Experts advocate application of fair trade concept to local markets
San Jose, Costa Rica, 12 November 2014 (IICA). More than 600 organizations of small producers in 25 Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries have now managed to penetrate demanding markets like the European Union thanks to fair trade, a model that should be extended to local markets.
The benefits, opportunities and main challenges facing fair trade in the Americas were discussed in a forum organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) at its Headquarters in Costa Rica, with support from the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Small Fair Trade Producers (CLAC).
The purpose of fair trade is to bring about greater equity in trade relations through more equitable distribution of the income generated throughout the chain, for the benefit of small producers and their families. Based on dialogue, transparency and respect among the parties involved, the concept is intended to contribute to sustainable development.
According to data from the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Small Fair Trade Producers (CLAC), 624 small producers’ organizations and rural workers’ associations (which represent 296,700 families or more than one million people) in 25 countries of the hemisphere now market products under the fair trade banner.
LAC honey, quinoa, cocoa, coffee, seeds, dried fruits, aromatic herbs, flowers and other products are placed on the international market with the fair trade seal. The development of the subsector has been so successful that the region now supplies over 80% of the products sold across the globe with that certification.
“The fair trade model has been quite successful internationally and the next big contribution would be to try to adapt this model to domestic markets, seeking the integration of small producers into local markets without abandoning the efforts made in the international market,” explained IICA agribusiness specialist Danilo Herrera.
Positioning, recognition of product quality and guaranteed minimum prices are some of the benefits that fair trade certification offers.
During the forum, the case of CoopeVictoria was presented. This Costa Rican cooperative, whose more than 3000 small producers engage in coffee and sugar cane production and processing, obtained fair trade certification in 2010.
Bernal Valverde, CoopeVictoria’s coordinator of fair trade, said the management came up with the idea of seeking certification to expand the cooperative’s markets, especially in Europe, and make the growing of sugar cane and coffee more stable activities. He pointed out that during the first year, somewhere between 100 and 150 talks were given to raise awareness of fair trade among producers.
In the case of CoopeVictoria, the producers themselves decide what to do with the additional income they receive from their fair trade operations - for example, purchase coffee seedlings and inputs to combat leaf rust, repair agricultural roads or donate to schools and charitable institutions.
More information:
danilo.herrera@iica.int