International trade officials pressured the United States and European Union today to strike a deal on agricultural issues that have blocked progress in world trade talks launched in late 2001.
World Trade Organization Director General Mr Supachai Panitchpakdi said it was time for compromises.
"I have not seen real negotiations take place," Mr Supachai told reporters at a meeting of more than two dozen trade ministers from around the world. "I hope the ministers present (in Montreal) could start igniting the negotiating process."
A senior Australian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters the success of the trade talks depended on whether the EU offered deeper agricultural tariff cuts. "We need to know whether or not the EU is serious about this round," he said.
The three-day meeting drew anti-globalization protesters. Montreal police arrested more than 100 on Monday after a crowd of about 500 hurled projectiles and broke windows of commercial icons such as Burger King and Gap.
An object cracked the rear window of a car carrying the Argentine economy minister, but no one was hurt.
Riot police dispersed the crowd and cordoned off several streets around the downtown hotel hosting the meeting.
The WTO negotiations, launched 20 months ago in Doha, Qatar, also cover services, manufactured goods and other topics, but "agriculture is the key," Mr Supachai said.
With just six weeks until a mid-session review of the WTO negotiations in Cancun, Mexico, the EU and United States are far apart in three main areas of farm trade - domestic supports, export subsidies and market access.