Tokyo: The three-day mini-ministerial meeting of World Trade Organisation (WTO) ended on February 16 without consensus on agriculture exporting giants' demand for increased access to markets with India backing Japan and European Union (EU) against such a move.

Delegates from 22 nations, including Commerce and Industry Minister Arun Jaitley and Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh clashed over a proposal from a WTO panel to reduce tariffs by an average 60 per cent in five years, slash agriculture subsidies and raise import quotas.

There was also no consensus on allowing poor countries access to cheap drugs.

Summing up India's concerns, Jaitley demanded greater flexibility in WTO negotiations on agriculture, particularly on tariffs to protect the interests of Indian farmers.

He told reporters at the end of the deliberations that participation at the meeting had been very vital for India, as several market access issues were taken up.

"The foremost which concerns us immediately is agriculture. Whereas we are somewhat satisfied that issues of reduction of domestic support and export subsidies in the developed countries are part of the WTO agenda, we are still deeply concerned about market access in developing countries, particularly in India, where a large part of the population is dependent on agriculture.

"The rural population could be adversely hit if the market access is given. We therefore want a greater flexibility as far as agriculture tariffs are concerned," he said.

Hosts Japan came under attack from US, whose trade representative Robert Zoellich accused Tokyo of protecting its rice farmers with high import tariffs.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, who chaired the meeting, defended his country saying it had no plan to give way to the US and other food exporters over agriculture trade reform.

The controversial draft of Stuart Harbinson, WTO panel chief, features minimum 25 to 45 per cent and average 40 to 60 per cent cuts in all farm tariffs in five years and increase in import quotas to 10 per cent of consumption and a 60 per cent deduction in trade-distorting domestic subsidies and a phase out of all subsidies within nine years.

Both sides were dissatisfied with the draft, with exporters saying the proposed targets are "insufficient" and importers calling them "too drastic" in further liberalising the world farm markets.

Another area of conflict was in the field of greater access to life saving drugs for poor countries without unfairly infringing the patent rights of pharmaceutical firms.

Addressing the concluding session, Jaitley said, "It is extremely important for countries which do not have manufacturing facility as far as pharmaceuticals are concerned. We have represented the viewpoint of those countries effectively at this meeting."

Delegates agreed to treat Harbinson's document as a starting point for continued discussions in Geneva starting on February 17.

The Tokyo deliberations come ahead of the full ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico in September, which will be a mid term review of the overall round of discussions that started in Doha in November 2001.

PTI