(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica, Hon. K.D Knight has pledged his country’s ongoing commitment to trade liberalisation, but has expressed disappointment over the declining terms of trade and erosion of preferential treatment for Jamaica’s banana and sugar exports.

Addressing the 6th WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong, Minister Knight said the erosion of the long-standing preferential arrangements for Jamaica’s two largest agriculture exports was cause for concern. In referring to a 2003 World Bank report which projected that should the Doha Round be in favour of the poor it should result in an increase in global income by US$520 billion to cut the poverty of 144 million people, Minister Knight said there was now growing recognition that this projection would fall short.

The Minister said that the projected gains for a large number of developing countries that were singled out at the Doha Round of discussions appear to be diminishing, thus causing increased demand on these countries by negotiating partners. “It is to be emphasised that this is of great concern to CARICOM Member States and to other vulnerable economies especially since there has been no unequivocal commitment to take account of their situation through flexible and operational provisions,” he stated.

The Jamaica Foreign Minister acknowledged the attempts made by developed Member States to support those less developed through proposals such as “aid for trade” and other ongoing initiatives geared towards improvements in the delivery of technical assistance and capacity building. He said in this regard, the Community considered support for the valuable work of organisations such as the International Trade Centre as vitally important.

Addressing the Ministerial Conference, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Labour, of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Hon. Charles Savarin said his country welcomed the opportunity to speak on the issue of bananas as its production and export represented the foundation of Dominica’s economy. “The future trading regime for bananas is a cause for great anxiety to the people of Dominica and other Caribbean States who have derived their livelihoods from the commodity over the last fifty years,” Minister Savarin said.

He pointed out that banana production in Dominica provided employment for over 85 per cent of the rural population and was the primary source of employment for women. “Banana exports represent over 80 per cent of agricultural exports and yields approximately 20 per cent of total export earnings,” the Minister further stated.

He remarked that the continuation of preferential access to the EU market for bananas originating in the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP) was critically important for Dominica, and stressed that development and the eradication of poverty must be essential elements underpinning any regime governing trade at the multilateral level and therefore by necessity trade in bananas.