WTO urges donors to support cotton industry

World Trade Organisation (WTO) has urged donor agencies to mobilise resources to support cotton projects in Least Developed Countries (LDCs), including Malawi.

WTO director general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said this at a Partners Conference on Cotton in Geneva, Switzeraland, which included the Cotton-4 countries, comprising Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali.

She welcomed a pledge from the African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) to provide up to $300 000 grant-matching funds to support the preparation of cotton value chain development projects in African countries from 2023 to 2024.

Said Okonjo-Iweala: “This conference is not just about cotton. It is about people. Donors should listen carefully to the project needs and priorities presented by the Cotton-4 countries and other LDCs so that they can provide tangible support to help realise these homegrown projects.

“LDCs will need our support to mobilise the financial and technical resources they need so that the millions of people whose livelihoods depend on this sector can envisage a better life for themselves and their families.”

She said that cotton is a vital crop in over 30 African countries, including Malawi, generating some $1.5 billion in export earnings, but the sector had been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The conference was jointly organised by UN Conference on Trade and Development and the International Trade Centre.

A WTO study shows that although cotton output has since bounced back to pre-pandemic levels in many LDCs, gross domestic product per capita fell by 2.1 percent on average in 10 LDCs sampled by the study.

Afreximbank senior manager for Export Development Advisory Babajide Sodipo said the cotton and textile sector provides an opportunity to foster local content and identity.

“With the operationalisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, Africa must embrace industrialisation and fully engage its human capital and unique craftsmanship in this sector,” he said.

During the conference, Cotton-4 ministers outlined challenges such as food insecurity and climate change, which have hindered the development of the cotton sector in LDCs.