WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/GC/120 
WT/CFMC/DG/3 9 November 2009 
 
 
(09-5588) 
General Council  17 November 2009  
 
 
 
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE ASPECTS OF THE 
COTTON-RELATED DECISIONS IN THE JULY PACKAGE 
 
Third Periodic Report by the Director-General
 
 
    
 
  
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 
I.
 OVERVIEW AND ASSESSMENT.........................................................................................2  
II. BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................... ..3 
III. COTTON SECTOR DEVELOPMENTS ...............................................................................3  
A. A Combination of Recent Crises .............................................................................................3  
B. Cotton Production.............................................................................................................. .......4  
C. Yields......................................................................................................................... .................6  
D. Cotton Mill Use ................................................................................................................ .........6  
E. Cotton Price................................................................................................................... ............7  
F. Cotton Trade ................................................................................................................... ..........8  
G. Direction of African Cotton Trade..........................................................................................9  
H. Cotton and Food Security ......................................................................................................1 0 
IV. COTTON DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE.......................................................................10  
A. The Evolving Table............................................................................................................. ....10  
V. SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION FOR COTTON SECTOR 
DEVELOPMENT ...................................................................................................................1 3 
VI. DOMESTIC COTTON SECTOR REFORMS ....................................................................14  
VII. CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................... ..14 
 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 WT/GC/120 
WT/CFMC/DG/3 Page 2 
 
 
I. OVERVIEW AND ASSESSMENT 
1. This is the Third Periodic Report to Ministers on steps taken to implement the Doha mandate 
on cotton, with focus on the development assistance aspects.  This report is in accordance with the 
mandate in the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.
1  Pursuant to this mandate, in the 
intervening period since my Second Periodic Report in 2005, the Secretariat has kept Members 
regularly informed, through Progress Reports, in the Sub-Committee on Cotton (SCC).  There have been eight Progress Reports.
2  I have directly kept Members periodically updated with relevant 
developments in the General Council3.  In addition to these, I convened a High Level Session (HLS) 
on Cotton in 2007.4  This HLS was in response to a request  from the Cotton4 (C4) and the African 
Union (AU).  As Director-General, my efforts to implement the Doha cotton mandate, with the 
support of Members, have been undertaken within  successive rounds of the "Director-General's 
Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton" (DGCFMC).   
2. My assessment is that over the past four year s, the results from the implementation of the 
Doha mandate on cotton have been mixed.  Progress on the development assistance aspects has been 
tempered and not fully maximized as a result of th e unresolved issues in the agriculture negotiations, 
including on the trade policy aspects of cotton.  Overall assessment of progress on the cotton dossier 
will depend on the sum of progress on the trade polic y and development assistance aspects of the 
Doha cotton mandate.   
3. On the development assistance aspects, consider able progress has been made since my report 
in 2005.  The value of development assistance speci fic to cotton and subject to a process of regular 
verification with providers a nd recipients total US$564,270,986 , while assistance provided within the 
broader framework for agriculture and infrastructure stands at US$2,897,155,518 .  Furthermore, 
actual operational delivery demonstrates ample evid ence of a deeper consolidation of progress and 
positive dynamic transformations in the implementa tion of the mandate.  Progress was achieved in 
large measure due to the contributions of the tr aditional bilateral development community and the 
multilateral and regional agencies.  This has been  sharply boosted by the emergence and energetic 
interventions of developing country providers, pa rticularly from 2007 onwards, on the platform of 
South-South Cooperation for Cott on Sector Development.  This progress was enhanced by the 
domestic reform efforts by the recipients of cotton development assistance.  All this remains work in 
progress.   
4. On the trade policy aspects, progress in the agri culture negotiations remains difficult.  The 
revised draft modalities for agriculture of 6 December 2008 (TN/AG/W/4/Rev.4), and associated 
documents (TN/AG/W/5, 6 and 7) have formed th e basis for the continuation of the agriculture 
negotiations, including on cotton.  Despite the good progress that was made during 2008, a handful of 
issues remain outstanding.  These outstanding issues include cotton.  On the basis of the language on 
cotton (in TN/AG/W/4/Rev.4),  the Chairman is continuing cons ultations with Members.  These 
consultations signify continuing engagement, a lthough there has been no specific further progress 
beyond December 2008.  
                                                      
