WTO Committee on Agriculture
Reviews Policies, Tracks Ministerial Decisions, and Discusses Food Security
Key
Themes & Updates
·
Food Security & Market Developments
o
UNCTAD: Trade vital to stabilize
prices, ensure access; warned against export restrictions.
o
FAO: 673M hungry in 2024; projected
512M in 2030 → SDG2 (Zero Hunger) at risk. Stressed cereal market
transparency.
o
WFP: Two concurrent famines (Sudan,
Gaza), 28M affected; funding shortfalls → 17M fewer reached in 2025.
o
World Bank: Crises driven by conflict,
climate, economy; promoting national food security preparedness plans linked to
global/regional support.
Follow-up
on Ministerial Decisions
·
Export Competition (Nairobi Decision, 2015):
o
Annual review held; new integrated notification
system adopted.
·
Tariff Rate Quota (Bali Decision, 2013):
o
Draft report under review. Chair proposed 3
conclusions:
1.
Greater transparency on in-/out-quota tariffs.
2.
Import data disaggregated by country.
3.
List of TRQ utilization barriers for next review.
·
Food Security Work Programme (2022–24, MC12):
o
Debate on setting up a dedicated monitoring
mechanism.
o
Some members cautioned against overstating progress
for LDCs & NFIDCs.
·
General Services (Bali Decision):
o
First agenda discussion on practical implementation
and monitoring under AoA Article 18.
Agricultural
Policies Review
·
203 questions raised (33 new,
26 recurring).
o
New topics: US trade framework deals, UK
sustainable farming (Wales), Philippines’ rice import suspension, Swiss
subsidies.
o
Recurring issues: India (domestic support, sugar,
stockpiles), Canada (dairy), China (cotton support), Egypt (rice export bans),
EU (deforestation rules), US (targeted farm supports).
·
Notifications since June 2025 (103 total):
o
Market access (12), Domestic support (34), Export
competition (55), Marrakesh Decision (2).
·
Chair stressed timely, complete notifications
and replies.
Technology
Transfer in Agriculture
·
Broad support for deeper discussions.
·
Focus: small farmers in developing economies,
affordable tech, clarity in notifications.
·
Chair suggested informal sessions + regular agenda
inclusion.
Informal
Thematic Session
·
Canada: Transparency & DS:2
domestic support notifications.
·
World Bank: Agricultural risk management
& insurance.
At a meeting
of the WTO Committee on Agriculture on 25-26 September, members discussed key issues
surrounding trade and food security. Led by chairperson Diego Alfieri of Brazil,
the meeting provided members with the opportunity for a frank exchange of views
on a range of topics.
Members heard updates from representatives of UN Trade and Development
(UNCTAD), the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) and the World Bank on ongoing issues surrounding food security.
UNCTAD emphasized the crucial role of trade in combating food
insecurity by facilitating the efficient movement of food from surplus to deficit
regions, helping to stabilize prices and improving access to a diverse and nutritious
food supply. It also drew members’ attention to the impacts of food export restrictions
on food price volatility, which exacerbate food insecurity and cause adverse price
shocks in least developed countries (LDCs) and net food-importing developing countries
(NFIDCs). In addition, it underlined the importance of transparency in applying
such measures.
Referring to the 2025 State of Food Security and Nutrition in
the World report, the FAO briefed members on the latest food security and market
developments. It noted that while updated statistics pointed to some improvements,
albeit uneven across continents, 673 million people still faced hunger in 2024.
The new projections estimate 512 million people will face chronic hunger in 2030,
highlighting the challenge of achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2
(Zero hunger).
In its contribution, the FAO informed the Committee about global
cereal supply and demand and the food price situation, underscoring the importance
of enhanced transparency in global food commodity markets and trade as well as coordinated
policy actions.
The WFP noted that for the first time it is dealing with two
concurrent famines, with 28 million people facing extreme levels of hunger in Sudan
and Gaza. The WFP stated this comes at a time of declining aid funding, noting that
due to resource shortages the emergency operations will reach 17 million fewer people
in 2025 than the previous year.
The World Bank underlined that food and nutrition crises are
growing in scale, frequency and complexity, driven by conflicts, climate events,
economic upheaval and fragile systems. The Bank informed the Committee about its
efforts on the ground, in collaboration with national governments, to develop a
structured approach to anticipating and managing such crises through food security
preparedness plans, a standardized and targeted approach embedded in national systems
to address food insecurity. These plans link national food security needs with regional
and global support, thereby bolstering national responses.
The Committee undertook the 2025 annual dedicated discussions
on export competition to follow up on the implementation of the Nairobi Decision
on Export Competition of 2015. A detailed background document prepared by the WTO
Secretariat, compiling information from members’ notifications and their responses
to the Export Competition Questionnaire under the Nairobi Decision, supported the
deliberations.
