  regard to the C4 project signed 
with Brazil, which he believed would be useful for the C4 in moving forward.  The project with Brazil 
was signed on 19 February 2009.  Since February, three Brazilian missions had visited Bamako from 
5 to 10 April 2009.  Ten different cotton seed varieti es had been distributed.  Work had begun in the  
Sotuba experimental centre.  At Sotuba, the Brazilia n team was there for five days.  Activities were 
being held.  These activities would test the ten new va rieties of cotton at the experimental centre and  TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
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  would also focus on increasing cotton productivity and soil quality.  Other activities also planned 
dealt with soil fertility, including pesticide effect s.  Studies were being carried out on labelling.  
Offices were being constructed.  Another laboratory would be added at Sotuba.   
172. The representative of Mali noted that he also wa s on the cotton tour in Brazil in 2007.  Based 
on his observations of what the C4 saw in Brazil, there was reason to be enthusiastic.  Climatic 
conditions in the C4 were similar to those in Braz il.  He strongly felt that the C4 were on the right 
track with regard to the project with Brazil.   
173. The representative of Burkina Faso  reiterated C4 appreciation to Brazil in setting an excellent 
example for South-South Cooperation.  The C4 wa s pleased and enthusiastic about the Brazil/C4 
project on cotton.   
174. The representative of Brazil  stated that his authorities attach ed the utmost importance to these 
activities.  The project with the C4 was a good indication of the Brazilian commitment to the 
development of cotton in Africa.  At the next round  of consultations, Brazil hoped to be in a position 
to provide an update on the implementation of the project.  The representative of Mali had just 
provided a detailed account that indicated implementation.  It was hoped that the pace of 
implementation would be sustained.  
175. Regarding the intention to extend this cooperati on, the project form had to be first started 
somewhere.  The conditions were  set for the establishment of th e centre in Mali.  Brazil had 
approached the African Union for the signing of an  umbrella agreement under which Brazil would be 
in a position to also extend further cooperation to all the African cotton producers.  It was the wish of 
Brazil to proceed with this expeditiously.  It would be useful if African countries here in Geneva also 
indicated to their capitals their wish to expeditiously move in this direction of cooperation with Brazil.   
176. The representative of China  joined previous speakers to thank the delegation of Brazil for its 
excellent presentation on the Brazilian cotton progra mme.  The presentation had been enlightening.  
China also welcomed the opportunity to contribute information on issues of cotton cooperation with 
African friends.  China supported the efforts by the Director-General with his Secretariat staff to 
enhance the framework for the development assist ance aspects of cotton.  In spite of the global 
financial and economic crisis, China still accorded im portance to Africa as one of the major sources 
for its cotton importation.  China had imported African  cotton to the value of more than US$7 million.  
China was providing assistance to African cotton deve lopment through various forms of aid, such as 
donation of inputs, investments, preferential loans a nd training courses.  So far, China had provided 
more than 20 projects on cotton and textile facilities through donations to Africa.  Also provided were 
agricultural machinery, chemical fertilizers and pes ticides.  At the end of 2008, China had invested 
approximately US$673 million in the African textile  industry.  This represented an increase of about 
262% over the last two years.  Since 1995, Chin a had initiated and carried out policies with 
preferential loans to African countries.  Large sc ale cotton and textile projects, including a textile 
company in Benin, had been developed.  Since 2007, China had hosted 11 training courses in relation 
to cotton and textiles for Africa.  Two hundred  and fifty trainees from African countries had 
participated in structure training programmes.  Chin a would continue to attach great importance to aid 
and cooperation in the cotton sector with African count ries.  There was scope for enlarged scale of aid 
and improved efficiency in the utilisation of ai d and expanded economic a nd technical cooperation 
with African countries, through a variety of approaches.   
177. China welcomed the strengthening of communication between the major cotton producers in 
Africa, the Chinese Government and China's coalitions  of cotton and textiles producers.  China would 
like to provide assistance within its capabilities and in light of the specific need s of Africa.  Currently, 
Chinese Enterprises had been cooperating with Zimb abwe, Malawi and Mozambique with respect to TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
WT/CFMC/23 Page 30 
 
