A United Nations Conference to negotiate a successor agreement to the International Agreement on Jute and Jute Products, 1989, will meet in Geneva, under UNCTAD auspices, from 27 to 31 March. The existing Agreement, which was adopted in 1989 and entered into force in 1991, is due to expire on 11 April 2000.
The United Nations Conference on Jute and Jute Products 2000 will have before it a draft text of a new international agreement (contained in document TD/JUTE.3/R.1) prepared by the Secretariat of the International Jute Organization (IJO) following preparatory meetings of producers and consumers held in October 1998, April 1999 and February 2000, at its headquarters in Dhaka (Bangladesh). The last meeting of the Preparatory Committee was followed by a special session of the International Jute Council on 9 February.
The Conference will also have before it a summary, prepared by the IJO Secretariat, of the principal issues to be discussed (TD/JUTE.3/R.2). These include the objectives and the format of future international cooperation on jute and jute products, the membership and voting structure of a new agreement, financial contributions, the scope of the International Jute Organisation and the involvement of private entities and non governmental organisations (NGOs) in its activities.
The objectives and operational features of the existing Agreement are broadly similar to those of its predecessor, the International Agreement on Jute and Jute Products, 1982. The current Agreement (contained in document TD/JUTE.2/6/Rev.2) establishes a framework of cooperation and consultation between jute exporting and consuming countries with a view to promoting the expansion and diversification of international trade in jute, kenaf and other allied fibres. It also provides the legal basis for the continued existence of the International Jute Organisation. The IJO helps counter the threat to jute producing countries from synthetic substitutes, which are not based on renewable resources and are not always environmentally friendly. Since its establishment in 1982, its main activities have been aimed at encouraging jute-based research and development in the areas of agriculture and industry, and at market promotion. Neither the 1982 nor the 1989 Agreement contain price stabilisation measures.
The current membership of the 1989 Agreement comprises the three main jute exporting countries, namely Bangladesh, India and Nepal, and 22 importing countries. These consist of all member States of the European Union, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Norway and Switzerland. Additionally the European Community has the status of a member in its own right. The members of the current Agreement represent nearly 90 per cent of world exports and around 40 per cent of world imports.
World trade in jute and jute products in 1998 amounted to US$541.5 million.
