Swiss Coop goes 100 per cent Fairtrade bananas

The Swiss Coop plays a leading role as the world’s biggest supplier of Fairtrade products, selling around 20,000 tonnes of bananas every year.

This boost to the Fairtrade industry means that the market share for Fairtrade bananas is approaching 50 per cent, and that AgroFair has become The Coop’s main banana supplier.

Agrofair expects to generate at least e1.3 million in Fairtrade premium alone from Coop’s banana sales in 2004. This means improved healthcare, housing, sick pay, clean water and many other benefits for families on the other side of the world.

Jeroen Kroezen, director of AgroFair, said: “We are delighted to welcome this historic decision by the Swiss COOP and look forward to ever increasing sales of Fairtrade bananas. For our growers in Ecuador (El Guabo) and Costa Rica (Coopertrabasur) this success for AgroFair is especially good news because they are also our shareholders.”