The USA, Japan and the European Union (EU) have long been providing both export and internal subsidies to certain sectors, resulting in further marginalisation of the LDCs, particularly the poor African countries.

Meeting sources said the officials, representing the African countries on the second day of the meeting, criticised the developed countries and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for not implementing the pledges made during the Doha ministerial meeting on withdrawal of subsidies on agriculture.

Bangladesh, as the coordinator of the LDCs, finalised the draft of the Dhaka Declaration which incorporates 11-point demands.

The demands include increasing global market share of the LDCs through duty free access of their products, implementation of special and differential treatment (S&D) etc.

A number of African countries raised objection on the issues like movement of natural persons and demand for moratorium on anti-dumping, sources said.

"These two are issues of Bangladesh from which the African countries would not be benefited," one of the African representatives said, arguing in favour of inclusion of the issue of agricultural subsidy in the Dhaka Declaration, meeting sources said.

But another source said two major African countries have opposed the idea as both of them are food-importing countries.

In the WTO's Doha ministerial Declaration, developed countries agreed to phase out their export subsidies and production support measures.

But nothing has so far been implemented in this respect.

The EU provides US$ 40 billion per year as subsidy to the agriculture, while the US gives 4 billion yearly to the cotton sector alone.

The agri-subsidies, provided by the developed nations in the name of ' Blue Box subsidy' and 'Green Box subsidy' are against the spirit of Uruguay Round and different ministerial declarations of the WTO, sources alleged.

According to WTO rules, the products, which have been subsidised, are barred from export. But the industrialised nations did not go by the rules.

As a result, agro- based industries of the poor countries have been hit hard. The agro-products originating from the LDCs could not compete with those of the developed countries.

The EU, US and Canada have high import tariffs for agricultural products.

On condition of inclusion of agricultural subsidy, the African countries are learnt to have agreed to free movement of natural persons.

Commerce Secretary Suhel Ahmad in a short briefing said

the officials of the LDCs have so far agreed on market access with increasing share in the global trade, implementation of S&D and free movement of natural persons.