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 First (WT/CFMC/7 - TN/AG/SCC/W/5);  Second (WT/CFMC/9 - TN/AG/SCC/W/6);  Third  
(WT/CFMC/11 - TN/AG/SCC/R/12);  Fourth (WT/CFMC/13 - TN/AG/SCC/W/8);  Fifth (WT/CFMC/15 - TN/AG/SCC/W/9);  Sixth (WT/CFMC/20 - TN/AG/SCC/W/10);  Seventh (WT/CFMC/23 - 
TN/AG/SCC/W/11), and Eight (WT/ CFMC/27 – TN/AG/SCC/W/12).   
3 WT/GC/M/102, 19 July 2006;  WT/GC/M/103, 10 October 2006;  WT/GC/M/106, 1 March 2007;  
WT/GC/M/112, 4 March 2008; WT/GC/114, 21 January 2008;   and, WT/GC/M/117, 23 February 2009.   
4 High Level Session on Cotton, 15 to 16 March 2007.  Director-General's Concluding Remarks, 
WT/CFMC/12 - TN/AG/SCC/W/7, 16 March 2007.    WT/GC/120 
 WT/CFMC/DG/3 
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 5. Progress made on both tracks has been affected by the global financial and economic crisis 
and ensuing recession, the commodity price crisis, and the March 2008 crisis in the cotton futures 
market.  Finally, these have been compounded by the mu ch larger challenge of the rising costs of the 
delayed conclusion of the Doha Round.  The longer  the delay in concluding the Doha Round, the 
higher the costs for the cotton sector and other de velopment dimensions of the Doha Round.   
6. Since 2005, my intensive consultations with Members unquestionably show that the cotton 
dossier has emerged as one of the key tests of the Doha Round.  I share the position of Members that 
cotton is a test of the Doha Deve lopment Round.  As reaffirmed at the 2007 Cotton HLS, there will be 
no conclusion to the Doha Round without a resolution of the cotton question, and it is also now self-
evident that a satisfactory conclusion of the cotto n dossier depends on an ambitious and balanced 
conclusion to the Doha Round.  The cotton dossier and the Doha Round are inseparably linked.  The 2010 conclusion of the Doha Round would contribute to a resolution of the cotton dossier in those areas within the competence of the trading system.   
II. BACKGROUND 
7. Implementation of the mandate on cotton opera tes on the two-track approach, to which 
Members agreed in 2004.  The two tracks encompas s the trade policy aspects;  and, the development 
assistance aspects.  The trade policy track is be ing addressed within the agriculture negotiations, 
under the Single Undertaking.  As mandated by  Members, using the Consultative Framework 
Mechanism on Cotton, I have led the efforts on th e development assistance aspects (outside of the 
Single Undertaking) in close cooperation with the development community.  An integral element of 
the Doha cotton mandate, which Memb ers have repeatedly stressed, is the requirement for coherence 
between the trade and development assistance aspects.
5   
8. Since my 2005 Second Periodic Report, I have  convened eight Rounds of my Consultative 
Framework Mechanism on Cotton, in addition to th e High Level Session on Cotton.  I have also 
consulted intensively and extensively with the C4 (along with Brazil, the EC, and the US), the AU, 
the WTO African Group, the Least-Developed Countries Consultative Group, the ACP and the 
combined G90, on the cotton dossier.  I have remain ed in sustained contacts with the Chairman of the 
Committee on Agriculture Special Session (CoA/ SS) and of the Sub-Committee on Cotton (SCC).  
On the basis of these contacts, eight Secretariat Pr ogress Reports have been submitted to Members in 
the SCC and I have directly provided six updates to  the General Council.  This Third Periodic Report 
is a summary of this regular flow of reports to WTO Members.    
III. COTTON SECTOR DEVELOPMENTS6 
A. A Combination of Recent Crises 
9. The global cotton sector has been negatively impacted by a combination of three recent 
successive crises that have exacer bated several long-term trends.  They are:  the 2007/08 global 
commodity price crisis;  the March 2008 crisis in the cotton futures market;  and, the 2008/09 global 
financial and economic crisis.   
                                                      
5 WT/L/579:  paragraph 1.b;  and, Annex A:  paragraphs 4 and 5.   
6 This section draws on data from the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC).  The WTO 
and ICAC Secretariats are in activ e collaboration within the Director -General's Consultative Framework 
Mechanism on Cotton and at an nual Plenary Meetings of the ICAC.  In addition, ICAC contributes cotton sector 
projects and activities to the Director-General's Evol ving Table on Cotton Development Assistance in the 
implementation of the Doha mandate.   WT/GC/120 
WT/CFMC/DG/3 Page 4 
 
