June 26 2013
Sub-Saharan Africa cotton producers have expressed regret in the slow movement in negotiations to cut cotton subsidies and achieving open markets, and urged World Trade Organisation (WTO) members to be flexible, particularly as they prepare for the Bali Ministerial Conference in December, 2013. At a meeting to air their grievances, developing nations discovered that $453.0 million in development assistance has been disbursed for cotton — $321.3m in completed projects and $131.7m in on-going activities.
However, the amount spent so far on current projects is 36% of the $365.6m committed. This is an improvement over the 28% reported in December, but African producers said it is still too low. A report by the WTO says that donors have in the past explained that the low proportion is partly because of a combination of factors including timing; when the commitments were made, how long the projects last, what stage they are in, and when payments are made.
Disbursements for completed projects the organisation says, is 94 percent of the $340.6m committed, unchanged from the previous year’s allocation. A further $2.4bn — a $1bn increase since December — has been spent on completed or continuing projects for agriculture and infrastructure, which also benefits cotton, in these cotton producing countries, with a total of $6.9bn committed, a $1.9bn increase from six months ago.
The meeting heard reports from donors, and from some of the South-South development partners. “South-South Cooperation constitutes a critical element of development co-operation and has emerged as a substantive component of the development dimension of the rules-based multilateral trading system embodied by the WTO,” the chairperson said. He thanked Brazil, China, India and Pakistan for their contributions. (Source: Daily Newswatch)