The collapse of global trade talks was bad news for Africa, condemning the continent to an uncertain future of high tariffs and lagging competitiveness, officials and experts said on Monday.

World Trade Organisation chief Pascal Lamy announced the end of the Doha round of talks on Monday after nearly five years of wrangling failed to produce a deal.

"This will be negative for everybody, but in different degrees. Everyone will lose out. There are those who will lose out more, including Africa," said Francois Charlot, a technical adviser at Mali's agriculture ministry.

The talks, launched in 2001, had been aimed at easing poverty and boosting the global economy - important goals for African countries whose agricultural exports remain sidelined by high farm subsidies in the developed world.

"Agriculture has been at the centre of the negotiations and that was the key to any possible progress," South Africa's chief trade negotiator, Xavier Carim, said.

"For Africa, many of the issues that we hoped to have resolved in this round (will) simply be suspended, perhaps for years." he said.

Erastus Mwencha, general secretary of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, a 20-member trade bloc, said: "We should now look to Asian markets and China since the big boys (Western countries) are not ready."

But some said Africa was better off without an agreement than with one that did not address its needs.

"It is better not to sign a bad agreement because it will wipe us all out, but (to) continue negotiating," said Jasper Okello, a trade lecturer at Nairobi University.