Nigeria Daily News: Africa: U.S.$6.6 Billion Spent on Fairtrade Products in 2011

Africa: U.S.$6.6 Billion Spent on Fairtrade Products in 2011
================================================================================
Staff  on 24/09/2012 08:32:00


Around the globe, retail sales of Fairtrade certified products increased by a
total of 12% in 2011. Figures released by Fairtrade International revealed that
shoppers across the world have spent US$6.6 billion on Fairtrade products last
year.
Despite the economic crisis, the established markets keep showing their support
for Fairtrade. In the UK, Fairtrade's biggest market, shoppers spent 12% more on
Fairtrade certified products than in 2010, while in the Netherlands, Fairtrade
sales in stores and restaurants grew by 24%. Sales in the emerging markets are
also taking off. South Africans are showing that south-to-south trade works as
shoppers spent three times more on Fairtrade certified products in 2011 over
2010.
Sales grew steadily across all of the leading Fairtrade products: coffee by 12%,
cocoa by 14%, bananas 9%, sugar 9%, tea 8%, and flowers by 11%.
Strong Fairtrade sales are great news for the more than 1.2 million farmers and
workers across the globe. In addition to the income they earned from the sales,
they received an extra €65 million in Fairtrade Premium, using it to invest in
farm improvements, processing equipment, education and career training,
community projects and healthcare.
Copyright © 2012 Fairtrade Africa. All rights reserved. Distributed by
AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).   To contact the copyright holder
directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other
authorized use of this material, click here.