WTO members discuss cotton trade and investment ahead of MC14

Investing in cotton value chain development

During the 44^th round of consultations under the Director General's Consultative Framework Mechanism on Cotton (DGCFMC), Deputy Director-General Jean-Marie Paugam congratulated the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for hosting this year's edition of World Cotton Day, which was organized jointly with the International Trade Centre (ITC) and Chad.

WTO members at the meeting also received an update on the Partenariat pour le Coton (Cotton Partnership), an initiative aimed at transforming the cotton-textile-garment (CTG) sector and strengthening value addition in the Cotton-4+ (C-4+) cotton-producing countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, and Côte d'Ivoire) as well as in other African countries.

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) informed WTO members about progress achieved in implementing the work of the partnership. This included the baseline assessment conducted by the Partenariat's partners on prospects for value addition in the sector, subsequent national reports emanating from consultations, the Partenariat's Steering Committee Meeting in Cairo in April, and a recent regional workshop.

"I'd like to make a call for our financial partners and donors to support this crucial phase of our work," DDG Paugam said.  He reminded participants that the process has shifted from the diagnostic stage to the operational stage. He also stressed the need to attract investment capable of transforming cotton and textile value chains.

Otto International Scan-Thor, an international sourcing company, highlighted the challenges facing the CTG sector during its presentation and noted that these challenges present the C-4+ region with a significant opportunity to develop its own fashion industry. The company emphasized the importance of building a regional industry that is globally competitive, one that can attract multinational retailers to focus on this region and recognize it as a strategic partner for placing large-volume orders.

The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) provided an overview of global cotton market estimates for the 2025-26 season, projecting production at roughly 25.4 million tonnes, similar to the previous season, with little change in the shares of major producers. Global cotton consumption is expected to decline slightly to 25 million tonnes. 

ICAC also noted continued growth in specialty cotton, which now represents one-third of global cotton lint production. Specialty cotton includes long or extra-long staple varieties and cotton from programmes under certification initiatives such as "Better Cotton" and "Cotton Made in Africa."

Looking forward, DDG Paugam concluded the DGCFMC by calling for stronger support to the sector, emphasizing the importance of capacity building, investment promotion campaigns and investment into the CTG value chain in the C-4+ region. Additionally, he encouraged the C-4+ countries to consider the calls made by technical experts and partners for a regional expansion.

The C-4+ requested convening a high-level event on the cotton value chain on the sideline of the Ministerial Conference in Yaoundé to review the Partenariat pour le Coton and to seek support for investment in the CTG sector.

Reforming cotton trade policies

The Dedicated Discussions on cotton trade developments were chaired by Ambassador Ali Sarfraz Hussain (Pakistan), who also chairs the WTO negotiations on agriculture. Cotton has been high on the WTO agenda since 2003, when West African countries proposed a special sector initiative to address specific problems they face. However, progress has been slow due to wider disagreement among WTO members on how to move forward in the agriculture negotiations.

During the discussions, the WTO Secretariat introduced the latest background paper compiling all cotton-related information available at the WTO, including members' notifications, responses to a cotton policy questionnaire, and data on tariff and non-tariff measures. The Chair also highlighted the importance of transparency to ensure that cotton markets function well and to usefully inform the negotiations on cotton.

Several members took the floor to support continued efforts at finding a compromise on possible outcomes by MC14. Others, who were more sceptical, urged their counterparts to reset expectations and focus on future negotiations.

The C-4+ Group, while acknowledging persistent divergences in the negotiations, reaffirmed its strong commitment to achieving an outcome on cotton at MC14, particularly regarding domestic support. The group believes that a stand-alone outcome on cotton could be an option if overall progress on agriculture remained limited. It also announced plans to circulate a written contribution aimed at re-energizing the negotiations following the C-4+ ministerial meeting scheduled to take place in Bamako, Mali, on 28 November.

Several members underscored the need to reduce cotton-specific trade-distorting domestic support. One member referred to the draft ministerial text on cotton discussed ahead of MC13, while another argued that a cotton outcome should form part of a broader agricultural reform package. A few members proposed voluntary steps to improve market access for least-developed country (LDC) exports across the entire value chain, from cotton to textiles and apparel, supported by tailored assistance and investment.