We now put pressure in the next 6 7 months
What are the real problems the Sudanese peasant faces?
The mainstay of the Sudanese economy is agriculture. Our main foreign exchange earnings are derived from cotton. Due to different climatic and geographical conditions existing in Sudan, cotton is grown in rain-fed, irrigated and flooded lands all over the country. This is why we grow many different varieties of cotton.
At one time, export earnings from cotton amounted to more than US $350 million; about 30 of our export earnings came from a single crop. This was the case in the 1970s. Over the next 25 years, prices of cotton declined so much in the international markets that our export earnings from cotton are only 40 per cent of their original value. This decline triggered other declining effects. Farmers lost incentive. At the end of the season, they didn't even get enough to cover their costs of production.
That led to a decline in acreage. Farmers preferred to grow anything else and sell in the market. Productivity also declined. This year the export earning from cotton is down to US $80 million. And the quality of cotton is worse; the environment is worse!
What is your message?
The American cotton that is destroying our cotton is guaranteed a price. Can you imagine, the European Union is subsidising cotton in Spain and Greece. They are twisting the principle of comparative advantage.
What would you say to Zoellick on the cotton issue?
The US is not in the mood to do anything at the moment. Critical elections are approaching. Their main focus is not in the WTO negotiations at all. Their chief concerns are with the war in Iraq, the Middle-East, peace road and loss of manufacturing jobs in the US. This has never happened in the US. The US economy is recovering slowly; but it is shedding more workers as it progresses. This is the paradox in their economy. It is impossible for the US president to take up more controversial domestic problems. And they said it squarely yesterday, they don't have a political mandate for the WTO.
What will be the real gains that will come out of these negotiations?
The real gains will be that we now put pressure in the next 6-7 months, after the elections. These things cannot be solved in a hurry. Imperial forces have been broken over half a century.
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