159 September 2008 - No. English version CLOSE-UP: AVOCADO Doha non-agreement & the banana dispute European apple & pear harvest forecasts /passionfruit.cirad.fr :/ Content published by the Market News Service of CIRAD − All rights reserved http > Leader européen en avocats sélectionnés avec soin aux quatre coins du monde : Israël, Mexique, Kenya, Chili, Pérou, République Dominicaine et Afrique du Sud. > En France, Dole commercialise plus de trois millions de cartons importés chaque année. > Un engagement de tous les instants pour offrir le meilleur des fruits et la plus grande diversité : Fuerte, Hass, Ettinger ou Ryan… Dole vous offre son savoir-faire marketing et une large segmentation pour promouvoir l'avocat. ISO 9001 : 2000 Content published by the Market News Service of CIRAD − All rights reserved Dole France Cour d’Alsace - Bât. C6A - 94619 Rungis Cedex - Tél. : 01 56 34 26 26 - Fax : 01 56 34 26 99 www.dole.fr Conception TPC Tél. : 01 41 31 58 90 French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development Performance of Tropical Production and Processing Systems “The term democracy contrasts historically Department with monarchical and oligarchical systems in which the power rests with Publisher and is transmitted by a small elite group”. This is the definition of democ- Cirad racy proposed in Wikipedia, the web-based encyclopedia. This simple, TA B-26/PS4 straightforward and semantically clearcut sentence seems to be hard to 34398 Montpellier cedex 5 France interpret in the language of international trade in Switzerland—at least Tel: 33 (0) 4 67 61 71 41 with that of WTO members when they are in Geneva. By member, I Fax: 33 (0) 4 67 61 59 28 should specify that I am referring to the ‘most influential members’ of this Email: [email protected] http://passionfruit.cirad.fr prestigious group. Publishing director Hubert de Bon The Doha Round of negotiations last July, involving ministers of the 153 WTO member countries, provided further evidence of the democratic Chief Editors Denis Loeillet and Eric Imbert shortcomings that prevail even within international institutions. Most of these negotiations were actually held in small working groups formed with Editor Catherine Sanchez a scant number of ministers from a few G7 countries. We should never- theless be heartened by the fact that some emerging countries that were Computer graphics Martine Duportal recently still in the developing stage—such as Brazil and India—will here- after be integrated in this ‘happy few’ group. But efficiency takes prece- Iconography Régis Domergue dence over everything else, of course. However, the other sovereign States and full members of the United Nations may still not be really Website Unité multimédia (Cirad) pleased about this jumpseat. If only for this reason, the parties waiting in Advertising Manager the wings must have been delighted that these discussions failed. Eric Imbert Denis Loeillet Subscriptions Sylviane Morand Translator Simon Barnard Printed by Imp’Act Imprimerie 34980 St Gély du Fesc, France Separate French and English editions ontents ISSN C French: 1256-544X The latest on... English: 1256-5458 p. 2 Doha non-agreement and the banana dispute CPPAP Deus ex machina? French: 0711 E 88281 English: 0711 R 88282 Denis Loeillet © Copyright Cirad p. 4 European apple and pear production Prospects for 2008: open market for pear but keep an eye on Subscription rate apples EUR 190 euros 11 issues per year Cécilia Ceylerette Close-up by Eric Imbert p. 7 AVOCADO EURO - 23 September 2008 The European avocado market: a 2007-08 balance marked by Currency 1 euro = a strong deficit from northern hemisphere production sources US dollar 1.4731 Avocado production in Chile: continued dynamism Japanese yen 155.42 Statistics panorama: world, EU, USA, Japan Swiss franc 1.5926 Producer country sheets: Israel, Peru, Spain Pound sterling 0.79505 Cultivation of avocado Swedish krona 9.5924 Avocado varieties Danish krone 7.4599 Avocado pests and diseases Norwegian krone 8.215 Avocado post-harvest Canadian dollar 1.5233 Australian dollar 1.7511 European Market - June 2008 New Zealand dollar 2.1393 p. 48 Indicators Litchi Brazilian Real 2.67 Avocado Mango Czech koruna 24.143 Banana Pineapple Polish zloty 3.3116 Orange Sea freight Chinese yuan renminbi 10.037 Grapefruit Estonian kroon 15.6466 Slovak koruna 30.285 Eric Imbert, Pierre Gerbaud, Thierry Paqui, Richard Bright Turkish lira 1.8295 Wholesale market prices in Europe South African rand 11.8953 South Korean won 1 692.0 p. 59 June 2008 Source: Central European Bank Cover photograph courtesy of Régis Domergue Content published by the Market News Service of CIRAD − All rights reserved No. 159 September 2008 1 THE LATEST ON... Doha non-agreement and the banana dispute Deus ex machina? he WTO discussions that which