Pakistan raised its concerns in High Level Session on Cotton 15-16 March 2007
Director General WTO convened a High Level Session on Cotton on 15-16 March to stress upon the importance of cotton for developing countries in general and African countries specifically. Both the donor and beneficiaries of the financial and technical assistance on cotton presented their reports.
Member countries reiterated their support for tackling the cotton issue ambitiously, specifically and expeditiously. In response to a presentation which mentioned that the price distortions in the World Market are ¼ due to subsidies and ¾ due to technology and related factors, Pakistan said that if there were no subsidies prices can raise by 18-20% instantly and the balance mentioned above is not true account of the reality.
According to an estimate, Pakistan farmers are loosing USD 350 million per annum due to price distortions in the world market. We need to fix this artificial suppression through elimination or reduction in subsidies and let the markets function naturally.
(For details please click here for the brief on the discussions during HLS on cotton)
