UNCTAD COMMODITIES EXPERTS MEETING, APRIL 6-8, GENEVA -

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GENEVA 000236 SIPDIS STATE FOR EB AND IO/EDA FOR AHAVILAND AND RWEBBER EU EMBASSIES FOR ECON OFFICERS DEPT OF AGRICULTURE/FAS FOR WENDELL DENNIS DEPT OF COMMERCE FOR DCAMMAROTA AND SBHABHRAWALA STATE PASS USTR FOR DAVID BROOKS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: UNCTAD ECON ETRD AGR SUBJECT: UNCTAD COMMODITIES EXPERTS MEETING, APRIL 6-8, GENEVA - REQUEST FOR GUIDANCE GENEVA 00000236 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. This is an action request. See para 11. ¶2. SUMMARY: After rescheduling twice, UNCTAD finalized dates for the first meeting of its multi-year expert group on commodities and development. The group will meet April 6 and 7 in Geneva, back-to-back with a multi-stakeholders meeting on coffee on April 8. The expert group will discuss best practices in transparency and accountability in the commodities sectors, and mechanisms to help developing countries cope with price volatility. The latter topic could touch on controversial approaches such as producer and consumer price range agreements, although UNCTAD has no plans to advocate such approaches. Instead, UNCTAD's top priority will be helping commodity producers diversify their economic base and move up the global value chain. The meeting is strongly promoted by the Africa Group. END SUMMARY. ¶3. Harmon Thomas, Head of UNCTAD's autonomous commodities unit, briefed Mission officers on the upcoming first meeting of UNCTAD's multi-year experts group on commodities and development, April 6 and ¶7. The Commodities experts group will meet three more times over the next three years. It has well-defined terms of reference for each meeting, based on paragraphs 50, 51,77,78,79, and particularly paragraphs 91, 92, 93 and 183 of the Accra Accord, the ministerial document that provides UNCTAD's mandate for the next four years. ¶4. The first meeting of the commodities multi-year expert group will have three parts. First, the meeting will examine the current situation and outlook in the commodities market, including examining the impact of the financial crisis on commodities markets. Second, experts will examine success stories and consider ways of: a) integrating commodities policies into national, regional and international development and poverty reduction strategies, and b) improving transparency and accountability at all levels for all participants in the commodities sector. Third, experts will review and identify measures and support needed by: a) commodity-dependent developing countries to utilize effectively the opportunities offered by current higher commodity prices to initiate a process of sustained economic growth; and b) commodity-importing developing countries, particularly least developed countries, to cope with the detrimental effects of commodities price swings. ¶5. Regarding the first part of the meeting, the context, Thomas divided recent commodities price history into two periods. From the 1960s until 2002, commodities markets were characterized by price volatility and a downward trend in prices. Since 2002, prices continue to be volatile but the long term price trend is upward and probably will remain upward for the next twenty-five years. In the short term, lots of companies in the extractive industries are decreasing investment, so we will have shortages in the future and high price volatility. Over the longer term, the underlying demand for primary products is based on growth in China now and will be based on growth in India over the next ten to twenty years. China has about 15 years before its demand for industrial raw materials decreases. This analysis has led Thomas to advise commodity producing countries that they need to reinvest their windfall gains to diversify because as emerging market economies mature over the next ten to twenty years, those Asian markets will demand fewer raw materials and commodities prices ultimately will fall. In the short term, along with diversifying their economic base, commodity producers should not lose faith and should still invest to increase their productive capacity since prices will recover and be high over the next twenty-five years. ¶6. Regarding the second part of the meeting - success stories, experts will examine case studies by sector: Malaysia and Thailand for agriculture; Chile and Zambia for mining; and the Gulf States for oil, including diversification through sovereign wealth funds and diversification into direct productive investments. ¶7. Part three of the meeting - measures to effectively utilize opportunities in the commodities market and to cope with price volatility, is the session where controversial issues are most likely to arise. Thomas said UNCTAD does not see how prices can be stabilized in the current global situation. In the 1970s we tried limiting price volatility by having producers and consumers agree on price ranges and defending those ranges with buffer stocks. GENEVA 00000236 002.2 OF 002 However, these agreements failed, just as fixed exchange rates failed. Nonetheless, Thomas said least developed countries (LDCs) may propose establishing funds that would allow them to keep local prices stable, as many governments do for oil. A few countries may wish to get together to moderate supply on the market to balance demand and reduce price volatility. Thomas said this approach could be beneficial for coffee or cocoa producers, and could allow more orderly market price adjustments. ¶8. The three additional meetings of the commodities experts group over the next three years deal with various issues. Session two will address: diversification of the energy matrix while ensuring food security; agricultural and non-agricultural trade-related issues; and investment and financial resources for developing commodities markets, including aid for trade, ODA, and sovereign funds. Session three will cover policy actions to mitigate price and income volatility in the commodities sector and to facilitate participation of commodities producers in the global value chain, and multi-stakeholder partnerships in the commodities sectors. Session four will review UNCTAD's work to help commodities producers move up the value chain. ¶9. Meeting papers are available on the UNCTAD website at: http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Meeting.asp?i ntItemID =1942&lang=1&m=16434&year=2009&month=4 Comment -------------- ¶10. The commodities paragraphs were among the most contentious negotiated in Accra. Commerce, USDA and State all participated in the negotiations, where Venezuela and the Ivory Coast represented developing country interests. As part of the final compromise, the US and EU agreed that UNCTAD's commodities branch would be recast as an autonomous commodities unit under the trade division and report directly to the UNCTAD Secretary General to ensure commodities issues received greater visibility and attention in UNCTAD. Upon returning to Geneva, the Ivory Coast attempted to renegotiate the agreement and instead have the commodities unit established as a division, which would allow its head to make staffing decisions without approval from the trade division and thereby decrease transparency and accountability. The US opposed this ploy vigorously and so far successfully. Throughout 2008 until the present, the Ivory Coast has sporadically and unsuccessfully repeated its efforts to reconfigure the commodities unit as a division. Any US participants in the commodities experts group should be informed of this background and oppose efforts to restructure the autonomous commodities unit. End Comment. ¶11. Action request: Post recommends relevant Washington agencies nominate experts to participate in this and future meetings of the expert group. In the absence of attendance by US experts, post requests guidance by April 2 on each agenda item, as well as any redlines for work by the experts group and suggestions for constructive work the experts group might do between sessions. End Action request. STORELLA #