The Chair drew attention to the recent decision of the Committee
establishing an integrated, all-inclusive export competition notification requirement
applicable as of this year, which would form the foundation of future dedicated
discussions.
For the ongoing second triennial review of the operation of
the Bali Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) Decision of 2013, due this year, discussions focussed on
the draft report of the review, which reflects the discussions held so far and also
includes a set of recommendations or conclusions.
The chair explained that
the report, prepared under his guidance,
proposed conclusions covering three distinct elements: i) transparency regarding
annual in-quota and out-of-quota tariffs on products subject to scheduled TRQs that
are opened each year; ii)
inclusion of import data in annual MA:2 notifications, disaggregated by country,
for open TRQs that have country-specific allocations in the schedule of commitments;
and iii) establishing
a process to collate a list of practices that might act as potential impediments
to TRQ utilization until the next triennial review so they can be addressed during
that third review. The Chair indicated that he would convene further meetings with
members in different settings to make progress on the matter.
The Committee continued its engagement on the follow-up to the
agreed report and recommendations under the dedicated work programme
on food security it undertook during 2022-24 in response to the instructions from the 12th Ministerial Conference in 2022. One suggestion during the discussions was to establish
a dedicated monitoring mechanism within the Committee for targeted follow-up on
specific elements of the recommendations.
Another group of members underlined that the final report and
recommendations address only a small part of the problems raised by LDCs and NFIDCs
and preferred to avoid giving the impression that the work programme had resolved
all food security challenges faced by LDCs and NFIDCs.
On a matter added for the first time to the agenda, members
shared their initial perspectives on the implementation of the Bali Ministerial
Decision on General Services in practice, and on how a follow-up to this decision
could inform the Committee’s monitoring and review process under Article 18 of the
Agreement on Agriculture.
A total of 203 questions were raised by members concerning individual
notifications and specific implementation matters during the meeting. This peer
review process allows members to address issues related to the implementation of
commitments outlined in the Agreement on Agriculture. Of these, 33 issues were raised
for the first time, while 26 were recurring matters from previous Committee meetings.
The 33 new items covered a range of topics, with many centred
on the implications of trade framework deals announced between the United States
and its trading partners, including Japan, Indonesia, Viet Nam and the European
Union. These members in response broadly noted that the framework deals do not constitute
legal binding agreements and that specific issues remain to be worked out.
Among other new topics raised, the United Kingdom was asked
to respond to questions about sustainable farming initiatives in Wales; the Philippines
was asked to respond about its suspension of rice imports; and Switzerland was asked
about increased agriculture subsidies. Specific questions on a range of new topics
were also posed to Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, the European Union, Japan,
the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Oman, Paraguay, Thailand, Türkiye and the United
States.
Previous discussions carried over included India’s domestic
support programmes, sugar policy and export duties as well as public stockpiling
issues. Other topics included Canada's support of dairy products, China's domestic
support of US cotton, Egypt's rice export restrictions, the EU's deforestation regulation,
New Zealand's support of Maori agribusiness, the UK's goods schedule and the United
States’ and targeted agricultural support measures.
All questions submitted for the meeting are available in G/AG/W/256/Rev.1.
All questions and replies received are available in the WTO's Agriculture Information
Management System.
Since the previous meeting in June 2025, a total of 103 individual
notifications have been submitted to the Committee: 12 related to market access,
34 concerning domestic support, 55 regarding export competition, and two related
to the implementation of the Marrakesh Decision on LDCs and NFIDCs. The Chair urged
members to submit timely and complete notifications and to respond to overdue questions,
stressing the critical importance of enhanced transparency. In the same vein, the
Chair urged members to submit timely replies to the questions they receive in the
Committee, noting that several remained outstanding.
Members expressed interest in advancing discussions on the transfer
of technology to developing economies in the food and agricultural sector. Delegations
expressed support for continuing discussions on the topic, with calls for experience-sharing
on how members can utilize policy tools envisaged under the Agreement on Agriculture
to promote agricultural innovation and technology transfer domestically.
Noting that the agricultural sector in developing economies
comprises small and fragmented landholders, discussions emphasized the need for,
and the transformational role of, appropriate technologies for farmers. The transfer
of agricultural technologies to developing economies on fair and affordable terms,
and their effective absorption by farmers in recipient economies, was considered
to hold enormous promise. The importance of greater clarity in members’ domestic
support notification practices for measures related to agricultural research and
technological innovation was also underlined. The Chair suggested convening informal
discussions and continuing to include this topic on formal agendas to support ongoing
reflection and shape collective guidance.
In an informal thematic session held in the margins of the Committee
meeting on 25 September to facilitate freer dialogue on recurring themes under the
Committee's review process, Canada made a presentation on the transparency of agricultural
policy developments and the role of so-called Table DS:2 notifications covering
domestic support while the World Bank made a presentation on agricultural risk management
and insurance policies.
The next meeting of the Committee on Agriculture is scheduled
for 24-26 November 2025.