Farmers in Brazil, Kenya and other poor nations lose US$24 billion a year because of the US$235 billion the US, the EU and other nations spend subsidizing their farmers, a research group funded by the World Bank said.
The agriculture subsidies drive down the cost of cotton, sugar, wheat and other commodities, undermining the ability of farmers in poor nations to make a profit, the International Food Policy Research Institute said in a report, issued in Washington.
Negotiators from the 146 nations of the WTO are to meet in two weeks in Cancun to try to work out a way to cut subsidies and open farm trade. Eliminating those payments would triple the agriculture exports of poor nations, the report found.
"For the sake of low-income farmers and consumers across the globe, negotiators from the industrialized countries should move beyond rhetoric and gestures," said Eugenio Diaz-Bonilla, a researcher and author of the report.
Of the US$235 billion rich nations spent subsidizing their farmers last year, the EU accounted for US$100 billion and the US about US$40 billion, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which represents 30 of the world's wealthiest nations. The subsidies include government payments and tariffs, which force consumers to pay more.
The US and the EU earlier this month reached the framework of an agreement for curbing domestic payments and export credits.
China, India and other developing nations have criticized it, saying the outline doesn't go as far as trade negotiators had pledged two years ago.
Farm groups in the US have complained in recent weeks that Brazil and other countries are asking them to accept reduced subsidies while those countries aren't promising to cut import tariffs. Farmers in rich nations say they need barriers to be lowered so they can export more surplus crops.
Last week's EU-US accord sets out conditions for subsidizing farmers, outlines a formula for reducing tariffs and proposes trimming export aid. The document doesn't spell out the percentages of cuts or when they would go into effect.
According to the report, the payments most hurt Latin American and Asian nations, the farm research group said. Latin American countries lost US$8.3 billion in projected income, led by Brazil with US$2.3 billion. China lost a similar amount.
Changes in those policies would lead to at least a doubling of agriculture trade for Mexico, China, Morocco and Zambia and other southern African nations, according to the report.
"In the sector in which the rich countries are not competitive, they use subsidies" to make up the difference, Diaz- Bonilla said in a conference call with reporters.
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