The Fairtrade Foundation is in the middle of Fairtrade Fortnight (24 February – 9 March) as well as its major new Make Bananas Fair campaign, whilst Fairtrade sales continue to grow – 14 per cent during 2013 – demonstrating continuing public and business support for Fairtrade goods.
Michael Gidney, Chief Executive of the Fairtrade Foundation says: “It’s 20 years since the very first Fairtrade products Green & Black’s Maya Gold, Cafedirect Coffee and Clipper Tea, appeared in the UK, and the appetite for Fairtrade is still growing, despite challenging economic conditions. The UK is truly a world leader for Fairtrade and we’re proud of that.
But…a long way to go
“But there is still a very long way to go in securing the levels of market access that would drive the breadth and depth of impact for farmers and workers we all want to see, so work in 2014 will continue to focus on innovating the way we work and campaigning to make even more trade fair.’
£1.78 billion sales
Estimated retail sales of Fairtrade products in 2013 reached £1.78 billion, a 14 per cent increase on sales of £1.53 billion in 2012. Sales of Fairtrade sugar continued to rise with a 25 per cent growth in volume, led partly by sales of the Tate & Lyle Fairtrade sugar brand and retailers’ own label Fairtrade sugar. But the rise in Fairtrade sugar sales was fuelled further still by the inclusion of Fairtrade sugar in products such as chocolate bars, ice cream and other products. Chocolate, cocoa and bananas grew by 52 per cent, 5 per cent and 4 per cent in sales value respectively whereas coffee and tea sales have continued to hold steady.
In 2013, purchases of Fairtrade products in the UK were equivalent to:
• 2.29 billion cups of Fairtrade coffee
• 3.27 billion cups of Fairtrade tea
• 1.42 billion bananas
Wine sales up 15% for second year
Other notable growth areas are fresh vegetables at 316 per cent up over 2013. This is due to increased conversions of product ranges such as Kenyan green beans to Fairtrade, providing greater in-store visibility and purchase. Wine has also grown by 15 per cent for the second consecutive year thanks to the introduction of superior quality ranges.
Bananas
In the past 10 years, the price of bananas in the UK has halved, while the cost of production to the farmers has almost doubled. Supermarkets in the UK now buy and sell bananas so cheaply that many of the farmers and workers who grow them are being trapped in poverty. Many banana farmers and workers still can’t afford to put enough food on the table for their families or provide the basics such as education or healthcare. Thousands of Fairtrade supporters around the country are gearing up to expose these supermarket price wars, including a petition asking the government to urgently step in and investigate the impact of retailer pricing practices.
Key facts about Fairtrade
1. Britain leads the world on Fairtrade, with over 4,500 certified products from over 340 companies and over 10,000 local Fairtrade campaigns in towns, schools, colleges, workplaces and faith groups.
2. UK Fairtrade sales generated more than £23 million of Fairtrade Premium for Fairtrade farmers and workers to invest in their communities and businesses as they see fit.
3. Nine out of 10 people in the UK recognise the FAIRTRADE Mark and consumer trust tops 85 per cent
4. The Fairtrade global system works with 1.3 million farmers and workers worldwide from 1,149 Fairtrade producer organisations in 70 countries
The Fairtrade Foundation is the UK member of Fairtrade International, which has introduced a series of innovations in the past year. These include a new Standard for Hired Labour to strengthen the position of workers in Fairtrade certified plantations and estates producing tea, bananas and other fruit, cut flowers, herbs and, vegetables. The new standard will help to safeguard workers’ rights to freedom of association and speed up progress towards living wages for workers.
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