 10. There have been sporadic spikes in commodity pr ices over the past five years.  These attained 
higher than normal peaks in 2003, 2007 and 2008.  These have manifested particularly in energy and 
agricultural food prices.  For instance, crude oil prices increased from an annual average of US$29 a 
barrel in 2003 to attain a daily spot price of US $146 in 2008, before retreating to fluctuate between 
US$50 and US$65.  Energy price increases caused an  escalation in fertilizer prices between 2007 and 
2008.  The consequence has been an increase in agri cultural production costs.  On average, 20% of 
overall cotton production costs are accounted for by fe rtilizer costs.  The effect of the commodity 
price crisis produced a significant increase in cott on production costs and tighter profit margins 
(reduced profitability).  In contrast, alternative cr ops to cotton (grains and oilseeds in particular) 
became more profitable due to higher prices, more attractive to farmers.  The production appeal of 
cotton alternatives has also been in creased in some cases by government bio-fuel subsidies.  The net 
effect was a decline in world cotton area in the seasons 2007/08 and 2008/09.   
11. The 2008 crisis in the Cotton Futures Market resulted from increased speculative activity.  In 
the first half of 2008, price movements exhib ited exceptional volatility, fl uctuating between US¢69 
and US¢90 per pound of cotton lint.  This transient spike in futures market prices created a situation in 
which several cotton merchants, who had hedged their positions
7 at lower prices, were confronted 
with significantly high margin calls.  Unable to pay,  they liquidated their positions at a loss.  Many 
merchants were unable to recover and declared ba nkruptcy.  Others exited the cotton business.  The 
direct effect on the cotton sector was the redu ced ability of cotton merchants to purchase large 
quantities of cotton in advance, and at fixed prices (a common practice before the futures market 
crisis).  Trade finance (credit) for cotton merc hants decreased significantly in this period.   
12. The global economic crisis, growth decelera tion and contraction e ffectively began from 
August 2007.  This crisis and growth reducti on negatively affected textiles consumption and 
consequently cotton mill use.  In the 2007/08 seas on, world cotton mill use declined by 13% to 
23 million tons.  This was the single most precipito us decline in global cotton consumption in over 
60 years.  In this period, cotton mill use contracted in China (which accounts for approximately 40% 
of world industrial cotton consumption), Europe, India, the United States and elsewhere.   
13. These crises have been reflected in cotton pr oduction, consumption, stocks, prices and trade 
patterns.   
B. Cotton Production 
14.   Production and cotton mill use have been aff ected by the global financial and economic 
crisis and the ensuing recession.  In 1939, globa l cotton production (and consumption) totalled 
6.5 million tons.  Sixty years later, in 1999, co tton production was slightly  below 20 million tons.  
 
                                                      
7 At the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).   WT/GC/120 
 WT/CFMC/DG/3 
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182022242628
99/00  01/02  03/04  05/06  07/08  09/10Million tonsWorld Cotton Production 
and Mill Use
ProductionConsumption
Source:  ICAC 
15. Production increased to a record high of 27 million tons in the 2004/05 season.  Production 
was slightly lower in the three following seasons.  In the season ending July 2009, production dropped 
by 10% to 23.4 million tons.  This was the largest  decline since the early 1990s.  Production declined 
in Brazil, China, the CFA ( Communauté Financière Africaine ) zone, India, Turkey, the USA and 
Uzbekistan.  Production increased in Australia and Pakistan. 
Cotton Production
02468
China India US Pak. Brazil Uzbek. CFA Turkey 07/08  08/09  09/10Million tons
Source:  ICAC 
 WT/GC/120 
WT/CFMC/DG/3 Page 6 
 
 16. In LDCs,
8 cotton production reached a record 1.4 million tons in 2004/05, accounting for 
5.1% of the global output.  Production decreased in each of the following four seasons, to an 
approximate level of 800,000 tons in 2008/ 09, or 3.5% of the global output.   
17. The cotton industry and production in Africa have been more severely affected than in most 
other countries.  In the 2004/05 season, total Afri can cotton production registered a record 2 million 
tons.  Thereafter, it has declined in every season.  In 2008/09, it declined to  1.1 million tons;  a 15% 
decline from the 2007/08 season and the lowest production level since the early 1980s.  In 2008/09, cotton production in Africa accounted for 5% of world output, down from 8% from the record production year in 2004/05.   
18. In this overall setting for Africa and the CFA z one, Burkina Faso is working hard to respond 
to the challenges.  Cotton production in Burkin a Faso declined significantly between 2004/05 and 
2007/08.  However, since 2008/09 production has sli ghtly recovered.  In the 2008/09 season, 
production stood at 182,000 tons or 21%  more than in the 2007/08 season (but still 31% lower than in 
2004/05).  Burkina Faso has become the largest LDC and African cotton producer because production 
in other large African cotton-producing countries h as declined even more.  The adoption of a cotton 
price smoothing scheme and the introduction of bio-tech cotton on a commercial scale
9 have probably 
helped to stop the decline in co tton production in Burkina Faso.  
C. Yields 
19. Between 1990/91 and 2008/09, cotton yields in LD Cs have not improved,  and have decreased 
slightly.  Yields averaged approximately 320 kg of  cotton lint per hectare in 1990/91, or 56% of the 
world yield.  In 2008/09, the cotton yield in LDCs averaged 290 kg per hectare, or 38% of the world 
yield.  Although the figures from individual African cotton producers vary, the estimated average yield for Africa was 313 kg/ha in 2008/09, or less than  half the world average of 763 kg/ha.  Most 
cotton area in Africa is rain-fed, which explains in  part why cotton yields are lower than the world 
average.  However, while the average cotton yield in the rest of the world increased between 1990/91 
and 2008/09, the average cotton yield in Africa declined slightly during the same period.  This stands 
in contrast to the countries reflecting higher yields per hectare such as Australia (1,932 kg/ha), Brazil 
(1,416 kg/ha), the US (911 kg/ha), etc.   
D. Cotton Mill Use 
20. World cotton mill use has also b een affected as a consequence of decline and contraction in 
GDP growth.  A 13% decline in mill use (to 23 milli on tons) was registered for the season ending in 
July 2009.  This decline was the largest recorded since the Great Depression.  A modest recovery of 
global cotton mill consumption is expected in the current season (2009/10) with global upturn and 
growth prospects.  According to ICAC estimates, mill use will be lower than  in the previous decade 
and is not expected to return to pre-crisis levels for several years.  Aggregate African cotton mill use 
declined by 15% in 2008/09 to 445,000 tons (or 2% of  global cotton mill use) and is not expected to 
rebound in the short-term.   
                                                     
