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Studies suggest that the impact of EU cotton-sector support is quite disproportionate in terms of its impact on west African cotton producers because of the fragmented nature of international markets in cotton and the close market relationship between west African and EU production. According to the FAO Trade Policy Technical Notes on cotton, findings from ODI modelling suggested that 'the impact of the removal of EU support to the cotton sector has a proportionately greater impact under the fragmented market assumptions. Of the total loss of earnings attributable to protection in WCA [west and central Africa], EU subsidies account for 38% under the fragmented market assumption, but only 9% under the unitary market assumption. EU subsidies reduce earnings of WCA cotton producers by 4% under the fragmented market assumption, instead of 2% when assuming a unitary market'.
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