Multi-year Expert Meeting on Commodities and Development, fifth session

The Accra Accord (para. 208) mandated the Trade and Development Board to establish a Multi-year Expert Meeting on Commodities.

The expert meeting will continue to be convened in the post-Doha 2013-2016 period, as the outcomes of UNCTAD XIII reaffirm and build upon the Accra Accord, which remains valid and relevant (Doha Mandate, para. 17).

The objective of the meeting is to enable commodity-dependent developing countries (CDDCs), in accordance with the Doha Mandate (paras. 4 and 5), to identify measures in order to secure, as a priority, adequate access to food and energy, use commodity revenues in contributing to economic growth and poverty reduction and cope with the challenges of commodity price volatility. The terms of reference were approved by the Trade and Development Board for the Multi-year Expert Meeting on Commodities and Development in December 2012.

The Multi-year Expert Meeting on Commodities and Development is expected to provide a forum for sharing country experiences with regard to identifying and implementing appropriate policies, at national, regional and international levels, to address the impacts of the volatility of commodity prices on vulnerable groups, and to support CDDCs in formulating sustainable and inclusive development strategies, including those that promote value addition and economic diversification.

The multi-year expert meeting will identify ways and means for CDDCs, particularly in Africa and the least developed countries (LDCs), to maximize development benefits from commodity production and trade, including the promotion of diversification and the integration of natural resources policies into their national development strategies (para. 31(i)).

In accordance with paragraph 56 (g), it will share the experiences of developing countries to achieve more sustainable and strengthened agricultural production, food security, investment in agriculture and export capacity, taking into account the special needs of Africa, LDCs and net food-importing developing countries as well as the needs of small-scale farmers and the empowerment of women and youth.

The multi-year expert meeting will generate lessons learned from those experiences and identify practical options and actionable outcomes for addressing at the national, regional and international levels the opportunities and challenges of longstanding commodity trade and development issues.

It will also review and evaluate UNCTAD's contribution to assisting developing countries in the area of commodities.