 
8 Most cotton-producing LDCs are in Africa.   
9 An estimated 29% of cotton area in Burkina Faso wa s planted to bio-tech cotto n in the present season 
(2009/10).  WT/GC/120 
 WT/CFMC/DG/3 
 Page 7 
 
 
E. Cotton Price 
21. Cotton price has been on a long-term downward trend over the past 30 years.  Based on the 
Cotlook A Index,10 nominal prices averaged US¢74 per pound of cotton lint from the 1970s to the 
1990s.  However, in the most recent 10 years (1 999/2000 to 2008/09), th e Cotlook A Index has 
averaged US¢58 per pound.  Taking account of year-t o-year variations, the average has approximated 
US¢16 lower than in the period from the 1970s to the 1990s.  The trending downwards in prices, 
combined with an increase in production costs, ha ve increased the pressure on cotton producers.  The 
average forecast for the current season (2009/10) is US¢64;  this would represent a relative increase of 
5% from the previous season. 
 
304050607080
99/00 01/02 03/04 05/06 07/08 09/10Cotlook A Index
Season-average (US cents/lb)
6473
56
Source:  ICAC 
                                                      
10 This is the indicator of the average level of worl d cotton prices delivered to import terminals in Far 
Eastern markets;  these are not farm prices.   WT/GC/120 
WT/CFMC/DG/3 Page 8 
 
 
F. Cotton Trade 
22. The top 10 cotton exporters and importers are shown in the Table below.  
 
 TOP 10 COTTON EXPORTERS AND IMPORTERS 
2008/2009 SEASON 
Total value of global cotton trade:  17.6 billion U.S. dollars 
Total value of global cotton exports: 8.8 billion U.S. dollars 
Total value of global cotton imports: 8.8 billion U.S. dollars 
EXPORTER EXPORT VOLUME  
(Thousand Tons ) IMPORTER IMPORT VOLUME  
(Thousand Tons ) 
USA 2,890 CHINA 1,523 
BRAZIL 596 BANGLADESH 650 
UZBEKISTAN 560 TURKEY 629 
INDIA 505 PAKISTAN 475 
AUSTRALIA 260 INDONESIA 430 
GREECE 220 THAILAND 349 
BURKINA FASO 161 MEXICO 285 
TURKMENISTAN 90 VIETNAM 256 
TAJIKISTAN 90 KOREA, REP. 215 
PAKISTAN 88 RUSSIA 204 
Source :  compiled from ICAC data. 
 
23. World cotton imports were affected by the declin e in cotton mill use.  Imports declined from 
8.3 million tons in 2007/08 to 6.5 million tons in 2008/09 (or 22% decrease).  Imports are projected to 
increase to 6.9 million tons in the current season (2009/10).  Exports were affected by the global 
financial and economic cris is and recession.  World cotton exports declined from 8.4 million tons in 
2007/08 to 6.5 million tons in 2008/09 (or a 21% decrease).     
24. African cotton exports currently account for 13%  of global cotton trade, down from 19% in 
the record year of 2004/05.  Most African cotton pr oduction is exported.  As  a consequence, although 
the African cotton market has a minor effect on th e global cotton market (because of its relatively 
small cotton market share in world cotton exports),  its cotton market is significantly affected by 
developments in the world cotton market.  African co tton trade has been affected  by recent events.  In 
the current season (2009/10), its cotton fibre exports ha ve declined to 800,000 tons  or half the level at 
which they stood (1.6 million) in the 2005/06 season.   This reduction has had corresponding dramatic 
effects on reduced cotton export receipts.  WT/GC/120 
 WT/CFMC/DG/3 
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G. Direction of African Cotton Trade 
25. The destination of cotton exports from African  countries has changed in the past decade, 
shifting from mainly European to largely East Asian markets.  This reflects larger global cotton trade 
trends.  China is the largest market for African co tton, accounting for more than one third of African 
cotton exports.   
CHINA's COTTON IMPORTS FROM AFRICA  
(000' tons) 
 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 
         