had been presented Geneva in July had let to me- Tstarted in Geneva on 21 quite rightly as the subject of diation by Pascal Lamy and July broke down on 29 July. the most delicate negotiation. the proposing of EUR150 per The tenacity—sometimes tonne on 1 January 2009 and bordering on stubbornness— EUR116 in 2016. In July, the of Pascal Lamy, Director of Latin American countries in the WTO, did not vanquish the the Tropical Products Group misgivings in very many coun- Doubts with regard to made a counter-proposal: tries with regard to opening the partial agreement EUR141 in 2009 and EUR109 their economies a little on banana in 2014. The ACP countries The impossible more. For this fear was then replied by setting the agreement on the the reason for the mul- The question of the scheduled starting point at EUR150 in tilateral agreement lowering of customs dues on 2009 and a decrease to Doha Round running aground. European banana imports EUR116 in 2019. Finally, the negotiations of July Technicians explain from third countries (excluding bargaining finished with a 1998 blocks the that it is a blockage on ACP countries) would thus compromise between the scheduled lowering a secondary theme, seem to be a file that closed Latin American countries and that of SSM (special provisionally. The satisfaction the EU on the basis of of the customs safeguard mecha- shown by the ACP countries EUR148 in 2009 following a tariffs applied to nisms) that allow de- and EU producers is meas- decrease ending at EUR114 dollar bananas velopment countries to ured however as the defence in 2016. imported to the EU. raise customs tariffs of the customs tariff of temporarily to handle EUR176 per tonne is still topi- The few ACP countries most This suits ACP and an increase in imports cal for them. Indeed, real pro- concerned by this agreement community or a fall in prices. The gress was made on the sub- fear that this compromise may producers. But the official line is reassur- ject during the nine days of serve as a basis for all future Geneva talks led to ing and minimises the discussions at the WTO and discussion of the banana difficulties that remain during pre-Geneva negotia- question, quite apart from the a compromise before the Doha tions. Thus, on 30 July, as future of the Doha Agreement. between Europeans Round is finally com- soon as the ministerial meet- The Latin American countries and Latin pleted. This grain of ing was over, the Latin Ameri- have played very well. They Americans. It sand in the machinery can countries profited from the divided carefully in order to can also be seen as a WTO Trade Negotiations rule better, drastically reduc- remains to be way for a majority of Committee to deplore the ing the number of ACP states known whether the members to slow or overall breakdown but above that feel concerned by the EU will wish to set even halt the process. all to congratulate themselves up a partial Negotiators showed on the agreement with the EU their relief when India to settle 16 years of disagree- agreement in order and the United States ment on banana. However, to get rid of the finally came head to the European Commission whole business or head and took the dampened the enthusiasm of © Régis Domergue wait for a blame for a failure that dollar producers by stating everybody hoped for that the banana dispute is an hypothetical but that nobody wished integral part of the Doha resumption of to endorse. Wrongly or Agreement and cannot be multilateral rightly, the globalisa- removed and signed sepa- negotiations. tion of economies rately. The risk for the EU is to seems to be the sacri- have to further lower the cus- ficial victim for the diffi- toms tariff on the occasion of culties of small peoples to a possible completion of the develop at best or even, for Doha Round or the bloc by some, to succeed in feeding bloc (CACM, Andean Commu- themselves. Phew! The EU nity or Mercosur) conclusion will not take the blame and of bilateral agreements. neither will France, very upset with the European Commis- However, the dossier did not sioner Peter Mandelson and lead to forecasting a possible with Pascal Lamy. And blame compromise. The preparatory will not be laid on bananas discussions for the meeting in Content published by the Market News Service of CIRAD − All rights reserved 2 September 2008 No. 159 THE LATEST ON... of the ACP states and their growers at a high- level meeting with Michel Barnier, the French minister of agriculture, in Paris on 30 April 2008. They joined a few ACP states in Yaoundé (Cameroon) at the end of August to state once again their solidarity as regards the defence of the customs tariff. They also encouraged the Commission not to give up and to appeal against the conclusions of the panels formed at the re- quest of Ecuador and the United States.