TN/AG/SCC/W/37  
WT/CFMC/64  
 
10 February 2021  
(21-1114) Page: 1/16 
Sub-Committee on Cotton    
 
 
THEMATIC SESSION ON COTTON BY -PRODUCTS DEVELOPMENT  
IN LEAST -DEVELOPED COUNTRIES (LDCS)  
12 NOVEMBER 2020, 15:00 (ROOM CR/INTERPREFY)  
Report  
1  INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON, DEPUTY DIRECTOR -GENERAL 
ALAN  WM. WOLFF  
1.1.  The Chairperson  welcomed the organization of the Thematic Session on Cotton by -products 
development in Least -Developed Countries (LDCs), held in the context of the November 2020 
WTO Cotton Days. He recalled that the session stemmed from the WTO -United Nations Conference 
on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) - International Trade Centre (ITC) Joint Initiative on Cotton 
By-Products, as endorsed by WTO Members at the 29 November 2018 meeting of the 
Director -General Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton (DGCFMC).1  
1.2.  He expressed solidarity with all Members and participants in their efforts to fight the COVID -19 
pandemic, and  recalled the  analysis of the impacts of the pandemic on cotton value chains carried 
out during the "cotton and COVID -19 information session" o f 30 July 2020 .2 Reports and experts' 
interventions at the session had confirmed that the pandemic had had a considerable impact on  
cotton value chains, particularly in its most vulnerable parts. Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali, 
known as the C -4, had reported that more than 20 million cotton smallholder farmers in Africa were 
being seriously affected by the direct and indirect effects of the pandemic.  
1.3.  Against that scenario, he emphasised the importance of the additional income -earning 
opportunities off ered by investments in the local processing of parts of the cotton plant other than 
the fibre, such as the stalks, husks, cottonseed and short -staple fibres, which could help cotton 
smallholders in LDCs better cope with COVID -19 and other exogenous impacts , provided they had 
the technologies, support policies and knowhow to unlock the value of cotton by -products (CBPs).  
1.4.  He referred to  the evidence from the feasibility assessments on the potential to develop CBPs 
in LDCs, which had been completed and valida ted in Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and 
Mozambique, under the coordination of the Agriculture and Commodities Division of the WTO in close 
consultation with UNCTAD and ITC, and with support from the Enhanced Integrated 
Framework  (EIF). Those new assessm ents complemented previous work done by UNCTAD in 
Tanzania, Uganda,  and Zambia, and by ITC across the  African continent.  
1.5.  He noted that that work had unveiled novel data, facts and figures about CBPs in the 
partner  LDCs, availing that information to interna tional cooperation partners, donors, and investors. 
For example, soap produced from cotton waste processing in West Africa appeared to be mostly 
made by women. New data collected by a team of local experts showed that women set up their 
businesses near the  processing units that crush cottonseed for edible oil, to obtain the black or white 
cake resulting as waste from seed crushing. That waste was then used to produce soap. In Mali 
alone, those activities employed about 400 people and generated average annua l revenues of 
USD 262,840. He reported that such scenario was common to the other C -4 countries.  Furthermore, 
a significant growth potential for soap markets was unveiled by the feasibility assessments, which 
highlighted that women's level of satisfaction with the quality and quantity of raw material available 
 
1 Document  TN/AG/SCC/W/30 - WT/CFMC/58.  
2 Document TN/AG/SCC/W/34 - WT/CFMC/W/82.  TN/AG/SCC/W/37 • WT/CFMC/64  
 
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  to produce soap from cotton was only low -to-medium, and that the demand for soap was significant 
at the national and regional levels – a possible gateway to future exports at the inter -African level 
but also overseas.  
1.6.  He announced that those subjects would be discussed in detail during the session and turned 
to the presentation of the agenda for the meeting. Item 2 of the agenda would be dedicated to a  
draft General Council Declaration on Support for c otton by -products development in LDCs 
(INT/SUB/AG/489/Rev.3), promoted by the C -4 on behalf of all cotton producing LDCs, circulated to 
Members on 2 November 2020. Item 3 of the agenda would be dedicated to the analysis of the 
results of the feasibility as sessments, to listen to Members and partners' views on capacity building 
activities that could be undertaken in the partner LDCs on the basis of those results.  
1.7.  He concluded his introduction by highlighting that the session  provided participants with an 
opportunity to achieve two important objectives: first,  preliminary consensus on a draft General 
Council Declaration on Support for cotton by -products development in LDCs which the C -4 intended 
to submit to the General Council for consideration at the Decemb er 2020 General Council; and 
second, discussing and possibly committing to concrete capacity building activities to enable the 
development of CBPs in cotton producing LDCs. Achieving both objectives would also help fulfil the 
mandate that WTO Members gave to the Secretariats of the WTO, UNCTAD , and ITC  in 
November  2018, through the joint initiative on cotton by -products aimed at increasing revenues for 
cotton farmers and small processors in cotton producing LDCs.  
1.8.  The agenda was adopted as proposed.  
2  DRAFT GENERAL -COUNCIL DECLARATION ON SUPPORT FOR COTTON BY -PRODUCTS 
DEVELOPMENT IN LDCS  
2.1.  The Chairperson  introduced the agenda item by recalling that Members had received draft 
Declaration contained in  document INT/SUB/AG/489/Rev.3 on 2 November 2020.  
2.2.  Amba ssador Dieudonné W. Désiré SOUGOURI, Permanent Representative of Burkina Faso to 
the United Nations and the WTO , made a presentation on the draft General Council Declaration on 
Support for Cotton By -Products development in LDCs, promoted by the C -4 and the  Republic of 
Côte d'Ivoire on behalf of 36 cotton producing and exporting African countries.  
2.3.  He thanked the Chairperson and the WTO Secretariat for the support provided to cotton 
producing countries, and stressed the importance of cotton and its by -product s for LDCs. Cotton 
contributed to creating many employment opportunities both for women and young people and 
helped to fight poverty. He further reported that cotton production provided a source of income for 
millions of smallholder farmers in Africa, with  the vast majority of those farmers located in 
the C-4 countries.  
2.4.  Furthermore, the income  from cotton represented between 8 % and 12% of the countries ' GDP, 
with the yearly revenue accounting for up to 40% of total export income. However, the COVID -19 
pandemic had seriously affected the cotton sector and had resulted in severe economic losses, lower 
salaries, and increased unemployment rates in the C -4, due to an overall decrease in economic 
activities.  Between March and April 2020,  world consumption for li nt decreased by 6.4 %, while 
cotton prices decreased by 26.1% between January and April 2020, and during the same period 
global imports and exports of cotton fell by 6.6% and 6.8% respectively.  
2.5.  He stated that, with the draft General Council Declaration be ing presented to Members for 
comment, the C -4 intended to create a favourable framework for the implementation of 
development -oriented  cotton by -products projects to increase incomes for more than 20 million 
smallholder farmers, including women and young farmers, to improve health conditions, strengthen 
productive capacity and create employment, especially in the very difficult context of COVID -19. The 
draft Declaration would enable cotton producing LDCs to set up and build a cotton sector which is 
more competitive and more resilient to the fluctuations of international cotton markets, including 
those caused by COVID -19. 
2.6.  He called on  all WTO Members and development cooperation partners to support the adoption 
and effective implementation of the plan o f action contained in the draft General Council Declaration, TN/AG/SCC/W/37 • WT/CFMC/64  
 