 
  cotton growing and processing.  The cotton comp any jointly set up by China and Zimbabwe 
Enterprises would be the biggest cotton grower and processor in the eastern part of Zimbabwe.  In 
Malawi and Mozambique, China  was investing and constructing projects in cotton breeding, 
purchasing and processing.  This focus would creat e incentives for local cotton producers and with 
potentially positive impacts on the local cotton industry.   
178. The representative of India
 joined in the expression of appreciation to Brazil and China for 
their efforts to assist the C4 and other African count ries.  These were indeed laudable efforts.  India 
was committed to South-South Cooperation in gene ral and specifically to the cotton producing and 
exporting countries in Africa.  It was recalled that  India announced its Duty Free Tariff Preference 
scheme in April last year for the Least Developed Countries.  Under this scheme, India unilaterally 
provided preferential market access for exports from all 49 LDCs.  The scheme covered 94% of 
India's total tariff lines.  Specifically, it provided pr eferential market access on tariff lines that covered 
92.5% of global exports of all LDCs.  Products of core interest to Africa were covered and included 
cotton.  India was pleased to announce that since the launch of the scheme, 16 LDCs had sent their 
letters of intent to become beneficiaries under the scheme.  Of these 16 countries, 13 were African 
countries;  two of the C4 countries (Benin and Burk ina Faso) had sent their letters of intent.  Among 
the C4, Benin had already conveyed details of ag encies which would be responsible for issuing 
certificates of origin.  India urged the remaining C4 countries to expedite forwarding their letter  of 
intent and coordinates of their agen cies.  It also requested the remain ing LDCs to expedite the process 
in forwarding their letters of intent in order to avail themselves of the preferential market access 
benefits provided by India.   
179. India attached great importance to the cotton dossier.  It had now incorporated discussions on 
cotton into its bilateral interactions with the C4  countries.  During the visit of H.E. Mr. Yoda 
Bedouma Alain, State Minister and Minister of Fo reign Affairs and Regional Cooperation of Burkina 
Faso to India in March 2009, both sides recognised the importance of cotton.  It was acknowledged 
that the major cause of the critical situation of th e cotton sector in developing countries in general, 
and the C4 in particular, was the high level of trad e distorting subsidies in developed countries.  India 
and Burkina Faso acknowledged that the cott on producing developing countries should enjoy 
enhanced market access in developed countries, so as to fulfil their development aspirations.  India 
pledged to continue to extend support to C4 propo sals at the WTO in the Doha Round Negotiations.  
India affirmed its commitment to explore further areas of cooperation with C4 partners with the 
objective of improving the situation of cotton farmer s.  The representative of India informed the 11th 
Round of the DGCFMC that India was at an advanced  stage of opening a resident embassy in Mali in 
the current year.  He reiterated India's strong comm itment to assist the C4 and other cotton producing 
and exporting countries in their development efforts.   
180. The representative of the International Trade Centre (ITC)  informed the 11th Round of the 
DGCFMC that ITC had been working to facilitate South-South Cooperation since 2006.  In the last 
six months, ITC had facilitated South-South Coop eration in two markets, namely, Turkey and 
Bangladesh.  Arranged by ITC, a t eam of about 20 East A frican cotton producers, farmers and ginners 
visited Turkey.  In Turkey, from the market perspec tive, the team studied the entire value chain from 
research, through harvest, to ginnin g and textiles and clothing.  A follow-up activity was also planned 
in Turkey.  In February 2009, there was a similar exercise in Bangladesh.  The purpose was to afford 
an East African team the opportunity to understa nd the market of Bangladesh and how Bangladesh 
developed its textiles and clothing industry.  There we re lessons to be learned on how to better market 
cotton in the Bangladesh.  Further activities were pl anned for this year in Thailand for a team from 
West and Central Africa.  An activity was also or ganized in China for a team from West, Central and 
East Africa as well.    TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
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  181. The representative of Chad  expressed appreciation with the cooperation and support from 
India.  India had just established a milling factor y in Chad.  This was of high value.  A tractor 
assembly site had also been set-up.  This was the most desirable form of South-South Cooperation.  