BENIN  8.03 39.63 74.16 38.70 126.80 44.35 59.14 
BURKINA FASO   13.07 71.05 56.67 161.82 142.78 72.68 
CHAD   1.15 14.66 10.99 21.67 10.36 3.90 
MALI 1.00 0.22 10.11 60.65 30.92 102.61 34.71 44.46 
         
CAMEROON   3.47 39.24 12.02 60.46 52.61 39.54 
CENT. AFR. REP.         
COTE D'IVOIRE  1.42 3.45 71.54 22.45 59.71 9.65 13.14 
EGYPT 2.39 4.40 7.70 2.42 12.43 11.51 4.92 11.44 
GHANA   0.49 5.38 0.50    
KENYA    0.72 0.50    
MADAGASCAR    0.55     
MOZAMBIQUE     1.34 11.07 2.27 2.83 
NIGERIA     1.79    
SENEGAL   2.70 2.40 0.29   7.07 
SOUTH AFRICA    0.30 0.12    
SUDAN   2.07 12.28 3.47    
TANZANIA 0.75  5.30 3.69 9.47 52.11   
TOGO  0.19 16.41 27.94 11.16 20.78 3.51 8.70 
UGANDA 0.04 0.17 1.44 5.27 8.37  2.94  
ZAMBIA   1.35 12.27 5.82 34.74 16.55 4.62 
ZIMBABWE    5.83 7.41 18.09 6.61 7.83 
         
TOTAL (000' tons) 4.2 14.4 108.3 410.3 234.4 681.4 331.3 275.3 
 
26. A combination of factors have affected A frican cotton production and trade.  These have 
ranged from increasing production costs (particularly in creased fertilizer costs), to restricted trade 
finance from cotton trading companies (a consequen ce of the financial crisis), volatility and the long-
term downward trend in global cotton prices and ba d weather.  The mix of factors include tighter 
profit margins, linked to increasing costs and downward price trends and a competitiveness factor arising from the Euro-pegged CFA Franc in relatio n to the United States dollar, the currency for 
cotton trade in the CFA zone.  The strengthened ( overvalued) CFA Franc/Euro peg in relation to 
cotton trade denominated in US dollars has offset most seasonal cotton price increases.  Competitiveness has been affected with cott on price declines in recent years.   WT/GC/120 
WT/CFMC/DG/3 Page 10 
 
 
H. Cotton and Food Security 
27. More than 100 countries are involved in cotton trade.  Close to 300 million people are 
engaged in cotton production.
11  Recently, the international cotton community has drawn attention to 
the role of cotton in economic development.  It h as stressed the relationship between a thriving cotton 
sector and food security, particularly during a period of global economic crisis.  Cotton farmers state 
that the starting point of "food security" is "security of income".  The point has been made that cotton 
receipts enable farmers, particularly those in economically vulnerable regions, arid and semi-arid 
regions, to pay for the costs of education, health car e, food, etc.  Furthermore, cotton income is linked 
to food security by providing resources to engage in best agricultural practices, including funding of 
inputs and enhancing soil fertility.  The relationshi p between cotton and food security is an area under 
current active study.12   
IV. COTTON DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE 
A. The Evolving Table 
28. The forum for the implementation of the D oha mandate on the development assistance 
aspects of cotton is the DGCMFC.  The 12th Round of Consultations w as held on 23 October 2009.  
The "Director-General's Evolving Table on Cotton Development Assistance" (hereafter:  Evolving 
Table or ET) is the common instrument for the work of Members in this area.  It serves the functions 
of transparency, tracking and monitoring developm ent assistance, evaluating disbursement flows and 
operational status.  In addition, the ET has also emerged as an indispensable platform for dialogue between the providers and receivers of development assistance for cotton.   
29. My First Version of the Table was circulated in 2005 to the General C ouncil and subsequently 
to Ministers at the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Conference (WT/CFMC/6).  The 7
th Version was 
circulated in September 2009 (WT/CFMC/6/Rev.6), prior to the 12th Round of Consultations.  
Following the understanding reached at the 12th Round of the DGCFMC on 23 October 2009, I have 
circulated the 8th version of the ET (WT/CFMC/6/Rev.7) to present Ministers with a completed and 
updated state-of-play.  Much progress has been made .  The quantum progress made between the First 
Version in 2005 and the 8th Version (2009) on cotton programmes, projects and activities and 
beneficiaries are indicated in the Table below.   
ACTIVITIES/BENEFICIARIES 2005 2009 
Activities:  Programmes and  Projects 66 237 
Beneficiaries  2213 4414 
                                                      