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  in order to enable LDCs to address their development challenges. He concluded by thanking  Members 
for their cooperation and assured that the C -4 looked forward to all proposals aimed at facilitat ing 
the adoption of the Draft Declaration at the December 2020 General Council meeting.  
2.7.  The Chairperson  thanked Ambassador Sougouri for his presentation and recalled the process 
that had led to the current discussion. In the context of the WTO -UNCTAD -ITC Initiative on CBPs, 
as endorsed by WTO Members in November 2018 (WT/CFMC/58),  the draft Declaration constituted 
the main political output sought by the C -4 on cotton by -products.  
2.8.  The first draft of the Declaration had been submitted to Members for discuss ion at the 
Quad  Plus meeting of 3 September 2020, and  had been amended pursuant to comments expressed 
by various Members. The consolidated draft now under discussion contained a general declaration 
of support for CBPs development in developing countries, a nd especially the least -developed among 
them. It also included eight action points on technical assistance and capacity building activities to 
be implemented as next steps. In essence, Members' consensus on the Declaration would facilitate 
the preparation of concrete implementation actions by the relevant international and national 
cooperation agencies in line with their respective mandate and competence. He highlighted that the 
eight action points listed by the C -4 in the draft Declaration were based on th orough needs 
assessments conducted at the individual country level, whose results would be discussed under 
item 3 of the agenda.  
2.9.  In the absence of further comments on the draft Declaration presented by the C -4, he noted 
that the C -4 would welcome additiona l comments by Members up to the General Council meeting 
of 16-17 December 2020.  
3  RESULTS OF THE FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT STUDIES CONDUCTED IN EIGHT  PILOT 
AFRICAN  LDCS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE WTO -UNCTAD -ITC INITIATIVE ON COTTON 
BY-PRODUCTS  
3.1.  The Chairperson  introduced the discussion under this agenda item by noting that the discussion 
would be dedicated to the results of the feasibility assessment work coordinated by the 
WTO Secretariat, in close consultation with UNCTAD and ITC, under the EIF -funded project 
"Tran sferring technologies and know -how for the development of cotton by -products in eight pilot 
African LDCs", as well as the follow -up actions and activities to be undertaken  based on those results.  
3.2.  He recalled that the work under the EIF -funded project had started in July 2019 and would be 
completed in December 2020. National experts had collected novel data and analysed the potential 
for CBPs development in Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Mozambique. The resulting draft 
feasibility assessment studies ha d been discussed and validated by national stakeholders from the 
public and private sectors at workshops organized by the WTO  Secretariat 
in September/October  2020.  
3.3.  The studies, as validated by national stakeholders, would be circulated as WTO documents a t 
the request of each  partner LDC, thus allowing for widespread distribution and enhanced 
accessibility.  
3.4.  Mr Ratnakar Adhikari, Executive Director of the Enhanced Intergraded Framework (EIF)  made 
a presentation on the rationale and objectives sought by the  EIF through the support provided to 
the first phase of the project "Transferring technologies and know -how for the development of cotton 
by-products in eight pilot African LDCs".  He stated his interest in the findings from the studies and 
in exploring a c ollaborative way forward. He reiterated the importance of understanding the 
challenges and opportunities of cotton by -products development in the LDCs. Evidence -based 
analysis at country level had been fundamental to the EIF's process, and he mentioned exa mples of 
EIF support to LDCs through Diagnostic Trade Integration Studies (DTISs), Trade Policy Frameworks, 
e-Trade Readiness Assessments focusing on e -trade and Commerce and a variety of Feasibility Study 
support solutions.  
3.5.  He explained that the partners hip approach was designed to achieve inclusive trade for better 
lives by bringing together resources from donors, technical expertise from international agencies 
and development partners, and leadership from the LDCs. He underscored the many years of 
exper ience that the EIF has in supporting  LDCs in the area of productive capacity building and export TN/AG/SCC/W/37 • WT/CFMC/64  
 
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  diversification. The investments by EIF have contributed to more than USD 400 million in direct new 
exports stemming from project interventions and  contributed  more widely to exports amounting to 
over USD 1 billion from LDCs.  
3.6.  He further explained that the EIF has contributed towards the creation of more than 
30,000  jobs, and that all countries working with the EIF had integrated trade into their national 
develo pment plans. He highlighted that in  partner countries including Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, 
Mali and Mozambique, cotton has been  a key sector of their EIF supported DTISs in terms of 
employment, exports and local value addition. He acknowledged that cotton stood out as a sector 
where local processing, value addition and revenue diversification should be pursued more 
prominently. The DTISs had also highlighted the difficulties encountered by the C -4 in developing 
cotton -to-textile value chains. That further s upported the rationale for building on  cotton  for revenue 
diversification with the development of cotton by -products.  
3.7.  He expressed satisfaction  LDCs Ministries of trade had benefited, thanks to the project, from 
the EIF's well established network of coord ination and technical teams. He further emphasized the 
crucial support of key local stakeholders including the private sector through proper consultations. 
The participatory approach was pursued at all stages of project preparation and project 
implementati on and has been a hallmark of the EIF's approach.  
3.8.  He noted that cotton by -products represent an opportunity for countries to garner further 
benefits from cotton production, including new income streams for farmers and processors; 
increased domestic value addition; access to new markets; and  waste reduction along the cotton 
value chain that would contribute to the circular economy. However,  2020 had been far from 
business as usual, and the EIF had learned many lessons from the COVID -19 pandemic, many of 
which were pertinently detailed in the feasibility studies. He reiterated that in 2020, the EIF had 
learned directly from  LDCs, the increasing importance of strengthening productive capacity and 
business ecosystems, as well as the importance of improving mark et connections and trade 
facilitation, which were required to diversify exports, both at the intensive and the extensive 
margins.  
3.9.  Therefore, strategic investments in cotton by -products based on rigorous analysis could 
advance the economic recovery agenda.  He mentioned that the EIF would soon approve support for 
the upcoming feasibility studies in Malawi and Togo, led by UNCTAD in partnership with ITC. He 
re-affirmed the EIF's support and stressed that collaborative efforts  with development partners 
would b e required to achieve successful application of the  feasibility studies findings.  
3.10.   Mr Fabrizio Meliadò of the Agriculture and Commodities Division  made a report on behalf of 
the WTO, UNCTAD and ITC on the joint initiative on cotton by -products. He provided  a background 
on the activities that led to the project, including the series of thematic work under the DGCFMC 
mechanism.  He mentioned that the objective of the project was to increase the revenues of farmers 
and small processors by supporting the local t ransformation of cotton by -products in partner 
countries while prioritising vulnerable communities.  
3.11.   He highlighted that the guiding principles of the joint initiative had delivered two main clusters 
of outputs. First, the operational cluster under the EIF -funded project on "technology transfer for 
the development of cotton by -products in eight pilot African LDCs", that had been implemented since 
July 2019 by the WTO Secretariat, in  cooperation with UNCTAD and ITC. Second, the high-level 
political cluster  led by the C -4, consisting of securing consensus and WTO Members' engagement for 
the implementation of a Ministerial Action Plan on the development of cotton by -products in LDCs.  
3.12.   He explained that under the operational cluster of outputs, the EIF -funded pro ject had led to 
the preparation of country -specific feasibility studies in five African LDCs: Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, 
Mali and Mozambique. Those studies complemented  work previously conducted by UNCTAD in 
Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, bringing to eight the total number of LDCs initially partnering in the 
joint initiative on a pilot basis. The purpose of the studies had been to assess the potential for 
investments and technology transfer to create additional revenues from the local processing of 
cotton by -products in, among others, edible oil, soap, animal feed, fertilizers, particularly for 
smallholder farmers and processors.  TN/AG/SCC/W/37 • WT/CFMC/64  
 