The Government of Chad was grateful to the Government of India for assistance.   
182. The representative of Benin  expressed appreciation to Brazil and India.  The Government of 
India was demonstrating international solidarity.  Recently, in Benin a number of tractors were 
distributed to farmers.  These were the fruits of cooperation.   
183. The representative of Mali  joined to express appreciation to India for its initiatives.  Mali was 
also appreciative with India's objective to establish a diplomatic Mission in Bamako.  This would 
strengthen and further improve coope ration with India in areas of common interest, including cotton.   
184. The representative of Burkina Faso  intervened to sum up the C4 positions.  He expressed 
appreciation to China for its efforts and announcements  in favour of the C4 on cotton.  He expressed 
appreciation to India for its activities and initiatives  also in support of the C4 and other African 
countries on the platform of South-South Cooperation.  It was a source of satisfaction to the C4 that 
this progress was being made within the framework of WTO negotiations.  
185. The Chairman , in conclusion, thanked all the dele gations that had intervened.  The 
presentation and statements made gave evidence to the fact that impressive and commendable progress was being made under this item on South-Sout h Cooperation, especially given the fact that 
this item was relatively new to th e agenda of the consultations.  The Chairman stressed that the 
updates presented indicated enhancement of the implementation and strengthening of South-South 
Cooperation.  This was a critical element that was emerging as a substantive component of the 
development aspects of the DDA.  It also indicated deeper cooperation amongst de veloping countries.    
186. He thanked Brazil, China and India for their st atements to the beneficiary countries.  Due 
recognition of the strong contributions made on this  item would be reflected in the report of the 
Director-General.  The Chairman invited the 11
th Round of the DGCFMC to take note  of the 
presentations and statements made.   
187. It was so agreed .   
188. The Chairman concluded the 11th Round of the DGCFMC with several remarks.   
189. Discussions at the 11th Round had been useful.  Although work on the development assistance 
aspects of cotton continued to evolve positively, a satisfactory conclusion to the cotton dossier would 
depend on the resolution of the trade policy aspects within the framework of the conclusion of the 
Doha Round.  On the development assistance aspects, the Secretariat would continue to work to assist 
the process.  The Secretariat would continue to monitor and report to Members progress on 
disbursements and operational stat us relating to the commitments undertaken by the development 
community.  Based on inputs from the recipients of  development assistance, the Secretariat would 
also continue to monitor progress on the implementation of domestic cotton sector reforms.  The 
contributions by Brazil, China and India provide d a strong boost to South-South Cooperation, not 
only in support of the cotton sector development, bu t also as one of the platforms for benefits from 
deeper interaction amongst developing countries in the Doha Round.  The Chairman informed the 
11th Round of consultations that Director-General La my had asked him to express his hope that this 
cooperation would intensify and be further deepened.   TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
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  190. Suggestions had been made for improvements to the ET.  Note had been made of these by the 
Secretariat.  They would be further explored by th ose making the suggestions and if necessary, entail 
consultations.   
191. In accordance with practice, Members and pa rticipants should aim for another round of 
consultations after the summer break.   
192. The Chairman thanked all participants fo r their contributions and adjourned the 11
th Round of 
the DGCFMC. 
  TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
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  ANNEX  
  
  
 
  
 
 
 
DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S CONSULTATIVE FRAMEWORK MECHANISM ON COTTON 
 
11
TH ROUND OF CONSULTATIONS ON COTTON DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE 
 
 24 April 2009 (9.30 a.m.) 
 
AGENDA  
  
1. Introductory Remarks – Chairman   
2. Statement by C4 Representative  
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 – Updated Table 
(WT/CFMC/6/Rev.5) 
- Secretariat Remarks 
- Updates by the Development Community TN/AG/SCC/W/11 
WT/CFMC/23 Page 34 
 
 
  7. South-South Cotton Cooperation 
- Presentation by Brazil 
- Update by South-South partners  
8. Any Other Business  Documentation guide
 
 
WT/CFMC/W/24/Rev.4 
WT/CFMC/6/Rev.4 and 5 
WT/CFMC/21 
  
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