The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has warned negotiators at world trade talks in Hong Kong that they must make progress or they will disappoint millions of people who yearn to lift themselves out of poverty.
Before the meeting, some of the key trade representatives made it clear they were reluctant to make further offers to get rid of trade restrictions.
The talks are intended to move world trade to a new level, boosting the international economy by cutting costs and opening up markets.
The essential disagreement is over the extent to which richer countries are prepared to reduce subsidies for their own farmers and remove import tariffs for overseas producers.
The World Trade Organization's Director-General, Pascal Lamy, called on the big players including Europe and the United States to negotiate seriously.
Ministers from the 149 WTO member countries started talks this morning.
Hong Kong has put some 9,000 police officers on duty to try to avoid a repeat of violence that marred previous trade meetings in Cancun and Seattle.
