AT a meeting of the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) Committee on Agriculture in Special Session on February 5, members discussed the latest reports from "facilitators" in the run-up to the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12).

The Chair of the talks, Costa Rica's Ms Gloria Abraham Peralta, said the facilitator-led process was an essential phase and encouraged members to contribute new ideas in preparation for more comprehensive negotiations.

The reports covered seven topics: domestic support, market access, export competition, export restrictions, cotton, public stockholding and the special safeguard mechanism, said the global trade body.

Approximately 40 members participated in the discussions with domestic support remaining as the topic of greatest interest to most. The facilitators said diverging views remain on key such as the categories of subsidies that should be deemed as trade-distorting, transparency obligations and their potential burden on developing countries.

They reported positive feedback on Costa Rica's presentation on "trade distorting potential" in relation to "proportionality", the idea that members would take on commitments commensurate with the potential impact of their subsidies on global markets.

"A high level of importance was attached to food security by both developed and developing members, in particular in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic," said the WTO.

Several members confirmed the widely shared interest in supporting the United Nation's World Food Programme humanitarian work by exempting its food purchases from export restrictions.

The facilitators for market access, shared there was a general reluctance among members to narrow down the topics for discussion in MC12 and they remained interested in a comprehensive and balanced outcome.

"An outcome on transparency in relation to changes in applied tariffs and the treatment of shipments en-route when tariffs change continued to garner support among members," said the facilitator.

In light of the upcoming Triennial Review of the Nairobi Decision in the regular committee, the facilitator for export competition said they wanted to promote synergy between the regular committee meetings and those of the Special Session.

Many developing members reiterated their demand for progress on food security, including reaching a permanent solution on Public Stockholding (PSH) programmes and allowing them to use a Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) to counter import surges and price drops in food commodities and cotton.

The facilitators on cotton said that their first phase of consultations with all major cotton trading members confirmed the clear desire to focus first on transparency and to deepen discussions based on a contribution by the Cotton-4 group (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali).

On public stockholding (PSH), the facilitator said that four meetings will be held between now and May to discuss changes needed to the Bali Decision. They will also review how the negotiations should address members' food security challenges while balancing the need to prevent market distortions or adverse effects on others' food security.

A wide range of issues were discussed and will be developed, including evaluation of import surges, triggers and cross checks, remedies, scope and transparency, said the facilitator for the special safeguard mechanism.

The Chair, Ms Peralta noted the strong push for reaching a permanent solution on PSH and SSM as the COVID-19 crisis has brought to the fore the issue of food security.

While technically complex issues such as market access may take more time, she noted that an outcome on transparency could be within reach.

The possible elements for an outcome "will comprise of both substantive elements and transparency-related elements," she said, adding that the appropriate balance must be found across the board to identify the appropriate level of ambition for MC12.