How did the Fairtrade Foundation find 2009?

It is with relief that we look back on 2009 as a year when the public stayed loyal to Fairtrade, despite the recession, and indeed when some big commercial partnerships opened major opportunities for farmers. In 2009, the Fairtrade Labelling Organizations (FLO) introduced standards for mangoes from Haiti, melons, sweet potatoes and table grapes from Chile and nectarines and peaches from southern Africa. Excitingly, the London Organising Committee of the Olympics also issued procurement guidelines stipulating that all the bananas at the Olympics in 2012 must be Fairtrade certified.

However, it has also been a tough year for many farmers - still hit by the rising food and fuel prices of 2008, further hit by the closure of rural banks and the near impossibility of getting credit, and then facing falling order books. In particular, sales of some Fairtrade tropical fruits stuttered in 2009, partly because the public are simply less aware that you can buy Fairtrade mangoes or oranges, when compared to other Fairtrade products such as tea, coffee, sugar, chocolate and bananas, and partly because they are more expensive at a time when people are watching their pennies. But we keep reminding the public and indeed the industry that Fairtrade is needed now more than ever and if times are tough for us, they are even tougher for farmers, who are struggling to meet rising production costs and put food on the tables of their families.

Are you surprised that Fairtrade has continued to do as well as it has done despite the drop-off in other premium lines, such as organics, during the recession?

No, I am not surprised because the public are basically very decent. In tough, uncertain times more than ever, they are looking for the reassurance of core decent values that centre on other people and turn to trusted companies and brands. They trust the Fairtrade Mark, which chimes exactly with their mood of caring for other people.

In December, we saw Asda and Morrisons begin to trade in Fairtrade melons - what are your thoughts on this move?

I have huge respect for all those involved in bringing to fruition this two-year project and in particular the key leadership role played by Univeg, but also Asda and Morrisons for being the world’s first retailers to stock these Fairtrade melons. It is a great success story for everyone, but especially for the small Brazilian growers of COODAP (Cooperativa de Desenvolvimento Agroindustrial Potiguar), who are now exporting to the UK market - a move they previously thought was impossible. We also hope that this will open the door for more Fairtrade smallholders.

Are there any barriers to the extension of Fairtrade into other fruit and vegetable lines?

The melons show that partnership along the supply chain is key to overcoming those difficulties that do, of course, exist in bringing new lines to Fairtrade. The Fairtrade Foundation, licensors and retailers all need to work together to raise awareness among consumers of the Fairtrade options in new categories and to ensure that prices are as competitive as possible. On the supply side, we need to continue to work with and support smallholder farmers, to ensure that more can meet the quality standards of the UK market and the Fairtrade standards around organisation and democracy.

The Fairtrade Foundation is also working on new standards all the time to grow the fresh produce category and internationally, the Standards Unit has a new, faster mechanism for agreeing minimum prices for new minor products within existing Fairtrade categories such as fresh fruit. This should reduce the waiting time for new categories to be opened up to Fairtrade, so that producers can participate more quickly.

What effect do you think the new World Trade Organisation banana deal will have on small-scale producers worldwide?

We are very concerned that the impact will be negative. Fairtrade bananas now account for nearly two per cent of the total world trade in fresh bananas and some 25 per cent of the UK market.

A large proportion of the Fairtrade bananas being supplied to the UK market come from the Windward Islands. The Fairtrade Foundation has a long-term relationship with these producers so we are particularly concerned about the impact that the latest banana trade deal will have on the small-scale, family-owned banana farms in the Carribbean. Renwick Rose, the leader of the Windward Islands Farmers’ Association, describes the deal as “yet another disastrous blow, not just for the banana industry in the islands, but for the economic and social development of the islands in general”.

The deal will see a significant reduction in the trade preferences historically provided to ACP countries by the EU. The banana industry in the Windward Islands is deeply integrated into the culture, society and real economy of the islands. Bananas are grown on small, family-owned farms and marketed through a co-operative structure, so the vast majority of the financial benefits are captured and spent at a local level. Our concern is that without the historic preferences, smallholders will lose international business, so the Fairtrade Foundation is calling on licensees and retailers to stay loyal to the producers from the Windward Islands. We know that the British public are very loyal to Caribbean farmers and love their smaller, sweeter bananas, so we need to rekindle that loyalty to minimise the impact on these communities.

