ISSUE 4/2009

The private sector has an important role to play in the effective development and implementation of trade facilitation strategies beyond investment alone. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) in trade facilitation are valuable in identifying the needs of government and traders, improving transparency and information flows, and promoting viable and sustainable trade facilitation solutions. Current success stories prove that the focus needs to be on an integrated strategy that does not assume a "one-size-fits-all" approach.

On a cocoa farm in Ghana, two chief executives sit on a log talking about their respective business goals. One is the CEO of Cadbury, Todd Stitzer; the other is the UK Director of the Fairtrade Foundation, Harriet Lamb. They are reflecting on the stories of farmers like Benjamin Atiemo in Adjeikrom village, whose children have left the village to seek work in the capital, Accra. Mr Atiemo's children, like those of many other farmers, are turning their back on cocoa farming. Apart from being hot and tiring work, yields from ageing cocoa trees are declining and, although international trade prices have surged recently, prices to farmers have scarcely kept pace with rocketing local food and fuel prices.

In 2003, the Government of Cameroon adopted its Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), setting out its macroeconomic, structural and social policies and programmes. Under the PRSP, the Government decided to focus on sustainable development of certain agricultural sectors including coffee, cocoa and cotton with a view to supporting economic growth in rural areas.

Having followed ITC's process and methodology, Jamaica's public and private sectors are convinced that the key to successfully developing and implementing a National Export Strategy is finding the right partners.

In Barbados, collaboration between the public and private sectors successfully secured better tourism trade conditions than that afforded by the World Trade Organization's General Agreement on Trade in Services.

The UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen highlighted the divide between developed and developing nations in finding a global solution to climate change. The signing of the Copenhagen Accord between the US, China, India, South Africa and Brazil will see US$ 30 billion in aid funding going to developing nations over the next three years towards the costs of fighting climate change.

International Trade Forum - Issue 4/2009 The European Union (EU) has ended one of the world's longest-running trade battles as it agreed to cut import tariffs on bananas grown in Latin America. The settlement, which is expected to be ratified in early 2010, ends a 16-year trade dispute over access to the EU's

The world's largest food and beverage company, Nestlé, sources raw agricultural materials directly from nearly 160,000 producers and 600,000 farmers in more than 50 countries around the world. the company recognizes the importance of its direct relationships with agricultural suppliers and its corporate social responsibility strategy focuses on sustainable business practices in the areas of nutrition, water and rural development.

With enterprises ranging from drip-irrigation companies in India and Pakistan to a major manufacturer of malaria-preventing bed nets in Tanzania and women's hospitals and ambulance services in India, Acumen's US$ 40 million portfolio has created more than 22,000 jobs and had a positive impact on more than 30 million people in developing countries.

During 2009 the Trade Forum team has examined the financial crisis, Aid for Trade and the creative economy. It has been a year of unprecedented economic, social and environmental turmoil which has resulted in the poorest of the poor taking the brunt of the negative impact.With only five years to go, it will take the combined efforts of all economic actors in addressing the triple bottom line of people, planet and prosperity if we are to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The role of public-private partnerships (PPPs) will become even more necessary.PPPs are not a new thing, but what has changed in recent years is the kind of partnerships being done, the issues being tackled and the level of innovation which collaborative projects are bringing to the development agenda.

Never before have the objectives of the international community and the business world been so aligned. Through the UN Global Compact, common goals, such as building markets, combating corruption, safeguarding the environment and ensuring social inclusion, have resulted in unprecedented partnerships and openness among business, government, civil society, labour and the United Nations. Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, Georg Kell outlines the importance of the public and private sectors working together for a sustainable future.

The global financial crisis has transformed the outlook for infrastructure projects with private participation in developing countries. In the second half of 2009 developing economies are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, with the crisis easing and investment flows returning. But as was the case with the 1997 Asian financial crisis, it is clear that the downturn of 2008-2009 will leave a lasting impact on the outlook for private participation in infrastructure long after the crisis has receded.

Aid for Trade can provide a significant stimulus to economic growth in developing countries but decisions on where to apply it should include the views of the private sector - for indeed it is the private sector that trades and it understands the areas of greater constraint. Public-private partnerships and corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes, which provide linkages between small and medium-sized  enterprises (SMEs) and large corporations, can also contribute to economic growth and Aid for Trade can be a facilitator of this process.

The first time Andrew Rugasira drove the 800 kilometres (500 miles) from Uganda's capital, Kampala, to the Rwenzori Mountains, he went to convince farmers why they should sell their coffee beans to him. Despite being offered more money than anyone else had before, the farmers were reluctant to do business with Mr Rugasira. Until then, most of the visitors who came to the remote agricultural area were from non-governmental organizations driving big cars, but Mr Rugasira was a businessman in a pickup truck.

There's no alternative to sustainable development. Even so, many companies are convinced that the more environment-friendly they become, the more the effort will erode their competitiveness. They believe it will add to costs and will not deliver immediate financial benefits.

The Seventh Session of the WTO Ministerial Conference recently took place in Geneva. The general theme for discussion was "The WTO, the Multilateral Trading System and the Current Global Economic Environment". Although the Doha round was officially off the agenda of the three-day meeting, it was hoped that members would use the occasion to indicate how they see engagement in the Doha negotiations post-December.