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  3.13.   He highlighted that the results from the studies were encouraging. The novel data that had 
been collected through field surveys had  evidenced the great potential of cotton by -products in 
improving the lives of millions of smallholders and small businesses, provided the right conditions 
were in place. Such conditions included, for instance, improved production and trade infrastructure,  
implementation of reforms to the benefit of farmers, investment facilitation initiatives, and finally, 
the availability of appropriate technologies and know how. The evidence and data collected had also 
suggested that investments and technology transfer f or the development of cotton by -products could 
substantially increase farmers' resilience to exogenous shocks such as those linked to the 
COVID -19 crisis.  
3.14.   Besides yielding fresh and novel data, he stated that the project was continuing to attract the 
attention of international and national partners, with additional LDCs joining the initiative, as was 
the case with Malawi and Togo. Key actors of the development community had also been following  
its developments and utilising the material  produced to inform t heir project and investment planning. 
He noted that the WTO was happy to report that the joint initiative had also generated 
cross-divisional collaborations within the Secretariat, as was the case with the Intellectual Property 
Division and a presentation at the TRIPS Council on the link with the implementation of Article  66.2 
of the TRIPS Agreement, with the Trade and Environment Division through substantive contribution 
to two publications or with the  Trade and Development Division through substantive con tribution to 
one publication.  
3.15.   He emphasised that the local ownership had been a guiding principle in the work undertaken. 
The implementation of that guiding principle had been greatly facilitated by the active cooperation 
between  EIF and national structur es, who had contributed to the studies and the validation of their 
results at the national validation workshops held in each partner country, in close coordination with 
the relevant Geneva -based Missions.   
3.16.   He briefed Members on the activities conducted thus far, including a WTO technical workshop 
in June 2019, a project stand at EU Development days in July 2019, a presentation at an 
UNCTAD  event in South Africa in June 2019, the Partners' Conference in October 2019 as part of the 
World Cotton D ay Launch Event, the five validation workshops in September/October 2020,  periodic 
project updates at WTO cotton meetings, and finally, the publication of various knowledge products, 
on the EIF platform Trade4Development, and in joint publications with oth er WTO Divisions.  
3.17.   He concluded by acknowledging the remarkable contribution of various actors such as the  C-4, 
various African cotton producing countries, the EIF, UNCTAD, ITC, the E uropean Union , Brazil, China, 
India, the U nited States of America , the AFD , GIZ, and various private sector representatives.  
3.18.   The Chairperson  thanked the Agriculture and Commodities Division of the WTO, as well as 
UNCTAD and ITC, for their coordination efforts thus far under the joint initiative. In his view, such 
efforts had bee n fully offset by the benefits that go with coordination, in particular in terms of 
exploitation of synergies and avoidance of inefficiencies, duplications, and overlaps.  
3.19.   Mr Kris Terauds of UNCTAD  reported on the project undertaken by UNCTAD in Eastern an d 
Southern Africa, aiming at promoting cotton by -products. He recalled that the EIF project being 
discussed had been based on feasibility assessments for cotton by -products development in eight 
African LDCs. Three of the countries from the project overlapp ed with the UNCTAD project, namely 
Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Given that UNCTAD had already conducted comparable studies as 
part of its project, the WTO and the EIF had agreed to scope the new project to incorporate UNCTAD's 
findings, rather than to rep eat the work done in the three countries.  
3.20.   He reported that the UNCTAD project had been funded by the UN Development Account and 
had begun in 2016 with an expected end date on 31 December 2020. Capacity -building activities 
had been implemented to assist cou ntries in identifying priority cotton by -products to develop, and 
surveys, which informed national capacity -building workshops had been conducted with stakeholders 
agreeing on the country 's priority CBPs to develop. UNCTAD had also worked with the focal po ints 
to draft those priorities into National Action Plans, with policy recommendations to support them. 
The documents had then been validated by the governments. Furthermore, subsequent project 
activities were then tailored to support the National Action P lans and the selected CBPs. He also 
noted that UNCTAD had selected India as an example for project design, due to similarities between 
the production models and geographic densities. He recalled that India had examples of thriving TN/AG/SCC/W/37 • WT/CFMC/64  
 
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  CBP industries, including  in rural areas, that had helped revive its cotton sector in the last two 
decades. He added that UNCTAD had undertaken a survey of a cross -section of stakeholders with 
the objective to provide a baseline of what existed in terms of volumes of raw materials  and value -
added products.  
3.21.   He explained that the objective had been to identify the main challenges facing new cotton 
by-product businesses and that the survey reports had provided a preliminary evaluation identifying 
which cotton by -products were developa ble. Focusing on the cotton by -products that had been 
studied as part of the project, he highlighted similar products that existed in other countries such as 
edible oil from cottonseed and livestock feed from cottonseed cake. He noted that there were 
different informal uses for waste biomass. Hulls could be used as feed for chickens and substrate for 
mushrooms or as stuffing for furniture. The least common cotton by -products included biomass fuels 
such as briquettes and pellets from cotton stalks and cotton seed cake with low levels of gossypol. 
Other potential products identified were absorbent or surgical cotton wool products, derived from 
short-staple cotton corresponding to raw cotton with short fibres or from cotton waste from the lint 
value chain. He in dicated that the detailed survey findings for each country were available on 
the UNCTAD project website.  
3.22.   He observed that some opportunities had been identified in the rising demand for protein in 
livestock feed such as cottonseed cake. Another encouragin g trend was the rising demand coupled 
with an import deficit for medical services and products such as absorbent cotton. There was also 
increased need for affordable sources of energy, coupled with a crisis of rampant deforestation. 
Those latter two being linked to biomass fuels and derivable from cotton stalks. He stated that the 
stalk represented 75% of the mass of the plant but is unutilised, when  its usage could bring direct 
benefit to farmers, since it is the only part of the plant the farmer owns.  
3.23.   He then highlighted general challenges, first regarding economies of scale and the fact that 
for most raw materials, the potential supply was only available during a three -month harvesting 
season and  production was  insufficient to sustain a commercial busines s over a full year. Therefore, 
other raw materials such as oilseeds and biomass sources would need to be included to construct a 
viable business plan, although that could add a layer of complexity.  
3.24.   He noted that the identified challenges, including general  lack of awareness across all actors, 
general lack of policy coherence, the all -round governance of the cotton value chain and lint 
production or the lack of involvement of farmers and ginners had been tackled separately whether 
for lint or CBP, with none of the project countries having legislation or institutional setup considering 
the entire chain.  
3.25.   He then focused on specific by -products starting with cottonseed oil. An opportunity was the 
high demand for edible oils,  the highest value -added cotton by -product and an opportunity for 
additional revenues. The threat was competition from imported oil, with evidence that much of it 
entered duty -free under rules of origin within the free trade area. As a drawback, he noted outdated 
machinery which undermined the  competitiveness of local producers.  
3.26.   Secondly, he shared the example of livestock feed from cottonseed cake whose advantage 
was high protein content that promoted weight gain in cattle relative to other raw materials, such 
as maize. However, there was a  threat for uncertain demand since cattle were mainly grass -fed in 
Africa and only pen -fed during droughts implying oil producers could not sell their cottonseed cake 
during seasons with sufficient rain. One more weakness was the presence of gossypol, hence c otton 
cake could not be supplied to poultry or pork and farmed fish in higher quantities. Another threat 
was the lack of enforcement of standards with informal poultry feed with cottonseed or saw dust on 
the market.  
3.27.   With regards to cotton stalks, the main threat was pest management regulations  requiring 
the destruction of stalks in the field. But regulators were confident that the laws could be changed. 
The drawback was in identifying cost -effective preparation, collection, and transportation to the 
process or. That was found to be the biggest business challenge taking the example of India. Although 
the potential supply was almost limitless, the logistics costs implied that a business could only be 
considered within an approximate radius of 50  km of a densely  planted area.  
 TN/AG/SCC/W/37 • WT/CFMC/64  
 
