U.K. FAIR TRADE HAS HELPED BELIZE ECONOMICALLY.

THE EFFECT OF U.K. FAIR TRADE PRICES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM HAVE BEEN FAVORABLY DRAMATIC IN THE SMALL COUNTRY OF BELIZE AND ECONOMICALLY EFFECTIVE.


"40% of all sugar exports from Belize are now Fairtrade, and that's really significant to the economy of a small country"

Sales of fairly traded products have bucked the decline in the UK retail market to grow by 12% last year. The value of Fairtrade products sold through shops reached £1.32bn in 2011, compared with £1.17bn in 2010, according to figures from the Fairtrade Foundation, as it launches its annual marketing fortnight today. .

Unlike other premium sectors such as organic food, which have lost ground as consumers struggle with rising prices and stagnant incomes, the Fairtrade market has continued to expand.

The growth largely reflects a move among top supermarkets to sell Fairtrade goods at the same price as conventional equivalents. Alternatively, they have switched whole ranges to the Fairtrade sector rather than pass on the premium paid to farmers as a higher cost to consumers. All Co-op own-brand tea, coffee and sugar are now Fairtrade. The company is to make all its bananas Fairtrade, in line with Sainsbury's and Waitrose, which have already switched. All M&S tea, coffee, and bananas are now Fairtrade.

Fairtrade cocoa and sugar have seen the most significant growth, with 34% and 21% increases over 2010 respectively. Morrisons will join other retailers, including the Co-op, M&S, Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Tesco, which have committed themselves to converting all their bagged sugar to Tate & Lyle's Fairtrade range. This move will bring Fairtrade's share of the UK retail bagged sugar market to 42%, and will make sugar the biggest Fairtrade product.

The UK is the largest market for fair trade products, helped by support from trade unions, religious groups and the Fairtrade Towns campaign. The sector as a whole remains very small, however. About 0.01% of all food and drink sales worldwide are certified as fairly traded, according to the Institute of Economic Affairs, a free market thinktank. The IEA has criticised the movement for exaggerating its potential to help poorer countries.

The shift in sugar is held up by the Fairtrade Foundation as an example of how the movement can achieve a major impact. "A number of people have been sceptical about Fairtrade's ability to scale up. But in the 18 years since we started, we've hit 42% of UK retail sugar being Fairtrade.