John Battle MP Welcomes Government Boost For Fairtrade

John Battle, Labour MP for Leeds West, welcomed the Government’s announcement at the start of Fairtrade Fortnight that the Department For International Development will give £750,000 to the Fairtrade Foundation over the next three years to help bring more Fairtrade products onto the market. This is an increase of 150 per cent on DFID’s previous contribution of £300,000, and brings DFID’s total support to the Fairtrade Foundation to over one million pounds over six years.

Mr Battle said, “The Labour Government has been a major supporter of the Fairtrade Foundation over many years. Today, our support has helped sales of Fairtrade achieve phenomenal growth year on year, reaching a value of £140 million in the UK. By buying Fairtrade certified products such as coffee, tea, fruit and chocolate shoppers in Britain are helping farmers and other producers to earn a decent living and obtain good healthcare and education. It’s making a real contribution towards helping poor people to help themselves out of poverty.”

In recent years there has been greater public awareness of Fairtrade and consumer demand has opened the door to mainstream commercial interest. However, Fairtrade is now at a crossroads - great opportunities lie ahead but the Fairtrade Foundation needs external funding to realise these. With DFID’s help, the Foundation would like to:

• Extend the benefits of Fairtrade to more producers in the South;

• Build the reputation of the FAIRTRADE Mark as a guarantee of the highest standards;

• Respond more efficiently to the number of companies wanting to use the FAIRTRADE Mark, and expand further the range and distribution of Fairtrade products; and

• Look at ways to achieve financial self-sufficiency, by around 2007.

• Fairtrade tea and coffee are served in Parliament and by Leeds City Council.

Further Information

1. Between April 2002 and March 2005 DFID gave £300,000 to the Fairtrade Foundation to help develop its product range. The £750,000 announced today is for the next three years - from January 2005 to December 2007. DFID also gives £164,000 to the Fairtrade Foundation through its Development Awareness programme to raise awareness in the UK of Fairtrade.

2. With DFID’s support:

• Products now come to market faster and more cost effectively -
Before 2002, new products were introduced at the rate of one product every 18-24 months. In the 12 months to May 2004, 27 new product standards were approved.

• The number of Fairtrade labelled products has grown dramatically -

• In 2002, there were 100 Fairtrade labelled products. There are now over 800 products.

• Sales figures are growing -
In 2002 the sales figures for Fairtrade labelled products in the UK was just over £60 million. Today the Fairtrade Foundation will announce 2004’s estimated retail sales figures to be in excess of £140 million, a 51% increase on 2003.

• More producer groups join the Fairtrade register -
In 2002 there were 360 producer groups registered. There are now over 433 producer groups spreading benefits of trading under Fairtrade terms to 5 million people – farmers, workers and their families.

3. Fairtrade Fortnight runs from 1-13 March

Fairtrade Facts

• There are now over 700 Fairtrade retail and catering products available in the UK, up from 150 in 2003. (The exact figure will be released on 28th February). These include everything from Kenyan roses to coffee flavoured beer made with Rwandan coffee beans.

• We drink over 3 million Fairtrade hot drinks and eat almost half a million Fairtrade bananas every day.

• When Ehrmanns wine obtained the FAIRTRADE Mark for its Los Robles wine in September 2004, sales doubled at Sainsbury’s. “It was amazing. Business just rocketed!”, said Joy Rushton of Ehrmanns wine.

• Sales of Fairtrade products at the Co-op grew by 60% to £25m in 2004.

• The Co-operative Bank is one of the largest consumers of Fairtrade vending products in the UK and is able to provide coffee, tea and hot chocolate to employees at lower than high street prices. Since 2002,
consumption of hot beverages has increased by 28%.

• Since Fairtrade roses were launched last year Fairtrade premiums have been spent on soccer balls and boots, and music equipment for three community centres. Roofs for classrooms, a water tank for the local
boarding school, and equipment for adult education in carpentry, mechanics and engineering will be organised next.

• Passengers traveling Upper Class on Virgin Atlantic will be treated to a cup of Fairtrade coffee from First Choice Coffee. Virgin Atlantic cites taste, reliability and ethics as factors in the decision to switch to Fairtrade.

• In September 2004, Marks & Spencer switched all the coffee sold in its 198 in-store Café Revives to Fairtrade. In November 2004, in response to customer demand, AMT Coffee switched to Fairtrade coffee at all its 48 coffee kiosks throughout the UK. And when Oi Bagel switched all its coffee to Fairtrade in its eight London outlets in January 2005, sales at its Canary Wharf branch tripled.

• Harry Hill will be popping in to Milton Keynes shopping centre to highlight Fairtrade before performing at Milton Keynes Theatre in his sellout show in the evening.

• Oz Clarke will be visiting the Abahuzamugambi Cooperative in Rwanda, where Union Coffee Roasters’ gourmet Rwanda Maraba Bourbon coffee is grown. You can see what he discovers on the BBC1TV’s Heaven & Earth programme on 13th March.

New Products

• The Co-op is launching a host of new own-label Fairtrade products during Fairtrade Fortnight: Organic Tea Bags, Bumble Bee Honey Ale, Premium Rum, Dark Chocolate Bar, Orange Filled Chocolate Bar, Caramel Filled Chocolate Bar.

• Asda is launching nine own-label Fairtrade products for Fairtrade Fortnight: Tea bags, Ethiopian Roast and Ground Coffee, Ethiopian Decaffeinated Coffee, Colombian Freeze Dried Coffee, as well as Fairtrade honey, pineapples, mangoes, grapes, and Bananas.

• The world’s first Fairtrade coconuts are now available at Sainsbury’s. The coconuts are from St Vincent and Dominica in the Windward Islands and were launched in January 2005. They are currently selling at 6,000-8,000 a week.

• Sainsbury’s is also launching a Fairtrade rose bouquet called ‘Fairtrade Tricolor Rose’ available in-store in time for Fairtrade Fortnight. This is 18 roses for £5.99.

• There are seven new South African wines from Friarwood Limited, available from independent stores throughout the UK, bringing the total number of Fairtrade wine varieties available to 21. All major supermarkets stock Fairtrade wine.

• Traidcraft is introducing decaffeinated tea bags, the FairBreak chocolate-coated wafer biscuit and the GeoActive bar to its line of Fairtrade products. Available direct from Traidcraft at www.traidcraftshop.co.uk, selected health and wholefood shops, and one world shops.

• Gerber, the UK’s biggest fruit juice company, is launching the fourth juice in its Fruit Passion Fairtrade juice range, Fruit Passion Apple, made from South African apples. It is available from the SUMA catalogue during Fairtrade Fortnight and from Waitrose thereafter.

• The Day Chocolate Company is introducing the Fairtrade Dubble Easter Egg available from the Co-op, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Oxfam shops and independent stores, priced £2.99.

©John Battle MP 04 March 2005