LOC12:17
09:17 GMT
(With photos) GENEVA, July 30 (KUNA) -- Burkina Faso Commerce Minister Mamadou Sanou said Wednesday that the unresolved issue of cotton would lead to the extinction of the industry in Africa because of government subsides for farmers in the United States and the European Union.
In a joint news conference with other African ministers, Sanou expressed his profound disappointment and said that for more than ten days the issue of cotton was not discussed.
"I was invited to come to Geneva (for the Doha Development Round) to discussion this," he said.
The impact of the failure of the talks on farmers in Africa will be very grave because of the subsidies of the US and the EU, he said.
"There is a risk that the whole system will collapse in our countries. The cotton industry is threatened with extinction in the short term and this expresses the depth of our disappointment ... We are most disappointed that the rich countries, champions of liberalism, that those very countries are afraid to trade with us on an equal footing," said Sanou.
Kenyan Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta told reporters, "We are where as we were yesterday, no benefit and the gains that we hoped to achieve will not be achieved, it is the poorest of the poor that will carry the biggest burden." Kenyatta said that he was deeply disappointed with the stalling of the negotiations -- issues concerning African countries were not even discussed, especially the issue of cotton.
"The critical issue now is to focus how fast we can move to capture whatever progress achieved, this should be our starting point when the negotiations resume," he added.
Kenyatta said the African group called upon the World Trade Organization (WTO) membership to be engaged to so that it could conclude the round without delay.
"We want fair trade rather than aid," he stressed.
Lesotho Minister of Commerce Popane Lebesa (coordinator of LDCs) said that the outcome was a pitty and a disappointment, and did not go beyond the G-7, adding that issues pertaining to the LDCs were not considered by ministers.
"Cotton was not discussed at all, the US has offered to continue to discuss the issue of cotton with the parties concerned, but this is not the same thing to reach conclusions bilaterally than multilaterally. In the longer term, a WTO agreed rule on how the issue of subsidy to cotton will be handled will be more favorable than a bilaterally agreed agreement," he said.
The mini-ministerial meeting that kicked off on July 21 with the goal of reaching a conclusion to the Doha Development Round (DDR) collapsed Tuesday due to differences between the US and some 100 countries on the issue of a Special Safeguard Mechanism. (end) hn.ema KUNA 301217 Jul 08NNNN