The four day conference was held in Nairobi, Kenya ended on Saturday and finalised a raft of measures including a commitment to abolish export subsidies for agriculture exports for WTO countries.

The director general of the WTO, Roberto Azevêdo, described the deal as “most significant outcome on agriculture” in the history of the WTO.

According to the text of the agreement “a number of countries are currently using export subsidies to support agriculture exports. The legally-binding decision would eliminate these subsidies”.

It is understood that the deal is being seen as a good deal for the Irish dairy sector with a more level playing field to export to developing African markets.

Speaking after the deal was agreed, EU Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan said this will ensure fairness among all export nations. Hogan added that the deal is of particular good news for EU agriculture nations.

“This is a square deal for EU agriculture, for farmers in the developing world, in particular for the least developed countries. We have delivered on our objectives outlined ahead of the negotiations. In recent years, the EU has led the way in agreeing to renounce the use of export subsidies.

“Now, for the first time, there are binding disciplines on subsidies such as export credits, where our competitors are subsidising trade worth billions every year. These new binding controls will level the playing field for EU exporters. Also, our competitors will not be able to circumvent these rules through use of state trading enterprises - a key demand for the EU,” Commissioner Hogan said.