Secretary General
Ministers
Ladies and gentlemen
Dear friends

As I was preparing for this meeting, I happened to read the Columbia encyclopaedia entry for cotton. It tells us that cotton has been spun, woven and dyed since prehistoric times. It clothed the people of ancient India, Egypt and China. Their use spread to the Mediterranean countries. Arab traders brought it to Italy and Spain. It travelled to England. British traders found it cheaper to import cotton from America. African countries produced it and traded it wit England. In short, cotton is a product of international trade and trade has done a lot to extend its use across the globe.

But if we are here today, it is because cotton has become a litmus test of the commitment to make the WTO Doha Round of global trade negotiations a truly development round.

I am particularly happy to be part of this discussion involving all the C4 ministers in particular, but also ministers from other cotton-producing countries that also have a stake in the outcome of the current cotton work programme.

We meet today amidst a deteriorating global economic environment that is worsening day by day and threatens to undo the economic and development gains of the past few years.

We are meeting at a time when the cotton sector globally is facing its biggest challenges in a decade.

According to the latest ICAC secretariat report, world cotton production will decline by 6 per cent in 2008-2009 to 24.7 million tonnes, the first time in five seasons that world cotton production will fall below 25 million tonnes. Add to this the expected decline in consumer purchasing power in developed economies, more stringent credit conditions and general uncertainty that will push cotton prices to even lower levels, and you begin to appreciate the magnitude of the challenge facing all of us.

Part of the solution lies in the two areas of work we have been focusing our efforts on. These are the trade policy side and the development assistance side.

On the trade policy side, the roadmap ahead of us is very clear. Developed countries, US and EC in particular, have to slash the trade-distorting subsidies they give to their cotton producers. Market access for cotton should be improved. Export subsidies for cotton must be eliminated. But this, as we all know, can only happen within the framework of the successful conclusion of the Doha Round.

In July, WTO trade ministers meeting here in Geneva failed to reach consensus on modalities in both agriculture and industry and therefore an opportunity to finalise cotton-specific commitments was missed. Many of you have expressed to me your disappointment that cotton was never seriously negotiated despite 10 days of ministerial engagement. I fully share your disappointment.

Since then, I have consulted widely on this issue with both sides, that is with the cotton producers impacted by the current subsidies programmes and with the US and EC in particular, about the need to bring this issue to closure. These consultations have been taking place at all levels, from the technical level here in Geneva to the highest possible political level in the capitals, including recently with the President of Burkina Faso.

In all these consultations, there is unanimity that without a deal on cotton there can be no modalities on agriculture and industry, and without modalities we will not be able to open the road which leads to the conclusion of the Round.

Now, the good news is that this view is shared by both the US and the EC. Both of them have consistently reaffirmed its commitment to a cotton deal that will substantively address the concerns of cotton producers. As evidence of this and in the past few weeks, we have seen significant technical consultations which in my view could bring us closer to an acceptable deal to both sides.

Of course, this is not to suggest that all work has been done, that we should now fold our arms and wait for modalities. These consultations have to continue until we have a deal in our hands.

This past weekend I participated at the UN Conference on Financing for Development in Qatar, Doha. My message to the conference was a simple one. The developmental benefits of this Round will not automatically materialise with the conclusion of the Round. For the full developmental gains to be made, developed countries and multilateral donors have to follow through on their aid commitments. And developing countries have to ensure that trade is properly mainstreamed in their development strategies.

Members of the WTO share this belief and this is why, since 2004, we have focused on tracking the flow of development assistance to the cotton sector.

We have seen a positive trend in this regard. Commitments have now reached US$ 551 million. The actual disbursement of these commitments has also risen, and now stands at US$ 109 million, an increase of 186 per cent from the US$ 38 million in 2007, even if more has to be done to improve this trend.

On the infrastructure-related development cotton assistance side, the total value of commitments has now reached over US$ 2 billion.

These commitments, as you all know, include support for strengthening the competitiveness of cotton products, capacity-building for cotton farmers, integrated pest management systems and diversification programmes to name just a few.

It is important for me to underscore that the above development assistance commitments I have just highlighted will only achieve their intended objectives if supported by a comprehensive policy reform process aimed at improving the efficiency of this sector's productivity.

Let me conclude by stressing that the time has come to deliver on the promise of a fairer global trading system for cotton. An agreement on modalities in agriculture and industry could send a positive signal of the commitment of the world trade family to address this issue which affects the poorest and weakest of our members. Donors for their part have to deliver on their commitments to provide development assistance. One without the other will not deliver the results we seek.

Thank you for your attention.