The certification body’s ‘Fairness First’ report highlights progress in advancing fairer trade amid geopolitical instability and climate pressures
Fairtrade International has released its 2025 Annual Report, which it has said highlights its progress in advancing fairer trade and strengthening producer resilience while also ”preparing a bold, new strategy for the future”.
The annual report, entitled ’Fairness First’, highlights the organisation’s achievements in the face of a complex global environment ”shaped by geopolitical instability, volatile markets, and climate pressures”.
It also spotlighted a growing business commitment to living incomes for farmers, Fairtrade outlined.
“Fairness is not only an ethical imperative; it is essential for building resilient supply chains and sustainable businesses,” said Marike Runneboom de Peña, global CEO of Fairtrade International.
“This report highlights the progress we have made together with farmers and workers, companies, and partners worldwide, while our new strategy sets a clear direction for scaling impact and supporting farming communities through increasingly complex global challenges.”
Last year also marked the end of Fairtrade’s 2021-2025 strategy.
According to the last five years of data, Fairtrade producer organisations earned more than €1bn in Fairtrade Premium, an extra sum of money paid on top of the selling price, enabling farmers and workers to invest in priorities such as education, healthcare, productivity, infrastructure, and climate adaptation.
Across the strategy period, Fairtrade confirmed that it established 12 new strategic partnerships and secured €59mn in fundraising that supported 111 producer projects focused on climate resilience, women’s empowerment, youth opportunities, and workers’ rights.
Fairtrade highlighted the progress made under its strategic pillars, including publishing, reviewing or updating 16 Living Income Reference Prices; mapping more than half a million farm plots belonging to certified organisations in preparation for the EU Deforestation Regulation; launching a major evolution of its standards to make them more effective while remaining practical to implement; and continuing to expand markets in producer regions.
Looking forward, the annual report also outlined Fairtrade’s Global Strategy 2026–2028, focused on strengthening farmer resilience and advancing fairer, more sustainable trade systems.
Key priorities, it said, include developing a global sustainability programme for bananas, cocoa, and coffee, carrying out a major evolution of its standards to make them fit for the future, and strengthening traceability systems to support compliance, quality assurance, and trust.
