AgroFair, an importer and distributor of organic and Fairtrade tropical fresh fruit, has established long-term relations with a number of well-known supermarket chains including the Co-op and Asda in the UK. It works with independent organic certifiers, Skal, Ecocert and BCS, to guarantee that producers meet organic product standards.
At present, AgroFair trades under the labels Eko-Oké and Oké. Eko-Oké is the label for the combined Fairtrade ánd organic certified fruit whilst Oké is the label for Fairtrade certified fruit.
Since 2001, when the first supplies of organic bananas came out of Ecuador, AgroFair has made great progress with its organic offer and this year, the company plans to make a start with organic citrus (oranges, mandarins, lemon and grapefruit).
AgroFair is currently the principal supplier of organic Fairtrade mangoes into the UK and is looking to increase its supplies in order to offer 12-month availability. Currently we can supply from January until the end of August,” says AgroFair UK’s director Duncan White. “Ecuador, Peru, Burkina Faso and Mexico are the four sources with which we span two-thirds of the year. For the remainder, we are investigating countries such as Brazil.”
Combining the standards of Fairtrade with the principles of organic production was a natural step, says White, and the concepts fit well together. “For some producers it is harder to become organic than for others, but if there is a will from the producers then AgroFair will help them. AgroFair’s goal is to use natural methods of agriculture, and the company encourages and works with its producers to change to organic production wherever it is possible.”
Developing new sources is not always straightforward. “A lot depends on how developed the groups are,” says White. “Some might not require much work while others, such as Burkina Faso could take a number of years to reach the required level. In that case there was a lot of work that had to be done in order to secure consistency of supply which is a crucial factor when dealing with supermarkets.”
Ultimately, says White, organic production “fits right in” with the Fairtrade offer. “Fairtrade standards limit a lot of pesticides anyway but what the organic offer does do is to provide different options to producers, retailers and consumers. These are all value-added markets that producers can access.”
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