Ahead of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) 13th Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi, the G-33 Ministerial statement underscored the critical significance of public stockholding for food security among developing countries. Comprising 48 member nations, including Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Net Food Importing Developing Countries (NFIDCs), the group emphasised the pivotal role of public stockholding in ensuring food and livelihood security and fostering rural development.
The move is likely to bolster India's defence for Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops, an issue which has already sparked protests by farmers across the world.
The Ministers and Representatives of the G-33 countries met in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on the sidelines of the 13 WTO Ministerial Conference, to exchange views on the agriculture trade negotiations and to deliberate on priorities for the outcome.
Terming the need to address contemporary challenges facing the multilateral trading system as a collective responsibility of all WTO Members, the group noted that the upcoming Ministerial is an important opportunity to reinforce a rules-based, non-discriminatory, open, fair, inclusive, equitable, and transparent multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core.
Calling for a constructive dialogue to achieve a meaningful outcome on agriculture at the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference, the group expressed concern over the projection by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations that the number of chronically undernourished people will be almost 600 million in 2030.
Regretting the serious lack of progress in agriculture trade negotiations, including fulfilling the outstanding mandates of previous Ministerial Conferences, the group called for the adoption of a permanent solution in its proposal JOB/AG/229, jointly submitted with the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Groups.
The proposal invited WTO member countries to constructively engage to achieve an outcome on public stockholding for food security purposes in the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference.
While the group reiterated the right of developing countries to institute a Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) as an important instrument against major import surges or sudden price declines, it urged WTO members to agree and adopt a decision on SSM by the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference.
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