BRASILIA, Oct 22: A global trade deal could be sealed by the end of this year if rich countries drop objections in the area of agriculture, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Monday.

“There truly exists a political interest in arriving at an agreement” in the Doha Round of trade talks, he said on his weekly radio programme “Breakfast with the President”.

“I believe that -- who knows? -- we could seal this deal by the end of the year.” Lula stressed that difficulties continued to cloud the negotiations, held under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation, and called for industrialised nations to make bigger concessions.“The rich countries have to make concessions in the area of agriculture” for the negotiations to be concluded, he said.

The talks have been dragging on with little sign of progress.Industrialised countries have been resisting opening their markets further to farm products from developing states, while pushing for greater access for their own products and services.Brazil is leading the demands of the G20 group of developing countries against the opposition thrown up by the United States and Europe, which are accused of maintaining high farm subsidies.

“We, the developing countries, we can’t turn our back on growth of our industry, and gain nothing in agriculture,” Lula said.The G20 wants the Doha Round “to end with an agreement in which poor countries emerge as winners.” Lula discussed the G20’s position with the leaders of two other key developing states -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and South African President Thabo Mbeki -- during a trip to South Africa last week.The three warned that they would not settle for what they saw as “disproportionate” demands from the developed world at the expense of their own economies. —AFP