Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 6 • Number 16 • 22nd September 2006
INTERNATIONAL COTTON BODY DISCUSSES SUSTAINABILITY, CALLS FOR DOHA REVIVAL
INTERNATIONAL COTTON BODY DISCUSSES SUSTAINABILITY, CALLS FOR DOHA REVIVAL
In a communiqué issued at its annual meeting, the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) called for a revival of the suspended WTO Doha negotiations. The ICAC’s member governments also called for the establishment of a panel to assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of cotton production around the world. The ICAC sixty-fifth Plenary, held from 11-15 September in Goiânia, Brazil, focused on the theme of "The Social and Environmental Impacts of Cotton Production and Use", with sessions featuring discussions on environment, social implications, outlook for cotton supply and use, standardisation of instrument testing of cotton, cotton and the Doha round, and the future of the South American textile industry. Participants also discussed biotechnology, organic cotton and the development aspects of the Doha round in break-out sessions.
Cotton demand on the increase, pricing remains distorted
The ICAC secretariat issues regular forecasts with regard to cotton supply, demand and pricing. World cotton consumption is estimated to increase by three percent over the next season. Consumption growth has now been on the rise since 1998. However, production remains unchanged, and prices are likely to be on the rise. Participants called for better modelling of prices, in particular to account for the substantial subsidies some countries are paying their farmers in this sector. Developing countries reported that their cotton sectors are being severely affected by distortive subsidies.
In the statement issued by the meeting, the ICAC member governments "reaffirmed that production and export subsidies affect cotton prices and trade, and lead to negative impacts on cotton farmers, especially in the developing and least developed countries." They called for the urgent resuscitation of the suspended Doha round (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 28 July 2006), and supported the work under the Doha development mandate as well as the WTO cotton initiative. The cotton initiative was originally launched by four West African countries in 2003 in the build-up to the WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun. It called for the phase-out of subsidies to developed country cotton producers and for a compensation mechanism to offset the income loss experienced by producers in least developed countries until the completion of the phase-out. Cotton is now discussed in a separate sub-committee under the WTO Committee on Agriculture (see Bridges Weekly, 24 November 2004).
New social, environmental and economic expert panel
Participants to the meeting also considered environmental and social issues related to cotton production. One presentation highlighted commodities roundtables as a vehicle for improving sustainability. These multi-stakeholder roundtables for commodity crops involve representatives of all phases of the supply-chain that come together to identify key impacts and develop criteria and best practices for sustainable production. The meeting heard a report on the WWF and International Finance Corporation (ICF)-run Better Cotton Initiative, which seeks to "promote measurable improvements in the key environmental and social impacts of cotton cultivation worldwide" by involving all key stakeholders.
The final statement asked the ICAC secretariat to establish an expert panel on the social, environmental and economic performance of the world cotton industry to "provide objective, science-based information to the Committee on the negative and positive aspects of global cotton production and make recommendations for further action." Problems identified included improper use of pesticides and fertiliser, and hardship of labour, especially for women and children. The statement recognised efforts to encourage the adoption of Better Management Practices (BMPs) and integrated pest management (IPM). It noted that biotech cotton also can be "a valuable component in an integrated approach to improve the long-term sustainability of cotton production", for instance by reducing the use of pesticides.
In addition, the meeting discussed the importance of improving the standardisation of instrument testing of cotton quality. The aim is for all cotton test centres to meet international standards of accuracy. In particular, efforts must be made to support developing countries in this regard (see related story on standards in this issue of Bridge Trade BioRes).
ICAC serves as the international commodity body for cotton, including in forums such as the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC). The CFC is currently sponsoring 18 projects in the cotton sector.
ICTSD reporting; "World cotton crop seen 50 pct transgenic by 2008," REUTERS, 12 September 2006; "Cotton sector forecasts expansion of the global market," ANBA NEWS AGENCY, 15 September 2006.