Fairtrade mangoes will hit the shelves of three major supermarket chains across the country this month – the Co-op, Sainsburys and Waitrose. The fruit is being brought into the UK by AgroFair, a Fairtrade firm owned by the fruit growers themselves.

The mangoes are from the El Jardin en la Frontera association of farmers in El Oro, Ecuador. This is a remote region where unemployment is extremely high. Last year they were the first mangoes in the world to be given the Fairtrade mark – the stamp which says the farmers have received a guaranteed minimum price for their product.

AgroFair UK's sales and marketing manager Jan Castle said: 'This is a really exciting development. Our Oké mangoes, Oké bananas and Oké pineapples mean the Fairtrade fruitbowl we have promised the British consumer is literally coming to fruition.' The El Oro mangoes are the Tommy Atkins, Keitt and Kent varieties, which are juicy, plump and an attractive blush colour.

Fairtrade is the system that ensures marginalised farmers in the third world receive a fair return for their work. The Fairtrade premium, a sum included in the price of each Fairtrade item bought, is used by the farmers for health care, clean water supplies, improved sanitation and other benefits.

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