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  3.28.   He also elaborated on absorbent or surgical cotton from waste fibres or short -staple varieties. 
The identified opportunities were increased demand for medical services and the fact that some 
artisanal producers were relying on imported raw material.  He stressed the key distinction between 
absorbent cotton and surgical cotton where absorbent cotton referred to consumer products, such 
as cotton balls or earbuds. They can be produced with relatively inexpensive equipment such as 
second -hand mac hines from the spinning industry. Whereas surgical cotton referred to sterilised 
products that meet medical use standards and thus require much more expensive capital equipment 
and a secure, sterile supply chain.  
3.29.   He stated that as part of the feasibility s tudies, the pilot countries had each selected two to 
four CBPs as well as the required processing technologies to include into their  National Action Plans. 
The stated National Action Plans were aligned with a number of policy priorities discussed during th e 
workshops, such as income opportunities for farmers. Biofuels, biomass briquettes, mushrooms from 
stalks and absorbent cotton wool, gossypol free cottonseed cake all could bring new income and 
business opportunities to farmers and entrepreneurs, and also  contribute to import substitution. An 
added value of biomass briquettes could be the substitution of fossil fuels and hence could lead to 
reduced pollution and deforestation.  The survey reports on National Action Plans had gone further 
to include, policy gap and preliminary market analysis, including locations for processing plants and 
target customers for the selected cotton by -products.   
3.30.   Reflecting on the EIF project, he assured Members that all the findings from 
the UNCTAD  project had been further reviewed in the Mozambique feasibility assessment. They had 
formed the basis for UNCTAD 's work with ITC on drafting a detailed proposal for a second phase of 
capacity -building activities to implement the findings from the five feasibility assessmen ts.  
3.31.   The Chairperson  thanked Mr Terauds for his presentation. He noted that the excellent 
feasibility -assessment work conducted by UNCTAD in Eastern and Southern Africa highlighted how 
cotton by -products value chains presented untapped potential to generat e sustainable and inclusive 
growth, while reducing waste.  
3.32.   Dr Leornard Mizzi of the European Union  enquired about operational issues related to cotton 
by-products, highlighting that a lot had been emphasised about COVID -19 in terms of medical 
supply. He as ked whether (i) there was potential for the project to contribute to import substitution 
of for example surgical cotton; (ii) the studies investigated  sub-regional markets; (iii) as regarded 
the new African Continental Free Area (AfCFTA),  there was potenti al for import substitution on the 
Eastern and Southern parts of the continent or if the project was solely focused on local markets; 
(iv) AfCFTA would enhance regional trade on cotton by -products; and (v)  there was an operational 
framework  beyond national markets, as national markets were rather small.  
3.33.   The Delegate of India  asked about the scenario where there was no market for a certain 
by-product within 50 km radius as was the case in India, and how would the project tackle the 
situation.  
3.34.   Mr Terauds  respo nded that both  questions were based on the viability of the business. He 
mentioned that the feasibility assessments included activities such as workshops where stakeholders 
such as entrepreneurs, ginners and oil processors participated. He noted that it wa s necessary to 
evaluate the price, product used for substitution and market price. In the Indian example, 
substitution was made normally for coal in  rural areas, and the assessment done was based on 
average price for coal and focused on the merits of pelle ts as substitutes. They often looked at the 
cost of labour at the plant, and the cost of purchasing the stalks, and the biggest challenge was that 
those by -products needed to be prepared on the field a few days before being collected and 
transported. For t he stalks, the trader would arrive at the field, buy the stalks at a flat rate per ton 
and deliver them to the processor. In Africa, both the quantities of stalks and the number the 
processing plants are limited, and stalks businesses mostly chip out the s talks to producers of 
substrate for  mushrooms.  
3.35.   He further mentioned that in Africa the substitute was wood charcoal since even small 
industrial business operations use coal to fire their boilers. As for medical supply, he recalled the 
distinction between s urgical cotton and absorbent cotton, stating that it was based on what was 
feasible. On the question of sub regional markets, he pointed out that some of the products had low 
value and with higher transportation cost it could be necessary to concentrate on  local markets. But  TN/AG/SCC/W/37 • WT/CFMC/64  
 
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  cottonseed oil had higher market value and there  had already been different cross border trade of 
different oil seed, for example in Zambia where there was a large oil processor consuming around 
3000 to 4000 ton nes of cotton seed to pro duce 70 to 80 ton nes of oil and therefore was relying on 
a lot of imported raw materials. He stated that the other high value product was surgical cotton,  but 
it was subject to high barrier of entry in terms of capital investment and secured sterile chain was 
required in terms of infrastructure. Nonetheless, the import substitution potential remained high 
because most countries  imported 100 % of either raw material or oil products. He noted that any 
sub-regional opportunities would be in those two areas.  
3.36.   As for how national governments could work at the regional level, he stated that the issue of 
duties was widespread and not limited to cotton oil as it was linked to  free trade areas and 
enforcement. He mentioned that  rules of origin existed in those countrie s but  there was a 
disagreement on how to enforce them. He highlighted that  the topic was under discussion 
at COMESA, however at a national level some work needed to be done on policy coherence. He 
stated that there was lack of coherence over how a local pr oduct was treated against an imported 
product. Taking cotton seed oil as an example, edible oil from within a free trade area could enter 
duty free whereas local production was subject to VAT. Local producers had triple disadvantages on 
cotton seed oil : V AT , competition with duty free product, and the question about semi -refined oil.  
3.37.   The Chairperson  thanked all those who  had intervened and moved onto the discussion 
dedicated to the results of the feasibility assessment work coordinated by the WTO Secretar iat under 
the EIF -funded project "Transferring Technologies and know -how for the development of cotton 
by-products in eight pilot African LDCs".  
3.38.   Mr Fabrizio Meliadò  made a presentation on behalf of national experts who could not intervene 
from capital due to connectivity issues. He summarised the  study findings on the individual C -4 
countries and Mozambique.  
3.39.   He noted that in Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali fibre and seed cotton had been widely 
marketed however, other by -products had not been given great attention and that there had been 
a lack of policy support. He presented the different cotton by -products that had been explored in 
each C -4 country. In Benin, those were cotton stalks, cotton seed cake, and husk. In Burkina Faso, 
those included cotton sta lks, cotton seed oil and the thread. In Chad, cotton seed cake, the husk 
and the stalk, while in Mali cotton stalk, linter and the husk were prioritised.  
3.40.   He explained that in Benin the suggestion was to promote studies on value addition 
technologies for b y-products development or alternatively enhancing methods to  market 
by-products , to strengthen the capacity of different stakeholders, and ensure coordination between 
different initiatives. In Burkina Faso, it was necessary to attract investments, both public and private, 
in the value addition of by -products and to make them more profitable. It was also important to 
improve the availability of cotton raw materials especially cotton seed, to respond to the lack of 
specialised workers and  to ensure the transfer of technology and knowledge.  
3.41.   He stated that in the case of Chad the cotton stalks were often abandoned, missing therefore 
several potential benefits. The hurdle identified by the study was the lack of understanding of the 
real margi n of profits in each segment. In Mali, to ensure the development of the cotton sector, all 
the stakeholders including the state and farmers needed to cooperate to address specific challenges. 
However, the national production of cotton seed met the demand f or oil mill and the cotton 
by-products that Mali could develop included cotton stalks, cotton seed cakes and cotton oil.  
3.42.   In Mozambique,  cotton by -products were prioritised considering that poverty and food 
insecurity had been more widespread in cotton producing areas in the north of the country.  
Reduction of importation of cooking oil and environmental conservation had been the top 
government priorities.  The recommendation was to prioritise cooking oil, soap, and briquettes to 
reduce environmenta l pressures from the extraction of firewood. He mentioned that the main 
stakeholders in Mozambique would be GEIN and GFS (private sector), as well as PLEXUSS and other 
active projects in the country in the domain of cotton and cotton by -products. Lastly, h e explained 
that there was a large potential to replace imports, but  the cotton legislation needed to be revised 
to motivate farmers to invest in cotton by -products, there was a need to revise tax policies regarding 
the importation of palm oil and other ra w materials that could be produced locally, and more 
investments should be directed towards improving yields and quality.  TN/AG/SCC/W/37 • WT/CFMC/64  
 
