Expanding the programme among growers in Guatemala and Peru will give US buyers access to more Fair Trade Certified vegetables
FairFruit has set a 2035 target to expand Fair Trade USA certification among its network of growers.
The move builds on 13 consecutive seasons of certified production in Guatemala and an established programme in Peru.
The group said it is developing an honest food system through fair pricing and long-term fair partnerships.
It has already introduced living-wage benchmarking in line with SMETA and a priority roadmap for 2027, alongside a Supplier Code of Conduct covering governance, workers, community, and the environment.
Increasing both its number of Fair Trade Certified growers and the volume of certified produce sold is the group’s next ambition, it outlined.
Currently one in five FairFruit growers are certified by Fair Trade USA, and the goal is to generate more sales with the Fair Trade Premium to enable greater investment in meaningful change at a farm and community level, the company said.
In turn, US buyers will gain a consistent year-round supply of Fair Trade Certified French beans, baby carrots, snow peas, sugar snaps, and English peas – all produced by growers collectively using the Fair Trade Premium to finance life-changing business, social, and environmental projects.
“We believe agriculture has the power to transform lives,” explained Evert Wulfrank, CEO of FairFruit USA.
”FairFruit doesn’t just source from our communities; we build long-term partnerships around fair prices and stable opportunities.
”After 13 years of committing to the Fair Trade USA programme in Guatemala and nine years in Peru, the practical next step is to increase our certified volume so the returns from the premium can grow,” he noted.
“By 2035 our ambition is to expand Fair Trade USA certification among our growers because the more producers and volume that we bring into the programme, the greater the opportunity to generate certified sales and invest the Fair Trade Premium where our communities believe they can have the greatest value,” said Guy Trachez, FairFruit’s sustainability manager.
”On top of that, we want to give our growers and workers an increasingly important role in deciding how the funds are invested.”
Some 177 FairFruit growers in Guatemala are certified by Fair Trade USA, alongside 26 producers in Peru.
To date, more than US$615,000 has been paid in Fair Trade Premiums in Guatemala, and over US$106,000 has been generated in Peru.
FairFruit said that in both countries, the projects that have been funded are creating lasting positive impacts.
“US buyers increasingly are asking for evidence rather than statements,” outlined Caroline Floren, sales and operations manager at FairFruit USA.
”Their questions have moved from whether the certification exists to what has changed at a farm level.
”That is where the long-term nature of our partnerships matters,” she said. ”We can show what the premium has funded and how those decisions are made.”
Over the last two years, the Fair Trade Premium has funded initiatives in Guatemala and Peru spanning health, education, and community infrastructure.
In Peru, additional investments have been made in drip irrigation and fertigation training as well as drinking water filters, a 1,200m2 reservoir, and replacement piping to bring clean water to a village.
Other projects in Peru include equipment for a medical post, first-aid facilities, sanitation and canteen improvements at a local school, food baskets for producer families during the cold season, sun protection and drinks for harvesting crews, and an eye-health campaign for plant workers, in addition to fertilisers and soil inputs, FairFruit pointed out.
The successful model was reviewed by Fair Trade USA during a visit to FairFruit Guatemala in September.
The delegation met Fair Trade Committee members, farm workers, and personnel from Guatemala and the US.
Discussions focused on how decisions are made to spend the premium and implement the funding as well as FairFruit’s ERP-based traceability system which can trace each box back to its grower plot in under a minute.
“The Fair Trade Premium is governed, not granted,” Trachez noted. ”A committee of workers and growers decides, the company supports implementation, and an auditor verifies.
”That governance is what turns certification into an ongoing partnership. And certification is the mechanism that makes our 2035 commitment auditable rather than aspirational.”
“Fair Trade is about putting human relationships at the heart of how we do business,” added FairFruit Guatemala project manager José Maldonado.
”Our purpose is simple: bring prosperity those who grow our produce, built on honest relationships from field to store.”
