^[1] This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice to the positions of Members or to their rights and obligations under the WTO.

^[2] Document WT/GC/175 - WT/CFMC/DG/7 - WT/MIN(15)/8, dated 18 November 2015.

^[3] Document WT/CFMC/6/Rev.23, dated 7 November 2017.DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE ASPECTS OF COTTON

eighth PERIODIC REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL^[1]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1   INTRODUCTION.. 2

2   CONTEXT. 2

3   IMPLEMENTATION.. 2

4   EVOLUTION OF COTTON DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE. 3

5   SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION ON COTTON.. 5

6   DOMESTIC COTTON SECTOR REFORMS. 5

7   CONCLUSION.. 6

ANNEX. 7

A.         COTTON TRADE. 7

B.         COTTON AREA. 8

C.         COTTON PRODUCTION. 8

D.        COTTON YIELDS. 9

E.         COTTON PRICE. 9

1  INTRODUCTION

1.1.  Since my last Periodic Report to the membership on the Development Assistance Aspects of Cotton, in November 2015^[2], four Rounds of the Director-General's Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton (DGCFMC) have been held, bringing the total number of such rounds held since 2004 to date to 28. The 28^th Round of Consultations was held on 17 November 2017.

1.2.  During the same time period, the Evolving Table on Cotton Development Assistance (ET), our unique tool to monitor trends and trace the evolution of development-assistance projects supporting the cotton sector in beneficiary countries, has been revised four times, including the latest update which was shared with the membership on 7 November 2017.^[3]

1.3.  I would like to particularly commend all the Members who have provided updates for the latest four revisions of the ET: Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Union (and some of its Member States) Japan, Switzerland and the United States.

1.4.  I would like to highlight the importance of the specific platform of South-South Cooperation for Cotton-Sector Development, which exists and operates owing to the efforts of Brazil, China and India. The support and engagement of all these Members in the DGCFMC provides crucial foundations to our work on cotton development assistance.  

1.5.  Several multilateral and regional agencies have also been actively participating in this process, including in particular: the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Trade Centre (ITC), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Bank.