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  3.43.   The Chairperson  stated that the results were encouraging and that the novel data collected 
through the surveys were particularly impr essive. The information constituted a very important tool 
for the partner LDCs in their discussions with potential investors and cooperation partners. It was 
evident that the recommendations from the studies called for further analysis based on the 
by-products identified as top priority for each specific country. One aspect that he found particularly 
interesting from the presentation related to the perspective of sub -regional integration of cotton 
by-products value chains. He recalled one important consider ation made by various participants at 
the validation workshops of 29 and 30 September 2020, whereby a production and processing 
network would arise from the exploitation of each country's comparative advantage in a specific 
by-product. The integrative appr oach would also appear to be adapted considering the broader 
objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area and the trade facilitating elements of that 
agreement.  
3.44.   With respect to Mozambique, he said it was apparent that raw material availability 
represented a major issue in the country. He  also noted the on -going seed research projects, and 
the fact that various agencies had been also looking at increasing the sustainability of the cotton 
sector from an economic, environmental,  and social viewpoint. Those elements, coupled with the 
perspective of drawing new revenue streams for farmers from the utilisation of by -products 
otherwise wasted, should encourage both specialized entities and investors to focus their efforts on 
the amelioration of the cotton sector in Mozambique, whose socio -economic importance remained 
undisputable.  
3.45.   He noted that UNCTAD's work  also proved that national contexts remained of crucial 
importance to understand in which specific CBP subsector investments would present the highest 
potential to generate returns and be sustainable. UNCTAD's work had provided valuable lessons and 
good practices to the novel work coordinated by the WTO Secretariat in the C -4 countries and in 
Mozambique. Drawing together UNCTAD work and the results of th e studies in the C -4 and 
Mozambique, he noted that stakeholders should take the lead in carrying out analyses, collecting 
reliable data, and ultimately design specific projects for value chain development, with technical and 
financial assistance from the i nternational community as needed.  
3.46.   He concluded by highlighting the important role played by the EIF national structures, such 
as National Focal Points and National Coordinators by  accompanying project development at all 
stages with competence and engagemen t. 
3.47.   The Delegation of Chad  reported on the status of activities in the cotton sector and  welcomed 
the promising prospects mentioned about Chad. He emphasised the relevance of  the studies in 
highlighting  technology  and knowledge challenges on cotton by -produ cts development as the studies 
aimed at not only finding successful cotton by -products but also reduce poverty, and set priorities 
in terms of interventions to facilitate technology transfer. The analysis of the data had shown that 
Chad has great potential  in cotton production and in exploring cotton by -products such as cotton 
cake, hulls stalks, cotton seed oil and others.  He mentioned that Chad had a clear policy aimed at 
attracting investments since foreign capital could provide stimulus to SMEs, local b usinesses, and 
private sector initiatives. He highlighted the importance of investments as a mode for economic 
development and transformation, and he added that the study contributed to reaching Chad's 
industrialisation objectives and  its 2030 UN sustainab le development objectives, as well as 
contribute to African Union Agenda 2063 objectives. He added that this was relevant in terms of 
strong economic growth and would create jobs and also address the challenges that the country 
faces in terms of developmen t. Therefore, the policy aimed at diversifying and transforming the 
economy needed to be strengthened and benefit from appropriate  assistance. He mentioned that 
Chad had taken steps to simplify the business environment for entities that would like to inves t in 
the area by providing greater consistency in terms of taxation and adhering to multilateral 
commitments for customs valuations.  
3.48.   He concluded by enquiring about the next phase of project, on  implementation and the 
approach that would  be followed to in volve regional institutions and on how far the contribution of 
the project would go in creating  ties between the different industries and  the rest of the economy.  
3.49.   Mr Fabrizio Meliadò  stated that governments, agencies and organisations which have the 
compet encies to oversee the implementation phase would be in charge of further operational work. 
He mentioned that to accelerate the process and ensure a fully informed future implementation 
phase, experts in Chad including those from the EIF had been consulted.  He also added that while TN/AG/SCC/W/37 • WT/CFMC/64  
 
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  cotton seed producers, and associations of cotton producers, research institutions including 
agricultural research centres, private sector such as transport companies, suppliers' groups, 
cooperatives for agriculture inputs and ban ks had been involved, going forward  experts would play 
a leading role for implementation. On the approach for integration of regional institutions, he stated 
that the approach of the project had always been inclusive. On  implementation, he mentioned 
that UNCTAD and ITC would be taking the lead while consulting all important stakeholders. 
Concerning sub -regional and regional integration, he highlighted that any country would use its 
comparative advantage encompassing cooperative initiatives in developing cer tain cotton 
by-products. He concluded by stating the importance of the cotton sector through lint production 
and cotton by - products with a focus on farmers and women.   
3.50.   The Chairperson  noted that analytical  work should be part of a broader framework of cap acity 
building initiatives, taking due account of the eight action points listed in the draft General Council 
Declaration. He highlighted that  capacity building initiatives should also have the potential to attract 
and facilitate public and private investm ents in local transformation, R&D, technology transfer, and 
other needs and priorities identified by the partner LDCs to realize the full potential of 
CBP development.  
3.51.   Mrs Annette Ssemuwemba, Deputy Executive Director of the EIF , noted that the presentations 
thus far had made  clear that diversification into cotton by -products had the potential to create wider 
and deeper socio -economic benefits given that over 3.5 million farmers in Africa, 17% of whom are 
women, were dependent on cotton for their livelihoods.  She highlighted that the EIF had been 
concerned about the severe impacts of COVID -19 on  LDCs, considering that they would guide 
economic and trade policy for the years ahead. She also noted the ongoing struggles with the clima te 
crisis, which directly impacted food security, trade and livelihoods, thus underlying the critical need 
to support recovery and resilience. She reported that EIF had learned that in Benin, there was a 
need to prioritize investments in technology options  for value addition to cotton by -products, and  to 
coordinate services. In Burkina Faso, there was a need to address the lack of specialized staff to 
ensure the necessary technology transfer and secure public and private investments. In Mali, there 
were sim ilar needs for value -addition to cotton by -products and improving the production methods 
of seeds to better meet the needs of oil mills. She also noted the profound livelihood impact in Chad, 
where cotton impacted the lives of 3 million people. While in Mo zambique, EIF learned that support 
should be directed to by -products that have the greatest impact potential for poverty reduction, 
such as cotton seed oil and soap production.  
3.52.   She mentioned that  several development partners  continued to have development p ackages 
to support the cotton sector. She appreciated that UNCTAD and ITC had prepared a draft project 
document that packaged an efficient and effective way to operationalize the required follow -up 
support.  
3.53.   She noted that the draft project document was cu rrently under discussion with national 
counterparts with the support of EIF and that they were looking forward to identifying action plans 
with development partners. The EIF also announced its commitment to support further analysis with 
the upcoming studie s in Malawi and Togo coordinated by UNCTAD.  
3.54.   She highlighted that the EIF's program implementation period within the framework of its 
Strategic Plan for 2019 to 2022 and EIF's Phase Two would soon come to an end hence limiting 
EIF's potential to support ne w initiatives and projects.  She noted that the EIF  remained committed 
to support productive capacity improvements across strategic value chains where possible. She was 
hopeful that the EIF Board and stakeholders would begin the conversation regarding the f uture role 
of the EIF subsequent to the completion of the independent evaluation starting in early 2021.  In the 
meantime, the EIF had many active projects to deliver and still maintained a valuable network 
anchored in ministries of trade throughout its bro ad LDCs constituency and newly  graduated LDCs. 
She urged partners to take advantage of the EIF's LDCs network  as well as the findings of the 
feasibility  studies, and reaffirmed the EIF's readiness to support  development partners  assist  LDCs 
in developing c otton by -products.  
3.55.   Mr Nelci Calexeta,  General Coordinator for Brazil South -South Cooperation, on behalf of the 
Brazilian Cooperation Agency (IBA) , reported on Brazil's support to the development of the cotton 
sector in  LDCs. He stated that the Brazilian b ilateral program to support the strengthening of cotton 
production in  Africa had been coordinated and financed by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency,  with 
the support of  IBA and the United Nations Development Program. It had been implemented in TN/AG/SCC/W/37 • WT/CFMC/64  
 
