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Africa :New Measures Provides Hope To Cotton Producers |
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2003-6-27 8:25:00
New measures have been developed by the West and Central African countries against the cotton subsidies by the rich countries on local producers.
The West African Economic and Monetary Union and the Economic (UEMOA) and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) announced recently in Ouagadougou that they will start processing 25 percent of their production by 2010. Currently only five percent of the local production is processed.
"The meeting has given us hope by providing us the opportunity to [lay strategies] for the survival of thousands of producers and millions others, who depend directly on cotton in West and Central Africa," said Burkina Faso trade minister, Benoit Ouattara, at the end of a two days meeting.
Cotton generates 30 to 50 percent of the export earnings in the UEMOA countries. The planned project is expected to create about 50,000 jobs.In recent years the African cotton sector has been badly affected by the subsidies granted by rich countries to their producers.
Benin, Burkina Faso , Mali and Chad, the region's main cotton
producers, sent a submission to the World Trade Organisation in April to ask for compensation for damages caused by cotton subsidies on their local productions.
Last June, President Blaise Compaore led a delegation of African trade ministers to Geneva to meet the Trade Negotiation Committee of the WTO to plead in favour of African cotton producers.It is estimated that west and central African countries have been losing 150 million dollars annually since 1997, due to heavy subsidies that favour farmers in rich countries, in the international market.
Countries which attended the Ouagadougou meeting include, Benin, Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire.
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