Roberto
Azevêdo
Director-General
7 November 2017
Dear
Ambassadors/Permanent Representatives,
I am enclosing the latest version of the
Evolving Table on Cotton Development Assistance (WT/CFMC/6/Rev.23) for review
by Members in advance of the next Round of the Director-General's Consultative
Framework Mechanism on Cotton (DGCFMC).
The updated version of the Evolving
Table (ET) contains new contributions from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan,
and the United States, as well as from UNCTAD. Of particular significance is
the support and contributions from Brazil, China and India on the platform of
South-South Co-operation.
I am pleased to report that the
figures in the latest version of the ET show that progress has continued in
providing development assistance to the cotton sector. There has been, in
particular, an improvement in the ratio of disbursements to commitments in Part
I ("Cotton Specific Development Assistance"), while the number of
projects in their implementation phase remains stable. As regards Part II ("Agriculture
and Infrastructure-Related Development Assistance"), there has been an
increase in both the overall number of beneficiaries and the ratio of
disbursements to commitments.
The commitments and disbursements of
active operational projects in the latest version of the ET are highlighted as
follows:
·
Part I on Cotton Specific Development
Assistance shows stability in both the number of African and other beneficiaries
(32 in total) and that of active projects (26 in total). The total value of
committed amounts has also remained stable at US$203.6 million. Disbursements
increased slightly to reach US$113.7 million, while the ratio of total
disbursements to total commitments increased from 54% in the previous version
of the ET to 55.8% currently.
·
Part II on Agriculture and Infrastructure-Related Development Assistance registers
a strong increase in the number of individual beneficiaries (38 in total, up
from 31), as well as stability in the number of projects (63 in total). The
total value of commitments decreased to US$3.4 billion from US$3.9 billion,
while disbursement flows increased slightly, to reach US$1.7 billion. The
ratio of total disbursements to total commitments increased significantly, from
44% in the previous version of the ET to 51.8% currently.
. /.
I am also attaching the 15th
version of the Table on Domestic Cotton Sector Reforms (WT/CFMC/21/Rev.14),
reflecting new contributions from Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali.
The 28th Round of the
DGCFMC will be held in the morning of 17 November 2017. The eighth
Dedicated Discussion of the Relevant Trade-related Developments on Cotton, chaired
by Ambassador Stephen Ndun'gu Karau, will take place, back-to-back with the 28th
Round, in the afternoon of the same day.
The enclosed documents will form the
basis for the 28th Round of Consultations of the Consultative
Framework Mechanism on Cotton, which will be chaired by DDG Alan Wm. Wolff on
my behalf.
Yours
sincerely,
Roberto
Azevêdo