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