Date:08/07/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/07/08/stories/2003070804111800.htm

Business

Developing countries seek consensus on agriculture issues

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JULY 7. Developing countries are trying to seek a consensus on three areas of special importance in agriculture, now being described as "make or break issue'' for the successful conclusion of the Doha round of multilateral trade negotiations. These areas include special products, special safeguard measures or mechanism for developing countries and the issue of subsidies.

These issues were taken up at a meeting of developing countries on agriculture held recently at Nyon near Geneva according to an official release. The meeting held under the aegis of the Indian government, UNCTAD and the DFID underlined that agriculture is the make or break issue for the successful conclusion of the Doha round.

However, it was felt that time is running out without a major breakthrough on the modalities of future trade liberalisation that the WTO members have to agree on at the fifth ministerial conference at Cancun in September this year.

The participants agreed that special products and special safeguard mechanisms could provide developing countries

with the much needed flexibility to address their development concerns, the release notes.

The countries attending the meeting underlined that agriculture was a vital part of development strategies of all developing countries and for many of them concerns such as food security and rural livelihood were of paramount importance. In this context, it was felt that export competitiveness of agriculture was equally important as also the issue of the elimination of subsidies as high level of subsidies affected the viability of their domestic markets.

Among those who attended the meeting were representatives from Brazil, Columbia, Cuba, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philipines, Peru, Korea, Turkey, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Venezuela. The meeting underlined the need for developing countries to together lead these consultations so as to arrive at draft modalities that would suit their interests. It was observed that agricultural subsidies provided by developed countries undermined potential gains from agricultural trade to developing countries and their economic and social goals including food security, rural development and poverty alleviation. Participants also discussed issues relating to the the possible product-selecting modality for SP and defining technical modalities of SSM such as product eligibility, trigger conditions and actual action.