By SAO PAULO, Brazil - Rich and poor nations will try to narrow their differences over farm trade and put global trade talks back on track when they meet in Brazil on Sunday.
Farm trade reform lies at the heart of the informal talks between ministers aimed at reaching basic deals in World Trade Organization negotiations before a window of opportunity closes in July.
The key players are the United States, the European Union, and the G20 group of developing nations led by Brazil, India and South Africa, which represents more than 70 percent of the world's farmers and 60 percent of its population.
"We would like to move forward, if they let us," Indian Minister of Trade and Industry Kamal Nath said on Saturday night, ahead of negotiations with U.S. trade chief Robert Zoellick, EU's Pascal Lamy, Australia's Mark Vaile and Brazil's Celso Amorim.
WTO's Doha round of free trade talks, launched in 2001, collapsed last year due to deep differences over farm import tariffs and subsidies.
Surrounded by metal barriers and hundreds of police and soldiers, the ministers meet on the sidelines of a gathering of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development running till Friday.
The four-yearly UNCTAD conference has brought together representatives of 180 nations to build exports between poor nations and fairer trade with wealthy states.
Leading agricultural exporter Brazil, and India with its high tariffs to protect small farmers, have kept a unified G20 front despite pressure by rich nations to cut barriers to EU and U.S. exports of farm products and manufactured goods.
More than 80 percent of all world exports are produced by only 10 nations, UNCTAD says. Six of the world's 10 poorest nations are worse off today than they were 20 years ago, according to Oxfam International.
Subsidies allow EU and U.S. farmers to sell goods in world markets for less than they cost to produce and make it difficult for poor nations' products to compete.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan reminded UNCTAD delegates on Saturday they were still demanding the same access to rich nation farm markets as they were when UNCTAD was formed in 1964.
"The sad truth is that the world today is a much more unequal place than it was 40 years ago," Annan said.
Momentum in the Doha round of talks could be lost if a deal is not reached before the end of July, when the United States starts to focus on its presidential election and the EU prepares for executive changes. It could be months or even years before they could be resumed.
Brazil's Amorim said last week the elimination of the rich nations' export subsidies and a substantial reduction of domestic subsidies were his priorities in the talks.:
