Food Stockholding Talks Intensify as Unofficial Deadline Looms

Countries have intensified informal consultations on a developing country proposal to ease WTO farm subsidy rules for food stockholding, trade sources say. The talks have shifted gear ahead of an unofficial Easter deadline for reviewing progress on measures to be adopted at the global trade body’s ministerial conference in Bali, Indonesia, this December.

While governments have acknowledged that the WTO’s long-running Doha Round is currently at an “impasse,” they are keen to fast-track progress on a subset of measures to be agreed when ministers meet at the year’s end.

The informal consultations have been led by the G-33 - a group of developing countries with large populations of smallholder farmers, which first tabled the proposal in November following an initiative from India. Meanwhile, the chair of the agriculture trade talks has moved ahead with parallel discussions aimed at deepening members’ understanding of how food stockholding programmes function in practice in countries around the world.

The chair, New Zealand ambassador John Adank, convened meetings today during which Indonesia and Brazil described how their own schemes run, with China, India, and Pakistan having already done so last week. The Philippines is due to make a presentation on Friday.

Some members are reportedly also debating whether and how to put forward a new proposal on export subsidies and similar measures - although the scope and content of any such submission is still being discussed by negotiators.

Seen as causing particularly severe trade distortion, ministers agreed to phase out use of these instruments by the end of 2013 when they met in Hong Kong seven years ago. However, progress in doing so has been held hostage to the broader stalemate in the talks.

G-33: counter-proposals required

The stockholding proposal, which would allow countries more latitude to purchase food at administered prices from low-income, resource-poor producers, has run into opposition from both developed and developing countries who fear it could lead to subsidised food being exported to world markets.

Although the measure has been put forward as a proposal to enhance food security, some countries are reportedly concerned that their own poor farmers could be adversely affected by the move. Several members of the G-33 now say that they recognise that more work may be needed on the proposal.