No concessions on farm subsidy at trade talks: Nath

SINGAPORE, Sep 17: India is willing to negotiate access for industrial goods but will not offer any concessions on agriculture as world leaders seek to revive trade talks, the Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said on Sunday.

''There is no question of India making concessions at all where agriculture is concerned because our issue is subsistence,'' Mr Nath told reporters.

''As I have said before, we are willing to negotiate commerce but not subsistence.'' World trade talks broke down in July after developed and developing countries failed to agree on agricultural subsidies.

Sixty percent of India's one-billion-plus population depends on agriculture for a living, and the sector makes up 23 percent of economic output.

Nath said a recent meeting of the Group of Twenty nations yielded no agreements on when the trade talks will resume.

''The onus lies on the developed countries. They need to comprehend even more that this is a developing round and they must be able to ensure that the content of this is development.

''The completion of this round is very important but the content is equally important.''

REUTERS