Sainsbury’s will be stocking Fairtrade pineapple from next week, marking major progress for the marque in the UK fresh produce sector.

The fruit is sourced from the Asoproagroín association of 80 small-holder farmers in Costa Rica and has year round availability.

Importer AgroFairUK has been importing the fruit - the world’s first Fairtrade pineapples - for two years for Co-op, which has blazed a trail for Fairtrade retail in the UK. Waitrose and Somerfield also stock the product.

AgroFair UK is the sales arm in the UK for AgroFair which is owned by growers in Burkina Faso, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana, Mexico and Peru. Its HQ is in the Netherlands.

AgroFair brought the first FairTrade bananas into the UK in 2000, this was followed by mangoes in 2001 and pineapple in 2002. It is working with other growers to develop new product lines and sources.

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