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A global deal to boost trade for developing countries, including in agricultural products, more important than ever, says UNCTAD Secretary-General


Press Release
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UNCTAD/PRESS/PR/2014/038
A global deal to boost trade for developing countries, including in agricultural products, more important than ever, says UNCTAD Secretary-General
Mukhisa Kituyi shares platform with WTO’s Roberto Azevêdo

Geneva, Switzerland, 25 September 2014

​Against the background of an impasse over the World Trade Organization (WTO) Bali Package, UNCTAD's Trade and Development Board kicked off its second week on 22 September with “Trade Day” discussions on international trade and a special focus on agriculture.

The meeting underscored that multilateral deals that address the need for developing countries to boost agricultural trade and consequently enhance food security are possible and remain desirable in light of the aims of the post-2015 development agenda.

UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi expressed support for “fair, predictable, equitable and functioning multilateral trade rules” at the meeting, which was also addressed by WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo who updated delegates on the status of the “Bali package” talks.

“At UNCTAD, we are worried that the trade winds have not been picking up at a global level and that, today, world trade in goods and services remains far below its pre-crisis dynamism,” Dr. Kituyi said. “Before the global financial crisis, trade was expanding more than twice as fast as the world economy. Today, five years after the crisis, trade is still growing slower than the world economy as a whole. This means trade has been unable to kick-start a global recovery and, as a consequence, the recovery from the crisis remains weak.”

Properly managed agricultural trade can contribute towards poverty eradication, food security, economic empowerment and maintaining ecosystems, Dr. Kituyi said. Elaborating on the role of trade in sustainable development and adequately anchoring trade in the post-2015 sustainable development agenda, Dr. Kituyi pointed out the need for closer dialogue between the ongoing Doha Development Agenda process (part of the WTO Doha Round) and the post-2015 goal-setting process.

Dr. Kituyi said he hoped that Doha Development Agenda negotiations would successfully conclude soon. He reiterated UNCTAD’s support to member States, through its regular programmes and the “soft rules making” approach facilitated by UNCTAD’s work in areas such as competition law and policy.

Mr. Azevêdo said that the Bali package, which aimed at meeting some of the goals of the Doha Development Agenda, had “delivered big gains for WTO members” but was “now at risk” after a 31 July deadline on its adoption was missed.

“At present, the future is uncertain,” Mr. Azevêdo said, adding that if the impasse was not solved, “many areas of our work may suffer a freezing effect, including the areas of greatest interest to developing countries, such as agriculture.”

“We must acknowledge that small countries are probably the ones who will suffer the most. Big countries have other options. The small and the vulnerable may be left behind if we stop WTO negotiations.”

“The agricultural sector has been and still remains a fundamental tool for sustainable development and for reducing poverty in most developing countries,” Mr. Azevêdo added. “But agriculture has been characterized for decades by policies that seriously distort trade and production.”

Mr. Azevêdo said that such policies could take the form of high tariff barriers, various domestic support measures – through subsidies or market price support – and export subsidies or other forms of export-related support.

“These trade distorting policies have a significant effect on agricultural producers in developing countries and especially in the most vulnerable ones,” Mr. Azevêdo said. “Because of these anomalies, those countries cannot fully benefit from their comparative advantages, and their agricultural revenues cannot properly contribute to gross domestic production, employment, rural development or livelihood security.”

Mr. Crawford Falconer from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Mr. Jamie Morrison from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations addressed the current state of affairs in international agricultural trade, particularly the issue of subsidies. It was noted that, while the trend of domestic support for agricultural production in the form of subsidies in OECD countries points downward, few major developing economies had shown an upward trend in this respect in recent years. Speakers highlighted that, for developing countries, food security could be better achieved by increasing international trade and ensuring access to food rather than by pursuing food self-sufficiency.

The Trade and Development Board oversees UNCTAD’s operations from year to year and opened its sixty-first session on 15 September with the election of Ambassador Ana María Menéndez Pérez of Spain as its new President. The session runs until 26 September.