Enough ground has been given by the key players in the World Trade Organisation's negotiations that its 152 member governments are ready to again attempt finalising a deal to slash agricultural tariffs and subsidies.

New Zealand Ambassador to the WTO, Crawford Falconer, who chairs the agricultural talks, says "some progress" has been made in recent private talks on agriculture.

But negotiators are still scrambling to agree on the nuts and bolts of reform plans for agricultural and industrial products before the end of July.

Even so, Mr Falconer told negotiators last week that he has made enough advances to soon circulate a new draft accord that trade and agriculture ministers can use as the basis for crucial talks due to start in Geneva around July 21.

The new modalities draft will spell out how far and fast countries can liberalise agricultural trade by cutting import tariffs and trimming farm subsidies.

The proposal currently on the table was released in May.

It ends export subsidies by 2013, trims the ceiling on trade-distorting farm subsidies 50-85pc and cuts import tariffs between 50pc and 73pc.

What some call "flexibilities" - and others call loopholes - to these rules are laid out in Falconer's May 19 modalities text.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva last week, Mr Falconer said he does not expect to make major changes from the May 19 text when he releases the new draft, which was due to be published over the weekend.

"There'll be some structural changes and some other changes, but I don't think there's anything that's a quantum leap," he said.

Mr Falconer has confessed though that there is no understanding yet on cotton subsidies - in the May 19 draft, these subsidies are slashed more quickly and deeply than for other commodities.

But Mr Falconer said he has also advanced talks on "special products" and the Special Safeguard Mechanism - two loopholes available to developing countries that allow them to shelter their domestic markets from some imports.

But these issues are still far from settled.

* The full texts of the latest WTO agriculture text is available at the WTO website.