The 9th WTO Ministerial Conference was concluded at Bali, Indonesia. The Ministerial Conference has agreed on the revised draft of Bali Package. The Ministerial Conference was held in Bali, Indonesia from 3 to 6 December 2013 and attended by 159 WTO Member countries representatives. Bali Package • During the conference, the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed to allow countries to provide subsidy on staple food crops without any threat of punitive action. • In this regard, the WTO has issued a revised draft of the Bali Package which addresses Indias concerns on food security. The draft proposes an interim mechanism to safeguard minimum support prices to farmers against WTO caps till a permanent solution is adopted. • The deal allows nations such as India to fix a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for farm produce and to sell staple grains to the poor at subsidised rates.
Posted on: Mon, 09 Dec 2013 14:17:54 +0000