Pakistan demands level playing field in Agriculture: Secretary Commerce at WTO Meeting, Marrakech

Agriculture is our lifeline, millions of poor farmers expect a fair deal from global trading system, Federal Secretary Commerce, Mohammad Younus Dagha, said while addressing the WTO Ministers meeting in Marrakech, he strongly emphasized the importance of creating a level playing field in the area of agriculture products trade.

The Secretary Dagha also stressed home this point in the meeting of Cairns Group Ministers, which met on the sidelines of WTO ministers huddle in Marrakech. Cairns Group is WTO coalition of likeminded countries demanding reform of agriculture subsidies.

Mr. Dagha underscored the point that trade distorting subsidies of the developed countries were tilting the terms of trade drastically against the poor farmers of the developing countries. He also informed that huge amounts of domestic support in large agriculture producing countries and their Public stockholding also affected the small farmers by taking away the market share and depressing international prices for their products. Countries frequently veil their programmes of public stockholding as food security initiatives which hurt other developing countries and agriculture producers in the international market.

Secretary Commerce is leading Pakistan Delegation to a crucial WTO meeting in Morocco which is finalizing strategy for the forth coming Ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires to Geneva.

Mr. Dagha also met Chinese Trade Minister, Director General WTO Roberto Azevado Ministers of Norway, Nigeria, and Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and delegations of Chile, Turkey, United States, Argentina and Costa Rica and discussed issues of mutual economic interest.