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  technical par tnership with national public and private institutions specialized in the cotton sector, 
according to the principles of bilateral South -South technical cooperation, reiterated at the BAPA+40 
meeting in Buenos Aires.  
3.56.   He emphasised that the projects implemen ted under the program had contributed to the 
strengthening of the cotton production chain. They had provided innovative knowledge and 
technologies validated in Brazil, shared successful experiences, supplied equipment and materials, 
and provided improvemen ts in the infrastructure of national and foreign institutions. Therefore, all 
those contributions had an enhanced positive social and economic impact on partner countries, in 
addition to the positive effects on their respective regions and more generally o n global cotton 
production.  
3.57.   He recalled that the Brazilian Cotton Cooperation Program had been launched in 2009 with 
the "Cotton -4 Project". The project had been technically executed by the renowned Brazilian 
institution - EMBRAPA (the Brazilian Agricultur al Research Corporation). Phase 2 of the Cotton -4 
project had been completed in September. The new projects, resulting from the Cotton -4 + Togo 
specific demands, were still to be developed.  
3.58.   Furthermore, he mentioned that  cooperation had grown significantly  in recent years as Brazil 
cooperated with 15 countries in Africa (Benin, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, 
Ethiopia, Mali, Mozambique, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, Togo, Senegal and Zimbabwe) through 
bilateral South -South cooperation, as w ell as trilateral South -South cooperation with International 
Organizations (FAO, ILO, WFP and UNDP).  
3.59.   In the context of Brazil's trilateral cooperation with international organizations, he mentioned 
the Beyond Cotton project. With financial support from the  Brazilian Cotton Institute, the project 
results had been positive thanks to the partnership between the Brazilian Government and the World 
Food Program, through the Centre of Excellence Against Hunger, in Brasilia. The project aimed to 
support small cotto n farmers and public institutions in Mozambique, Benin and Tanzania to market 
cotton by -products such as oil and cake  as well as  commodities intercropped with cotton like maize, 
sorghum, beans. The goal was to improve the income and nutritional security of  small farmers. That 
initiative was complementing other South -South cooperation projects conducted by the Brazilian 
government in the cotton sector in Africa, such as the Cotton -4 + Togo and the Cotton 
Shire-Zambezi. The first Beyond Cotton country project  would be implemented in Mozambique 
possibly starting in December 2020, and the project document was in the final stage of signature.  
3.60.   He stressed Brazil's interest in  the feasibility studies on the development of cotton by -products 
carried out in the diffe rent countries involved. The objective was to identify how Brazilian partner 
institutions could still contribute, in a synergic manner, with Brazilian initiatives already underway 
in Africa.  Based on observations, the analysis of studies and ABC's experien ce in coordinating 
international cooperation, the Agency may receive in 2021 groups of African experts for short and 
medium term trainings  at the Cotton Technology Transfer Center of Catuti for Family Farming, 
located in the northern part of the Minas Gera is State. The trainings would target cotton processing 
such as ginning, crushing for oil production, cotton pie production and other by -products, as well as 
modern and small -scale cotton seed processing technologies. The project would be financed and 
coord inated by the Agency. He also mentioned that, ABC would submit the detailed project proposal 
to the WTO soon.  
3.61.   He also suggested organizing, with the support of the WTO, at the next 2021 DG Consultation 
Mechanism Meeting in Geneva, a seminar to present the Brazilian experience with the Project 
entitled  "PROALMINAS ". The idea being to showcase the project to diplomatic representatives of the 
WTO Members, as well as to some of their representatives from the public and private sectors linked 
to the ginning, spi nning and weaving industry, with a view to adapting this Brazilian experience to 
the context of the beneficiary countries. He stated that the PROALMINAS - Minas Gerais Cotton Crop 
Incentive Program had been created in 2003 by the Minas Gerais State Cotton Producers 
Association  (AMIPA), the Textile Industry Labour Unions, and the State 's Government. Its objective 
was to promote the cotton production chain, support the textile industry by buying a share of the 
cotton from farmers in Minas Gerais, at a price above the market. The program had also established 
a fund to finance actions for t he technological and sustainable development of cotton production in 
Minas Gerais, in addition to encouraging the recovery of cotton family farming in the northern region 
of the State, generating income and ensuring more decent living conditions in the rur al area of the TN/AG/SCC/W/37 • WT/CFMC/64  
 
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  region. He concluded by stating that ABC considered those two concrete initiatives  greatly benefitted 
all the countries involved.  
3.62.   Dr Leonard Mizzi of European Union Directorate -General for International Cooperation and 
Development  (EU DEVCO ) presented the plans of the E uropean Union (EU)  regarding the support of 
the cotton sector of African LDCs.  He firstly noted that the discussions highlighted potential action 
points drawn from the feasibility studies. Since the first phase supported by th e EIF was coming to 
an end, he indicated that the next priority was to identify the next activities to be carried -out for the 
development of  cotton by -products at the country, sub -regional and continental levels.  
3.63.   He shared information on the status of acti vities run by the EU in that sector and highlighted 
that the EU was concluding the financing cycle for 2014/2020. He mentioned that a commission had 
been established for a period of one year with the EU green deal as a priority and to address the 
impacts o f the COVID -19 pandemic. He noted that since April, EU member States had mobilised 
budget to support, as a top priority,  social economic activities within the countries. In terms of cotton 
and cotton by -products, he stated that discussions were needed with  the different countries to assess 
their priorities with regards  to value chains development. He highlighted that through value -chain 
analysis, the EU could help the countries identify true potential at national and regional level in close 
cooperation with  Regional Economic Communities. He emphasised that the size of the market was 
not always a good indicator of national dimension, but that one would need to consider a multi 
country approach. He further added that the EU was in the phase of analysing  demand s of partner 
countries in Africa.  He briefed participants on the EU's programming priorities for the 
period  2021/2027 aimed at addressing the needs of the countries while considering the context of 
the green deal.  
3.64.   He further explained some of the prioriti es emerging from on -going discussions on  future 
activities. Firstly, there was a need to re -balance value chains to become more inclusive and 
equitable, including gender mainstreaming to overcome the imbalances caused by COVID -19. 
Secondly, the dimension o f youth needed to be incorporated. Thirdly, he stated that the EU would 
like to understand better the digital transformation agenda, artificial intelligence and block chain 
technologies applied to  agricultural sectors, and how they would be incorporated in  future activities. 
Another important aspect was transparency in terms of information related to price, sourcing, 
integration in local, sub -regional and international value chains. He also mentioned that the issue of 
e-commerce and digital transformation w as more relevant after countries had experienced broken 
value chains due to COVID -19. 
3.65.   He highlighted that the EU had had previous experience through the African Competitiveness 
program funded under the EU development fund. The program also focused on cotto n by-products 
in Burkina. Besides that, he mentioned that the EU had several blending initiatives, however from 
observations  in past years in terms of cotton by -products, or even cotton value chains in general, 
the bankability of those projects seemed to b e limited. However, the EU was ready to help partner 
countries link up with EU Financial Institutions. He underscored that the EU had recently unveiled a 
portfolio of EUR 900 million of guarantees, so it was important and timely to place  cotton by -products  
operations into a bankable pipeline so that the projects could be funded.  
3.66.   Regarding next steps, he suggested that UNCTAD and ITC  also reach out to other UN agencies 
such as IFAD, UNIDO, FAO, and others, as well as the International Cotton Advisory 
Commit tee (ICAC). He highlighted the necessity to put together all the mechanisms around the 
table, identify  the bankable projects, what was fundable, what were the issues of policy coherence, 
identify the trade instruments, and maintain coherence with other reg ulatory instruments. Following 
which,  avenues to attract investments could be identified, through public -private sector dialogues.  
3.67.   He stated that a transformative process could arise from those actions, benefitting the pilot 
countries and the whole Africa n continent. He highlighted the EU -Africa Strategy and referring to 
the 2021  summit, he noted that  the EU would like to see how the topic of cotton by -products could 
be featured as a priority in discussions  about agriculture food systems and auxiliary acti vities. He 
assured participants that the EU remained available to accompany demands, not only on blending 
tools but also guarantee instruments as long as bankability was clearly defined. He concluded by 
stating that the EU was following AfCFTA developments  which was hoped to create sustainable jobs. 
He welcomed the fact that due recognition was being given to gender mainstreaming and digital 
transformation  as ways to benefit better transparency across the value chains.    TN/AG/SCC/W/37 • WT/CFMC/64  
 