11 "Cotton Market Challenges and Trends", presentation by the International Cotton Advisory 
Committee (ICAC) at the 12th Round of the Director-Gen eral's Consultative Framew ork Mechanism on Cotton, 
23 October 2009.   
12 Statement by the ICAC at its 68th Plenary Meeting:  "The Role of Cotton in Economic Development 
and Ensuring Food Security During a Period of Global Economic Crisis", Cape Town, South Africa, 7-
11 September 2009.   
13 Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-
Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zimbabwe.    
14 Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African 
Rep., Chad, Congo (Dem. Rep. of), Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia (The), Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Madaga scar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, 
Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, 
Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.    WT/GC/120 
 WT/CFMC/DG/3 
 Page 11 
 
 30. Progress registered in value terms also indi cates significant value.  The value of cotton-
specific development assistance currently totals US$564,270,986
, while assistance provided within 
the broader framework for agriculture and infrastru cture-related support stands at US$2,897,155,518 .  
These gains are considerable.   
31. The parameters for tracking the implementa tion of the mandate on cotton development 
assistance are evident in the Evolving Table.  Howe ver, it was only from the 3rd Version of the ET 
(WT/CFMC/6/Rev.2) that the agreed parameters were established for a more quantitative-based 
assessment of the progress in the implementation of the mandate on cotton development assistance.  
These parameters  were discussed, streamlined and agreed at the High Level Session (HLS) on 
Cotton, 15-16 March 2007.  For instance, a "disbursement column", which I had suggested, different 
from the starting "commitment" column was agr eed.  Furthermore, after the 2005 Hong Kong 
Ministerial Conference, I initiated a process of "verif ication" between providers and recipients.  As a 
consequence, each circulated new ve rsion of the ET is subject to a "verification" exercise.  On the 
basis of the agreed improved format for the ET, the Table below summarizes the progress made so far 
in relation to commitments and disbursements from 2005 to 2009.   
 
PERCENTAGE CHANGE BETWEEN DIFFERENT VERSIONS15 
 Commitments  Disbursements  
% change from Rev.2 to Rev.3 +8%  +312% 
% change from Rev.3 to Rev.4 +25%  +137% 
% change from Rev.4 to Rev.5 +0.7% +21% 
% change from Rev.5 to Rev.6 +1.3% +33% 
% change from Rev.6 to Rev.7 +19.9% 0% 
   
% change from Rev.2 to Rev.7 +65% +1,472% 
 
32. The traditional bilateral development co mmunity and the multilateral and regional 
development agencies have provided effective leader ship.  They made foundation contributions that 
set the stage for the initial preparation and the evol ution of the different versions of the ET.  The 
European Communities and several of its indi vidual Members (France, Germany, and the 
Netherlands), Canada, Ja pan and the United States have led th e way in the implementation of the 
mandate on the development assistance aspects of cotton.  From the establishment of the mandate in 2004, they adjusted their development programmes to  prioritize and take due account of the mandate 
for cotton development assistance.  The response and contributions by the multilateral and regional 
development agencies have been equally critical, pa rticularly through country programmes, some of 
which are linked to poverty reduction;  and, the design of new programmes, including through 
concrete project such as in the area of value a ddition.  The contributing multilateral and regional 
development agencies have included:  Afri can Development Bank (AfDB), Common Fund for 
Commodities (CFC), Enhanced Integrated Framew ork (EIF), Food and Agriculture Organization 
(FAO), International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), International Monetary Fund (IMF), 
International Trade Centre (ITC), United Nations  Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), 
West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), World Bank and the former Joint 
Integrated Technical Assistance Programme for Africa (JITAP).   
                                                     
