Ahead of the 13th ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a majority of the G-33 countries, a coalition of developing nations known as the “Friends of Special Products” in agriculture, have called for a permanent solution to public stockholding for food security in a ministerial statement on agriculture trade negotiations released on Sunday.
The statement emphasized the crucial role of public stockholding in ensuring food and livelihood security, rural development, and support for low-income or resource-poor producers in developing countries, including least developed countries (LDCs) and net food-importing developing countries (NFIDCs).
India, China, and Indonesia, among others, form this 47-country group that seeks flexibility in market opening for agriculture.
For the 13th ministerial conference (MC13) of WTO, which begins Monday, trade ministers of 164 countries are converging in Abu Dhabi to tackle a broad spectrum of topics, including agriculture, fisheries, and the nexus between trade and sustainable development.
The G-33’s statement also expressed disappointment with the lack of progress in agriculture trade negotiations and the failure to fulfill mandates from previous conferences. It reiterated the developing countries’ right to a special safeguard mechanism (SSM) to protect against import surges or price drops, advocating for a decision on SSM by the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference.
“We stand ready to consider the submission by the African Group on the issue of SSM, which covers most of the interests of developing country members in a fair and balanced manner,” the statement said.
It also underlined the importance of preserving special and differential treatment for developing countries in the WTO, emphasizing that non-trade concerns must be considered in agriculture trade negotiations.
The article originally appeared on Livemint.