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  3.68.   Dr Gong Xifeng  reported on China's s upport to cotton by -products development in 
African  LDCs. He underscored the importance of cotton as it supported the livelihoods of over 
4 million farmers in Africa and accounted for almost 85% of national income. He mentioned that the 
eight pilot project s formed a complete assessment and identified the technologies that needed to be 
developed. He mentioned cotton by -products development in China and stated that most of the 
by-products R&D was undertaken by agricultural institutions. He concurred with the EU statement 
that, moving forward, the WTO would need to collaborate with all relevant stakeholders and 
international institutions on cotton development assistance. Another key aspect to be considered, 
he said, was the application of ICT for agriculture pa rticularly for cotton development in African  LDCs.  
3.69.   Regarding China's collaboration with Africa, he stated that the government had supported 
projects for capacity building and for policy strategic programming, with a large involvement of the 
private sector in the African region. He stated that in the last f ew years, China's private firms had 
established some of their production lines in the C -4 and other LDCs.  
3.70.   He further explained that another possible priority area for China was bilateral cooperation 
with the C -4 in the exploration of potentials for cotton  by-products development. He referred to his 
presentation in 2019 where he had mentioned the list of technologies that China and Africa could 
collaborate on, such as those used for  cottonseed oil production, cotton seed meals, cotton stalk 
charcoal and cot ton stalk as substrate for mushroom production.  
3.71.   He stated that unfortunately because of the COVID -19 pandemic some of the actions had 
been suspended, such as the organisation of trainings for LDCs members to foster technical 
cooperation for development ass istance. He concluded that China would re -double its efforts and 
collaborate with FAO, WTO, UNCTAD, ITC, UN organisations and other WTO Members, to select 
viable cotton by -products based on demand, local conditions, and also resources available.  
3.72.   The repre sentative of SODECOTON  (Société de Développement du Coton)  from Cameroon 
shared knowledge on cotton by -products development through local value chains. He mentioned 
that in Cameroon cotton represented a very important pillar of the economy especially in the north 
of the country. Two million people depend on cotton, with families drawing up to 60% of their income 
from cotton and at the national level, cotton represents an important part of exported products 
(14%). He stated that the cotton se ctor was fully integrated, from production to processing and was 
managed by major stakeholders and a national federation of cotton producers. The public sector, 
the state, as the shareholder, producers, as well as 11 % of private investors were all involved  in the 
sector. Ginners had an accumulated capacity of 62 000 ton nes of seed cotton per year. The 
production was about 15  000 tonnes per year employing around 2  000 workers. He stated that the 
association had given producers technical support to improve pr oduction and ensure supply of quality 
seed for planting. The organisation also managed the diversification of the crop system and ensured 
increasing income for producers of cottonseed and soya crops. He mentioned that the objectives of 
SODECOTON was to pro vide services such as protection of the producers, engage agricultural 
research institutions and handle the transport of  cotton from the countryside.  
3.73.   He stated that SODECOTON supported cotton growers organised within the National 
Confederation of Cotton P roducers which was represented at national and international level. The 
association also ensured the supply of quality agriculture equipment at competitive prices without 
interest. The National Association for Cotton Producers also ensured the development of seed banks 
to avoid shortages in seed. Regarding the net revenue of producers, he indicated that it was 
CFA 270 000 compared to only CFA 100 000 ten years ago. Therefore, the cotton sector had 
developed together with an increase in cotton crop productio n. He noted the importance of creating 
jobs and wealth through the creation of important revenue streams, and that around 3  000 seasonal 
workers were employed, with 7  000 technical agents  and producers also benefited. Regarding 
quality, he stated that SODE COTON had ensured high quality cotton and 80% of the country's fibre 
was of top quality.  
3.74.   On cotton by -products value addition, he mentioned that Cameroon had more than 
60 years ' experience in cotton growing. Cameroon has a capacity of 150 000 ton nes a yea r which 
now has gone up to 300 000 ton nes. The higher production of cotton oil per day also enabled supply 
to local markets.  Further, cotton seed cakes of high quality were supplied on the market with a 
capacity of 60 000 ton nes which were used for animal feed although not available year -round. While 
local consumers were supplied with 6 million litres of oil, during the COVID -19 crisis production 
decreased and was mostly compensated with the import of palm oil. Highlighting turnover over TN/AG/SCC/W/37 • WT/CFMC/64  
 
