Members of the agricultural community recently reviewed farm policies, food security, technology transfer, and transparency issues. The session included updates from observer international organizations such as the International Grains Council (IGC), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Food Programme (WFP). These updates focused on global food security challenges, particularly for least developed countries and net food-importing developing countries.
The IGC reported favorable prospects for the next grain harvest despite dry conditions in parts of East Asia. Global crop projections increased by 2 million tonnes to a record 2,375 million. However, total grain consumption forecasts were slightly revised down to 2,372 million tonnes due to lower feed use estimates. The IGC highlighted the importance of open trade and market transparency through tools like the Wheat Maritime Trade and Food Security Dashboard.
FAO shared findings from "The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2024," noting that progress towards ending hunger is off track. In 2023, undernourishment affected an estimated 733 million people. FAO emphasized resilience-building efforts for those facing acute food insecurity.
The WFP addressed alarming levels of global food insecurity affecting 295 million people. Conflict remains a primary driver alongside extreme weather events and economic factors. The WFP thanked WTO members for exempting humanitarian food purchases from export restrictions at MC12, which has facilitated commodity movement and improved operational efficiency.
Regarding export competition transparency, members were reminded of obligations under the Nairobi Decision on Export Competition. Starting in 2025, a new annual export competition notification will be required to streamline reporting processes.
The second triennial review of the Bali Decision on Tariff Rate Quota administration is scheduled for 2025. Members discussed enhancing transparency in market access notifications and addressing tariff rate quota underutilization issues.
Members expressed interest in advancing discussions on technology transfer to developing economies within the agricultural sector. The Chair encouraged substantive ideas for collective exploration based on nearly three decades of experience with the Agreement on Agriculture.
During a peer review process at this meeting, members raised 180 questions concerning individual notifications and implementation matters outlined in the Agreement on Agriculture. Topics included support programs across various countries such as Australia’s livestock industry funds, Brazil’s rural development efforts, Canada’s dairy support involvement, EU's emergency measures against Russian products, India’s domestic support programmes, Japan’s carbon emission initiatives among others.
Since March 2025's meeting, 53 individual notifications have been submitted: 24 related to market access; 14 concerning domestic support; 11 regarding export competition; four related to LDCs/NFIDCs Marrakesh Decision implementation.
The Chair stressed timely submission of complete notifications while responding promptly to overdue questions is crucial for enhanced transparency.
All questions submitted are available in G/AG/W/255 with replies accessible via WTO's Agriculture Information Management System.
The Committee on Agriculture's next meeting is set for September 25-26th, 2025.