 
15 Percentage changes are based on aggregates of Parts I and II. WT/GC/120 
WT/CFMC/DG/3 Page 12 
 
 33. Contributions to the ET are in three categories:  i) cotton-specific development assistance;  
ii) development assistance for cotton within the broa der framework of agriculture and infrastructure-
related assistance;  and, iii) available/accessible resources that could be allocated to cotton on the 
basis of national development priorities, alt hough not specifically ear-marked for cotton.   
34. The actual scope of the programmes, projects and activities cover a wide area in response to 
the expressed needs and projects submitted by cotton proponents.  These areas include, inter alia : 
• Training and Capacity-Building for cotton farmers, producer associations, government 
officials.   
• Domestic cotton sector reforms:   
- re-organization of cotton producer associations.   - preparation of national cotton sector strategies.   
- implementation of cotton strategies.   
- sustainable cotton production.   - cotton classification and certification systems.   - increasing cotton yield varieties. - commercial standardization of instrument testing systems.   
- Cotton Exporter's Guide.  
• Cotton multinational competitiveness programmes. 
• Agricultural best practices.   
• Agricultural diversification, productivit y and market development projects.   
• Agricultural cooperatives, gender support in agriculture and cotton sector.   
• Bio-technology and bio-safety.   
• Fiscal support (stabex, concessional and non-concessional grant support) to compensate for 
revenue shortfalls.   
• Funding for cotton producer associations.   
• Infrastructure support:  construction of "co tton roads", dams and railways, warehouses, 
irrigation and water resource projects, etc.).   
• Support for cotton training and research institutes.   
• Funding support for enhanced soil fertility progr ammes (soil diagnosis and conservation) and 
Integrated Pest Management (IPM).   
• Price risk management ( Fonds de lissage ).  WT/GC/120 
 WT/CFMC/DG/3 
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• Legal and regulatory framework fo r domestic cotton sector reform. 
• Cotton sector value addition (textiles and clothing industries). 
• Agricultural extension.   
V. SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION FOR COTTON SECTOR DEVELOPMENT 
35. The mandate for South-South Cooperation on co tton was established in paragraph 12 of the 
Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.16  In accordance with this mandate, Brazil, China and India have 
provided effective leadership for the implementation of this mandate.  At the initiative of these three 
Members, the Secretariat organized a "Seminar on South-South Cooperation for Cotton Sector Development", on 22 November 2007.
17   
36. At the Seminar and subsequently, the contribut ions and indicated areas of support by Brazil, 
China, Egypt, India and the International Trade Centre, include, inter alia,  the following:   
• Research and technology transfer for im proved agricultural/cotton productivity:   
- testing and adaptation to tropical  and varying local conditions.  
- creation of genetic variability adapted to local conditions.   
- collection, conservation, cataloguing and evaluation of cotton germ plasm.   - increased cotton yield and productivity, fibre quality and by-products.   - provision of access to new cotton-seed vari eties (free of costs and royalties to LDCs 
and African countries).   
• Improved market access for cotton.   
• Organic and BT cotton production.   
• Effective Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies.   
• Cooperation support across the entire cotton sector value chain.   
• Information Technology (IT) use for improved agricultural productivity.   
• Training and capacity-building for officials, agriculture and cotton producers:   
- general cotton arbitration association. - product classing, spinning mills, and ginning. - direction of cotton market trade flows. 
• Improvements in Aid for Trade.  
                                                     
 
16 WT/MIN(05)/DEC.  "We urge Members to promote and support South-South cooperation, including 
transfer of technology".   
17 WT/CFMC/16:  Seminar on South-South Cooperation for Cotton Sector Development.   WT/GC/120 
WT/CFMC/DG/3 Page 14 
 
 37. Contributions on the platform of South-South Cooperation for Cotton Sector Development is 
voluntary.  There has been widespread appreciati on by the membership for these contributions, which 
are fully reflected in the 8
th Version of the Evolving Table.   
VI. DOMESTIC COTTON SECTOR REFORMS 
38. Domestic cotton sector reforms by the propone nts of the Sectoral Initiative on Cotton were 
reviewed and discussed by participants at th e 2004 African Regional Workshop on Cotton.  The 
results from the Cotonou Workshop laid the foundation for the Doha mandate on cotton.18  The item 
on "Domestic Cotton Sector Reforms" has been st andard on the agenda of the DGCFMC from the 
very beginning in 2004.  Much progress has been made.  Cotton proponents have actively engaged.  
Based on inputs from Benin, Burkina Faso and Chad , a First Version of a "Domestic Cotton Sector 
Reforms Table" (DCS-RT; WT/CFMC/21) was crea ted.  Mali has provided information in two 
documents (WT/CFMC/24 and 25).   
39. The continuing relevance of discussions on this item is that it provides the platform for a 
constructive donor/recipient dialogue to underscore  the vital connections between resources provided 
by the development community, on the one hand, a nd more efficient resource use, productivity and 
greater openness amongst recipients of assistance, on th e other.  These discussions have resulted in a 
win-win for all parties.   
40. There is scope for continuing improvements on this item.  These improvements would be 
facilitated by provision of timely and regular i nputs to the DCS-RT by all beneficiaries of 
development assistance for cotton.  The Second Version of the DCS-RT should be circulated in 2010.   
VII. CONCLUSION 
41. The cotton dossier has emerged as a defining issue in the DDA and WTO Members consider 
it as a test of the Doha Development Round.  It is at the centre of priorities established by developing 
countries, particularly the least-developed countries amongst them and notably the C4, the proponents of the Sectoral Initiative on Cotton (SIC).  The re sponse by the entire memb ership to establish a 
mandate on cotton in the 1 August 2004 General C ouncil Decision is a tribute to the WTO.  It 
demonstrated the sensitivity of the WTO to developm ent concerns and priorities in the DDA.  In the 
mandate, Members agreed to treat the cotton dossier  "ambitiously, expeditiously and specifically".   
42. Since the 6
th WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in 2005, the facts show that progress 
has been made in the implementation of the Doha mandate on cotton, particularly on the development 
assistance aspects.  All parties have contributed to the progress made so far.  Paragraph 11 of the 
2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration and the December 2008 revised draft modalities in 
agriculture give some evidence of the progress ma de on the trade policy aspects.  Members have 
reaffirmed the commitment to "address cotton ambiti ously, expeditiously and specifically, within the 
agriculture negotiations in relation to all trade-di storting policies affecting the sector in all three 
pillars of market access, domestic support and expor t competition".  Members have also reaffirmed 
their commitment to ensure an explicit decision on cotton within the agriculture negotiations.   
43. A range of factors, referred to in this report, are affecting the long-term health of the global 
cotton sector.  These factors, also broadly aff ecting commodities, include price volatility, price 
competition from chemical fibres, currency moveme nts and export competitiveness, developments in 
technology, trade-distorting domestic support and g overnment sectoral interventions.  These factors 
                                                      
