CANCUN, Mexico (AP)- After three days of difficult talks, the World Trade Organization's members have made progress on the thorny issue of opening the world's markets to farm products, the organization spokesman said.

In a news conference late Friday Keith Rockwell said WTO negotiators were inching toward consensus as they prepared a new proposal aimed at narrowing the differences between rich and poor nations.

"There was movement, in some cases significant movement," he said.

An alliance of more than 20 developing countries representing most of the world's population have banded together, pushing rich nations like the United States and Europe to make deeper cuts in their farm subsidy programs.

The so-called Group of 21 has showed few signs of backing down, and some have worried the talks could stall.

Yet Rockwell said negotiators had made progress in closed door meeting, including on the sensitive topic of agriculture. He didn't provide details. 

Other topics weren't as easy. Delegates appeared to be deadlocked over whether to add four new issues into the current round of treaty talks, with Canadian Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew describing all sides as "polarized." "It is difficult to find a way forward," Rockwell quoted Pettigrew as saying.

The topics include the contentious area of setting international rules on investment by multinational companies. The others are competition policy, improving transparency in government contracts and simplifying procedures surrounding cross-border transportation.

Negotiators were working on a new proposal that they were expected to distribute to delegates Saturday afternoon. That text would then be a basis for future talks. Publicly, there appeared to be little common ground Friday.

Indian Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley argued that price supports to farmers in rich nations were "literally pushing (poor farmers) into destitution." He urged members of the so-called Group of 21 to hold together, and criticized what he described as the current negotiating atmosphere: "It's more a commercial argument of what do you give me, and what do I give you in return."

U.S. officials have said they want poor nations to agree to open their markets in return for subsidy cuts. But Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Peter Allgeier denied Friday that the United States was pressuring poor nations.

"All I did this morning was to urge all countries, including the countries within the G-21, to come foward and negotiate in the same spirit that I am describing now, one of give and take," he said.

African countries have complained about rich nation's cotton subsidies, particularly those in the United States. In response, the European Union said Friday it would propose to its member states this month that they end production subsidies on cotton.

WTO members agreed at a meeting two years ago in Doha, Qatar, to come up with a global trade treaty by the end of next year. However, negotiators have missed several important deadlines, and failure to make progress in Cancun could jeopardize that goal.