By Nasratu Kargbo
The Minister of Trade and Industry Dr. Edward Hinga Sandy has called on countries that export food to refrain from imposing export prohibitions or restrictions on basic food products.
Sandy made this call during a ministerial conference in Geneva, Switzerland on the 13th of June 2022; he said that such measure has the tendency to harm populations in the least Developed Countries (LDC) and delay the needed economic recovery.
He explained that the increase in prices of products and food insecurity are greatly affecting the living standards of citizens. The Minister, therefore, called for a collective fight against global food insecurity.
The Minister said "My delegation recognizes the decision on trade and food security as the first step towards addressing the food security crisis, particularly for LDCs and NFIDCs"
He blamed the drastic increase in prices of food and food insecurity on the global pandemic, climate change, and geopolitical challenges across the globe.
Dr. Sandy suggested that to ensure concrete deliverables on the issue of food insecurity, the global trading system needs to go beyond the implementation of the Marrakesh decision and streamline the work on improving its operational effectiveness.
He expressed the country’s willingness to support the proposal for an international compensatory financing mechanism or a work programme on the impact of the price surge and volatility as contained in the document proposed by Egypt on behalf of the Arab, African, and LDC Groups.
The Minister also in a statement on 12th June at the same meeting urged the World Trade Organization (WTO) to improve on its delivery outcome to address the causes of food insecurity and the lack of production capacities in developing countries.
Dr. Sandy stated that the crisis of the coronavirus pandemic had hindered the effectiveness and efficiency of the policy tools available to developing and least-developed countries as opposed to those at the disposal of developed countries, saying this should allow response and recovery and maintain resilience despite the global crisis.
He said safeguarding the multilateral trading system and strengthening its capacity to make it “fit for purpose” should be their concern.
Dr. Sandy pointed out that the current health and economic crises have affected especially the developing world.
"We should instead learn to have a fundamental rethink of global productive structures and the architecture of international trade, including international trade rules," he said.
The minister was of the view that economic, health, and climate crises have offered an opportunity to “resolve multilateralism and mutually resolve the antagonisms” that have disturbed the international trading system over the years.
In the area of Fisheries, Dr. Sandy said Sierra Leone as a coastal country is vulnerable to overfishing due to the subsidies afforded to foreign vessels.
“We support calls to discipline harmful fisheries subsidies,” the minister noted, maintaining that developing countries should be afforded the policy space to utilize their fishery resources for the benefit of their people and to meet the target goals of the SDGs.
On the aspect of E-Commerce, he said Sierra Leone aligns itself with the African Group that calls for the reinvigoration of the Work Programme and periodic reviews.
The WTO Ministerial Conference, which is attended by trade ministers and other senior officials from the organization’s 164 members, is the highest decision-making body of the WTO. The session which started on the 12th of June 2022 is scheduled to end today.
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