World Trade Organization (WTO) received another proposal from the so-called Cotton Four, Burkina Faso, Benin, Chad and Mali, that the cut down on cotton subsidies should be atleast three times more than that on other goods.
Cotton is the major source of income for countries in West and Central Africa, which estimate that they lose at least US $1 billion (?40 million) every year because of heavy subsidies paid by the US, the EU and China, to their local cotton sector.
These countries have not yet reacted to this proposal.
The matter will be contemplated at length cotton panel conference scheduled on February 28, 2006.