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  ten years, he state d that  cooperation on various products including lint and other by -products such 
as refined oil, livestock feed, from 2013 to 2016 had experienced a net loss of around CFA 36 billion 
due to loss of quality, lint and cotton seed. That had affected the produ ction of  cotton by -products. 
While from 2017 they were able to manage the trend and had achieved net positive results again, 
unfortunately, in 2020 due to COVID -19 pandemic SODECOTON did not foresee positive net results.  
3.75.   He stated that going forward,  industrial capacities would need to be strengthened to transform 
the sector and achieve the goal of increasing the production by 2020 -2025 to 400  000 tonnes of 
cottonseed production. That would be achieved through rehabilitating and modernising the existing 
factories. Another objective would be to also create new factories for cotton ginning, with production 
capacity of 90 000 ton nes and another plant to process 300 ton nes of cottonseed, while at the same 
time maintain Cameroon's reputation for brand  quality.  
3.76.   Furthermore, given the short fall in fuel production in Cameroon, he mentioned they would 
want to use solar systems for energy production. They would also want to use better warehousing 
for storage and improve the process of certification using careful man ual procedure. He highlighted 
that the policies within the country supported activities to diversify cotton by -products. With the 
support of relevant ministries and private cooperation, Cameroun's cotton producers would like to 
distribute their product wit hin AfCFTA. He concluded by reaffirming the importance of cotton for 
creating better living environment in rural areas through job creation and thus improve the economy. 
He mentioned the needs to increase production to satisfy strong domestic demand and to  improve 
turnovers.  
3.77.   Mr Bayero , Director General of SODECOTON  added that 15% of the turnover from by -products 
were immediately available as cash flow to pay salaries and taxes which were due every 15th day of 
the month, as well as to pay utility bills including fuel used for machines.  
3.78.   He highlighted the importance of cotton by -products for SODECOTON. The organisation was 
in the transition to move from 150 000 ton nes to 220 000 ton nes of cotton grain see d crushing to 
produce oil and oil mill. He noted that the objective of increasing the production of oil was to reduce 
oil imports, since about 90 000 ton nes of oil was imported in the country. For cotton cake mill they 
hoped to increase production signific antly from 18 000 ton nes to 56 000 ton nes. 
3.79.   Mr Matthias Knappe  made a statement on behalf of UNCTAD and ITC regarding priority 
activities identified for the implementation of the joint program on cotton by -products. He 
highlighted that a detailed proposal f or a second phase of specific technical assistance had been 
prepared, and took into consideration the results of the previous UNCTAD project and the pilot 
studies undertaken in the C -4 countries plus Mozambique. He noted that the document would be 
shared w ith Members and participants shortly.  
3.80.   He noted that although it was not country specific, it formulated the findings in a manner that 
could be applied in all countries, with the required national adaptation. Hence the same approach 
and logical framework fo r all beneficiary countries could be followed. Following on Dr Mizzi's 
suggestion he mentioned it would be a multi -country approach but would have a regional and 
pan-African dimension. He stated that UNCTAD and ITC would jointly implement the project, with  
each agency responsible for delivering activities and outputs according to their complementary areas 
of expertise. The project would also rely on substantive support from the WTO, donors, South -South 
cooperation partners and other relevant institutions.  
3.81.   He also added that the overall program would respond to the needs of the most vulnerable 
countries, all of them LDCs, while supporting them in diversifying improved and additional 
by-products in parallel to fibre value -addition. The project would also be ab out de -commoditization 
and value addition and the approach would be market led as only commercially viable cotton 
by-products would be targeted for each beneficiary country. He mentioned that the overall objective 
and expected impact would be the developme nt of viable cotton by -product industries in the selected 
countries to contribute to poverty reduction through value addition and income generation. He 
highlighted the additional income opportunities, especially for farmers and women, that could 
contribute  to secondary objectives, such as gender equality, income equality and rural development.  
Furthermore, by utilizing organic residues in the cotton value chain, by -products could contribute to 
environmental objectives, such as forest conservation and waste and emissions reductions. At TN/AG/SCC/W/37 • WT/CFMC/64  
 
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  outcome level, the program would increase revenues for cotton stakeholders, especially smallholder 
and women farmers, by developing and adding value to cotton by -products.  
3.82.   He highlighted the five outputs to be achieved which co ver all types of by -products stemming 
from the plant as well as the seed.  Those would include all stakeholders, from farmers, seed cotton 
processors (ginners and oil millers), outside investors, to associations (especially farmer 
associations) and the gove rnment. He mentioned that UNCTAD would implement two outputs, the 
first one being on increased engagement of public and private sector stakeholders in commercial 
initiatives to add value to cotton by -products. The second output was on improved capacity of policy 
makers to formulate evidence -based policies and ensure policy coherence in support of the 
development of cotton by -products.  ITC would support farmers, farmer organisations and seed 
cotton processors.  Thus, it would implement (i) the output on enhan ced capacity of farmers to 
collectively add value to their cotton by -products, (ii) the output on strengthening capacities of 
farmer representative groups to negotiate appropriate remuneration for produced fibres and 
by-products, and (iii) lastly the outpu t on enhanced capacity of cottonseed processors to improve 
oil recovery rates and market by -products effectiveness.  
3.83.   He specified that ITC and UNCTAD would work together in each country, so that all 
beneficiaries could benefit from the complementary experti se of both agencies. He also added that 
a detailed log frame was part of the proposed document with detailed targets formulated at output 
level. Regarding the outcome and impact levels, UNCTAD and ITC suggested elaborating those jointly 
with all country st akeholders and development partners at country level and then aggregate them. 
He highlighted that given the negative effects of COVID -19 on the cotton sector, they would set 
ambitious but realistic targets in an inclusive manner. Also, once the program doc ument would be 
submitted to all interested parties, UNCTAD and ITC would be ready to clarify any questions and 
address additional suggestions to improve the approach  as the two organisations were hoping for 
fruitful interaction and successful implementatio n. 
3.84.   He also informed participants about a new ITC publication  called "Beyond the fibre - capturing 
cotton 's full value in Africa ". He stated that the new publication analysed the state of play of cotton 
by-products development in the continent and illustrat ed the benefits of a more systematic way of 
exploiting the substantial untapped potential of cotton by -products. It provided an analysis at a 
pan-African level, further substantiating the importance of the joint initiative of cotton by -product 
valorisation . He promised to share the paper with all participants and all African cotton stakeholders 
and development partners in the combined WTO, UNCTAD and ITC contact database.  
3.85.   The Chairperson  thanked Mr Knappe and all the other speaker for their interventions an d 
highlighted the WTO Secretariat's readiness to contribute to future activities within the organisation's 
mandate and competencies. He mentioned that the outcomes going forward would depend on both  
political and financial support. He stated the importance  of having a plan of activities ready for 
submission to beneficiaries, to allow them to validate it and make sure it reflected their most urgent 
needs and priorities, and secondly to financial and technical partners to concretely move towards an 
implementa tion phase under the lead of UNCTAD and ITC.  
4  CONCLUSION  
4.1.  The Chairperson  concluded the meeting by thanking all the participants for the useful 
discussions in spite of challenging  connectivity issues encountered by some of the speakers. He 
acknowledged the participation of Members, in particular those who were connected from far away, 
at possibly inconvenient times.  He noted several action points highlighted by Dr Mizzi of the EU, 
such as the need for consideration for gender, youth involvement, and the digi tal economy to ensure 
a full scope and inclusive development of the cotton sector.   
4.2.  He then summarized the main points discussed and noted the intention of the C -4 to submit 
the draft General Council Declaration to the General Council for inclusion in the agenda of 
the 16-17 December 2020 meeting.  
4.3.  He noted from the discussions that the joint initiative on cotton by -products was well integrated 
with poverty -reduction strategies and with other development -oriented projects at the level of 
individual countries , and that the focus should remain on interventions targeted at the specific needs 
of individual countries, while also taking into account the sub -regional integrative potential of that TN/AG/SCC/W/37 • WT/CFMC/64  
 
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  line of work. He mentioned the WTO would need to coordinate with of th e AfCFTA which would be of 
importance for the cotton sector, among others.  
4.4.  He pointed out that the Joint Initiative on Cotton By-Products should continue to offer 
comprehensive assistance to cotton -producing countries over the next years and ensure that 
synergies are exploited, and overlaps avoided.  Building on the good work conducted, he believed 
that UNCTAD and ITC would effectively cooperate with other public and private actors to assist 
countries in attracting investments and developing high -quality projects for the development of 
cotton by -products.  
4.5.  Finally, he recalled that the main objective of the work was to create new income streams for 
farmers and processors, increase domestic value added and ultimately create and/or guarantee 
access to new  regional and global markets, as spelled out in Members' mandate for the joint initiative 
back in November 2018. He mentioned that cotton and  its by-products could play a role in improving 
the livelihoods of l many of the poor farmers, often women farmers who were engaged in the 
production of cotton, and that those should be the objectives to guide all future actions.  
 
 
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