Lord Judd askedHer Majesty's Government:
What steps they have taken to ascertain the level of ministerial representation at the forthcoming United Nations World Food Summit in Rome and whether they will publish details of the representation, country by country in the Official Report.
§ Baroness Chalker of WallaseyThe summit organising agency, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, has declined on security grounds to publish any advance information on representation at the summit. Informal exchanges with other countries have produced no confirmed details either. If the FAO produces an official list of summit participants, we will arrange for copies of it to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
§ Lord Juddasked Her Majesty's Government:
What specific action they will be advocating at the forthcoming United Nations World Food Summit to deal with the imbalance whereby developing countries are expected to liberalise their economies, opening them up to food imports, while direct subsidies are paid to food producers in OECD and EU countries to support them in gaining market share.
§ Baroness Chalker of WallaseyAt the World Food Summit the United Kingdom will press for the full implementation of the Uruguay Round Agreements. Under these Agreements, developed countries are required to lower their import protection, contain domestic support for agriculture and cut the use of export subsidies, while less stringent rules apply to developing countries. We will also advocate continued measures to help agriculture in developing countries. In the longer term, the Government will press for further significant agricultural trade reform, including bigger cuts in export subsidies.