There have been some issues in the past with not being able to guarantee a year-round supply of certain Fairtrade fruits. How can you deal with this?

Obviously, Fairtrade is still a very new movement in world trade and we are gradually building our base in fruit and vegetables. It takes time for companies to find and work with smallholder groups or plantations around the world. However, at the Fairtrade Foundation and with FLO, we are working to set prices more quickly and to ensure we have the capacity to support producers wanting to enter the system.

Critically, many importers are working with farmers across the continents in order to extend seasonality, as are retailers such as Sainsbury’s, which has established a Fair Development Fund to which producers in Africa can apply to build capacity. The Fairtrade Foundation has also secured a major grant of £12 million over four years from the UK government’s Department for International Development, which will also help build our capacity in developing countries to support producers. So while this will always be work in progress, watch this space.

There have been reports of some farmers finding it difficult to either achieve or maintain Fairtrade certification - is this something you are aware of?

Fairtrade standards comprise both minimum social, economic and environmental requirements, which producers must meet to be certified, plus progress requirements that encourage continuous improvement to develop farmers’ organisations or the situation of estate workers. Yes, Fairtrade standards are rigorous and sometimes difficult to achieve for some groups. However, it is vital that we keep our standards high, as that is one of the reasons that consumers trust products carrying the Fairtrade Mark - because they know that we trust no one. We have to ensure that plantations are respecting trade unions, or that smallholders are deciding democratically how to invest the Fairtrade premium. Having said that, of course we also need to ensure that producers get the support they need to meet those Fairtrade standards.

The UK remains at the head of Fairtrade sales. Why do you think this is and do you see any threat to this position?

We celebrated our 15th anniversary last year and in that time, the range of products carrying the Fairtrade Mark has gone from three to just over 4,500. Recent research by the Co-operative Bank concluded that Fairtrade sales have increased 30-fold in the last decade. This has been partly due to our strong grassroots campaign, which has encouraged supermarkets to carry more and more Fairtrade products and engaged with local councils and schools, workplaces and cafes. Today, there are 460 Fairtrade Towns, 5,000 faith groups and 3,500 schools working towards meeting the goals on awareness and distribution of Fairtrade goods. It seems that the British public have really taken Fairtrade to heart. But that’s not to say that Fairtrade isn’t also growing in other countries. In 2008, for example, sales grew by at least 50 per cent in seven countries, including Australia and New Zealand (72 per cent), Canada (67 per cent), Finland (57 per cent), Germany (50 per cent), Norway (73 per cent), and Sweden (75 per cent). Fairtrade products also gained popularity in a number of new markets, including in eastern Europe, eastern Asia and South Africa.

Although consumer thinking may have switched to Fairtrade, do you think retailers and fresh produce suppliers are fully committed to it?

Absolutely. There are those companies who are totally committed to Fairtrade, such as AgroFair, Winfresh, Mack Multiples and Univeg, for example. Some retailers have gone the extra mile. For example, The Co-operative has stayed totally loyal to the Volta River Estates Ltd banana plantation in Ghana, helping see them through many problems from shipping issues to hurricanes, while Sainsbury’s and Waitrose have switched all their bananas to Fairtrade and Sainsbury’s has invested in supporting new vegetable producers in Africa. Asda has stocked an ever-increasing range of Fairtrade fruit.

However, there is clearly so much more that companies and retailers could do. The consumer has clearly given them that permission to care and we hope that suppliers and retailers will continue to deepen their commitment.

What plans do you have for 2010?

We will continue to raise awareness of Fairtrade-certified fruit in2010, especially during this year’sFairtrade Fortnight (22 February-7 March), themed the Big Swap, when we will be aiming to get one million and one people to switch one or more of their everyday shopping items to Fairtrade.

Later on this year, we are hoping to launch a Fairtrade 5 A DAY campaign in schools and the out-of-home sector. Fairtrade will also have some new vegetable and fruit launches this year, including Fairtrade sweet potatoes.

This should help keep us on track to meet our ambitious Tipping the Balance goal to have doubled the number of producers selling Fairtrade goods in the UK by 2012, while also enabling existing producer groups to sell a greater proportion of their crops on Fairtrade terms. But those ambitions will only be possible in partnership with fresh produce growers, suppliers and retailers.

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