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Published: 17 November 2014
Govt tick for Fairtrade label to aid small regional producers
A new $4.5 million partnership between the Australian Government and Fairtrade Australia & New Zealand (ANZ) is set to to build support for products carrying the ethical label in Australia and link smallholder producers in developing Indo-Pacific countries to international and regional markets.
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Chocolate anyone? The new Fairtrade partnership seeks to create demand for fair-trade cocoa.
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The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) has made the four-year commitment to the partnership to increase economic growth and trade from Indo-Pacific countries, alleviate poverty and benefit some of the region’s most disadvantaged people.
‘Up to seventy per cent of the staple foods in some developing countries come from poor small farmers, living on as little as two dollars per day. Eighty-seven per cent of the world’s small farms are in Asia and the Pacific,’ says Molly Harriss Olson, CEO of Fairtrade ANZ.
‘We have an enormous opportunity to improve people’s lives by alleviating poverty and creating more sustainable livelihoods in this part of the world.’
‘Fairtrade ANZ has a vitally important role to play in creating demand for Fairtrade products, developing the supply chain and growing the number of producers in the region. This work is hard and it takes time but with this DFAT partnership we are seeing the key first steps towards realising our vision.
‘Corporate partners are also critical to help us build these value chains and create the global demand in the marketplace for Fairtrade Certified products.’
Businesses Fairtrade works with include Grinders Coffee, Mondelez (Cadbury), Woolworths, Coles, Kathmandu, Queen Vanilla, Jaspers Coffee, All Good Organics and Alter Eco.
Harriet Lamb, CEO of Fairtrade International welcomes the opportunity to escalate development in the Indo-Pacific
‘Fairtrade now has 1210 producer groups and more than 1.4 million producers in 74 countries,’ she says. ‘We link both ends of the supply chain, like a good old-fashioned matchmaker, generating almost seven billion in retail sales across the globe.’
‘Because Fairtrade is on the ground with producers and in their communities, we see the impacts of trade, and work to develop innovative responses to make trade just and equitable. When we get it right, trade can be a sure path to development because it is economically and socially sustainable.’
Ms Harriss Olson adds: ‘This is the first time that Fairtrade ANZ has received substantial government funding and we are delighted to be working with the DFAT on this important partnership to alleviate poverty in our region.’
Source: Fairtrade ANZ
