The commitment appeared in the statement issued by the 43rd Cairns Group Ministerial Meeting, which took place on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.
Known as “The Cairns”, the group consists of 20 agricultural fair-trade nations, namely Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Uruguay, Vietnam, and Ukraine.
Together, The Cairns’ agricultural exports account for nearly 30% of global agricultural exports.
Pimchanok emphasised that Thailand has committed to working with Cairns members to lead negotiations on short- and long-term agricultural trade issues, with the goal of liberalising global agriculture trade in a fair and market-oriented agricultural trading system while bolstering global food security.
The country also expressed its willingness to address the food crisis and support sustainable development initiatives.
The 43rd Cairns statement was presented to the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Monday, urging nation members worldwide to establish clear guidelines for reforming agricultural trade in the three main practices under WTO principles.
These are: opening the free-trade market, which allows for a gradual reduction in tariffs between member countries; reducing trade-distorting agricultural subsidies; and requiring members to strictly comply with the resolution to cancel export subsidies.
Furthermore, the statement called for concrete action to be taken to prohibit or limit the export of agricultural products in a transparent manner in order to create food security in many countries.
