Fair Trade Business Positive at Gaining Patrons for Cause

Fair trade business, a just movement in working to minimize, or eliminate, the multi-layered transfer-pricing scheme of middlemen and traders who stand between the producers and the consumers, remains positive at gaining patrons for its cause. The main objective of fair trade is to pay just price for the producer’s or farmer’s farm products, and above minimum wage for the production workers. It also aims to deliver quality products to the consumers, the end-users.

Southern Partners and Fair Trade Corporation (SPFTC), the direct link between the Visayan region’s producers and consumers, leads this cause in the Visayas region with a growing number of suppliers or farmers from the region with mostly mango and sugar resources.

In a press conference held last October 14 in SPFTC’s Fair Trade Shop, World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) President Rudi Dalvai shared updates on the fair trade business in the different fair trade practicing nations.

He said business done through fair trade makes up a total income of 5B Euro globally. The movement, which is envisioned to be an alternative economy that is “made by people”, gained different feedbacks in different countries that are practicing fair trade. Dalvai shared that in Switzerland for example, 50 % of the market practice fair trade with bananas as products. According to him also, two renowned chocolate brands in United Kingdom has practiced fair trade. These are Nestle’s Kitkat, and Cadburry. He said that Nestle sources their cocoa for its Kitkat chocolate through fair trade channels at seven percent.

In cadburry.com.au, Cadburry reveals that the Cadburry Dairy Milk carries a Fairtrade Certified Label, and has been the world’s largest buyer of Fairtrade certified cocoa in 2009 and 2010. Its commitment to Fairtrade, has helped improve the lives of 45, 000 Fairtrade cocoa farmers and their families in developing countries such as in Ghana. It has generated significant social premiums for the cocoa farmers. Last year Cadburry has sold over six million chocolate products in New Zealand, which is more than 80% of New Zealand’s Fairtrade chocolate sales (www.cadburry.co.nz).

According to Dalvai, Starbucks in U.S.A has sourced out a certain percentage of its coffee also through Fairtrade. In the company’s website starbucks.com, Starbucks has been using fair trade coffee beans in their outlets around the world since 2002. Relatively increasing in the recent years (86 % in 2011 and 93 % in 2012), Starbucks targets to source the whooping 100 % of its coffee ethnically, by 2015. In 2012, 44.4 million pounds (8.1 %) of their coffee purchases were Fairtrade certified and they also purchased 8.7 million pounds (1.6%) of certified organic coffee in the same year. It upholds the “C.A.F.E (Coffee and Farmer Equity)” Practices as a backbone to buying ethnically-sourced coffee beans. Areas under C.A.F.E are product quality, economic accountability, social responsibility and environmental leadership.

To promote the movement of fair trade, Dalvai mentioned that they have established initiatives such as coming up with trade certification skills which establishes own standards for fair trade and can guarantee standards of fair trade products. Apart from this, a certain day of the month of May has been appointed as a World Fair Trade Day where ideas are provided to members of fair trade partners and advocates to promote campaigns, make alliances with movements that share the same advocacy, and develop standards for fair trade to promote.

In the Philippines, a Social Enterprise Bill (SE Bill) introduced by Representatives Cresente Paez, Anthony Bravo, Teodoro Baguilat and Senator Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, is now lobbied in the 16th congress. The bill seeks provision of programs that support social enterprises such as research and development and market research; and incentives such as special credit windows in government banks and financing institutions, and tax exemption for both the social enterprise and donors.

The fair trade advocates led by Dalvai are open to both public-private partnerships for the propagation of the cause however, they are cautious of it making sure that motives behind must not be solely profit-driven. “Partnerships with private sectors must be looked at not to affect producers, especially if these companies only attain profit, same for public and cooperative organizations,” said Dalvai.

The Fair Trade Shop Cebu, Philippines in Door 1 YMCA Arcade, Osmena Blvd., Cebu City. (Image credit: www.thefairtradeshop.com.ph)

Provinces which have fair trade shops in the Philippines are Cebu, Bohol, Cagayan, Bicol and General Santos with Cebu as the first one to open in 1996. SPFTC in Cebu had mangoes as its flagship product with it as one of the main agricultural products of the region and majority of the members of the community partners are mango farmers. SPFTC started to process mango in its processing plant located at Inayagan, Naga in 1999 where an initial volume of 500 kilos of fresh mangoes were being processed daily. In 2003, significant developments and improvements in the production system were introduced resulting to an increased volume of 1000 daily. By the last quarter of same year, the volume grew to 3,500 kilos daily. Likewise, this marked the improvement of the firm’s production efficiency as shown be the lower cost of production by more than 100 percent due to the 3 percent decrease in spoilage. In 2005, optimum monthly finished product output of processed fruit is 7, 917 kilograms, has further improved its efficiency and production systems by upgrading its technology. Mainline market niche is the fair trade organization in Europe, Japan and Hongkong. SPFTC in Cebu is located in Door 1 YMCA Arcade, No. 51, Osmeña Boulevard, Cebu City. Locally- produced products such as mango puree, turmeric and moringa homemade cookies, ginger tea and handcrafted items are sold inside the fair trade shop.

Dalvai was in the Phiippines to speak in the Reseau Intercontinental de Promotion de l’economie Sociale et Solidaire (RIPESS), an intercontinental network that connects social and solidarity economy networks throughout the world. RIPESS had its International Conference in Manila last October 15-18, 2013 at the University of the Philippines – Diliman Campus in Quezon City.