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Definition

It means that people who make or grow a product are paid fairly for their work.  Producers get paid directly at fair prices, cutting out the middlemen who would have taken most profit.

  • Coffee Farmers receive market payments that are lower than the costs of production, which keeps people in a cycle of poverty and debt.  The world price for raw coffee has dropped by over 50% since 2000.  This drop means people are working longer and harder for less money.
  • Deforestation to make way for land to grow coffee
  • Pollution from the spreading of pesticides

“We get a higher price when we sell our coffee to ‘Café Direct’.  We are able to pay a doctor who will give treatment to our members.  I can afford more food for my family and send my children to school”

“My neighbour sells his bananas for $1 for a 40lb box of bananas.  I sell mine to a fair trade market for $2.50.  This means that I can have a much better standard of living”

How FT has helped coffee producers

  • Fair trade guarantees a minimum wage for the harvests of small producers, this means they can provide for the basic needs for their families
  • Farmers are provided with credit facilities and paid a minimum price.
  • Fair Trade brings the product directly to the consumer and cuts out some of the intermediate costs of middlemen so that the benefits of trade are more likely to reach the producers
  • Fair trade develops long-term trade based on trust and respect
  • Fair trade works with co-operatives so that the producers control the business and the members of the cooperative share the profits and benefits fairly
  • The profits from receiving fair wages can be used by the producers to invest in health, education and the protection of the environment
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Coffee producers in Mexico

  • In the village, farmers run a bus service to the nearest town which takes their children to the only secondary school
  • The farmers have brought a computer to track the sales of coffee and help keep records on the coffee crop
  • Fair trade encourages sustainable farming practices, e.g. Mexico organic farming does not use chemicals, and sustainable cultivation methods have been used to grow coffee

Advantages of fair trade to MEDCs

  1. If producers in the LEDCs can earn higher wages and are helped to develop in ...

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