18 WT/L/587:  African Regional Workshop on Cotton, Cotonou, Benin, 23-24 March 2004, organized 
by the WTO Secretariat;  and, WT/L /579 (paragraph 1.b):  Decision Adopted by the General Council on 
1 August 2004.    WT/GC/120 
 WT/CFMC/DG/3 
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 have been compounded by the recent global financia l and economic crisis and ensuing recession.  
They have combined to increase adversity in th e cotton sector.  Global cotton production and trade 
have declined.  Prices have been in long-term decl ine.  As a consequence, cotton receipts have been 
negatively affected.  While virtually all cotton prod ucers and traders have been affected, the more 
vulnerable – particularly those in the least devel oped countries, including the C4 - have been most 
severely affected.  The adversity being experience d in the cotton sector has had, and continues to 
have, negative consequences for the livelihood, economic welfare and poverty reduction in the 
populations in the affected countries.  In my Ap ril 2009 letter to all WTO Members, under cover of 
which I circulated the 6
th Version of the Evolving Table on Cotton Development Assistance, I stressed 
that, "If before there was a need to act expeditiously  to address the cotton dossier in the context of the 
Doha Development Round, the current financial crisis  has made it an imperative".  This statement 
continues to be true.   
44. Since my last report, significant progress has been made in the implementation of the mandate 
on cotton development assistance.  For instance, the number of beneficiaries has increased by 100%, 
from 22 in 2005 to 44 in 2009.  The aggregate number of cotton ac tivities (programmes and projects) 
has improved by 259%, from 66 in 2005 to 237 in 2009.   From 2008 when the current parameters for 
the Evolving Table were formalized and agreed, th e percentage change between versions has been 
significant:  between Version 3 (WT/CFMC/6 /Rev.2) and Version 8 (WT/CFMC/6/Rev.7) 
"Commitments"  increased by 65%;  and, correspondingly " Disbursements " significantly improved by 
1,472% between Versions 3 and 8.   All this is work in progress.  There is scope for further 
improvements, considering that implementation of the mandate for the development assistance 
aspects started from a clean slate.  I continue to urge for more rapid action on disbursements by the development community and for top-up, particularly in identified areas of need.  Similarly, I urge 
recipients of assistance to improve by providing mo re timely feedback and better engage their focal 
points in the dialogue.   
45. Progress so far has been made possible by a uni que development partnership on cotton.  The 
engagement between providers and re cipients, more so over the past fi ve years, has been intensive, 
constructive and sustained.  This progress built on the classical development aid foundation of the 
bilateral donors and multilateral and regional agencies, was sharply boosted by developing countries 
on the platform of South-South Cooperation fo r Cotton Sector Development.  South-South 
contributions in the implementation of the mandate has, in my view, emerged as a best practice and a 
good example for trade development involving developing countries.  The additionality and 
uniqueness introduced are reflected in adapted technologies and agricultural production practices, 
including cotton, amongst developing countries.  Brazil, China and India have provided exemplary 
leadership in this area.   
46. The dialogue amongst development partners w ithin the Consultative Framework Mechanism 
on Cotton also indicates that continuing progress on th is track is related to overall agriculture and 
infrastructure development in LDCs, particularly in  the cotton-producing countries.  The contributions 
of Members on Aid-for-Trade and cotton developmen t assistance can provide vital support for these 
countries as they undertake domestic reforms to in crease yield, productivity and competitiveness.   
47. In conclusion, the satisfactory resolution of the cotton dossier, in those areas within the 
mandate of the DDA and the competence of the mu ltilateral trading system, are inseparably linked to 
an ambitious and balanced conclu sion of the Doha Round.  I continue to urge Members to move 
rapidly to conclude the Doha Round in 2010.    
 
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