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Contact:
Chris Satney
Friday February 18, 2005 – Windward Island Banana farmers are preparing
to fully operate under the Fair Trade Label by the middle of this year. The
move, which is seen as the best option for regional bananas will see some
250,000 boxes shipped to the UK at that time and thereafter.
Fair Trade, a new trading ideology, is said to be redefining international
trade. Consumers are being encouraged to pay premium prices for fruit produced
in small developing states like St. Lucia, under the Fair Trade Brand and are
said to be buying into the idea. Although Windward Island bananas have been
shipped under that label since 2000, what is new is the magnitude of the
projected expansion for Fair Trade bananas from the region.
Communications Officer with the Windward Islands Banana Development and
Exporting Company (WIBDECO), Bernard Frampton said, “Fair Trade labelling is a
system through which trade facilitates sustainable development for disadvantaged
producers and workers”. The core aims, he said, included a long-term, stable
relationship; a stable and fair price that covered the real cost of production
and included a premium for investing in business developments; as well as social
improvements.
In order to be part of the Fair Trade Brand, farmers are expected to meet the
criteria set up under the Fair Trade practice. According to Chairman of the
Windward Islands Farmers Association, Mr. Renwick Rose, this includes among
other things, the protection of the environment. “It ensures that we get rid of
the waste in a safe manner. That in fact, we protect out rivers, streams and
sea. And there are also social criteria, which are very important. As a fair
Trade farmer you must belong to a group; you cannot just be an individual Fair
Trade Farmer. It means that it makes it easier for them,” Mr. Rose explained.
Mr. Rose said that the criteria also facilitated ongoing education and the
development of human resources among the farming community. The concept under
the label is being managed by the Fair Trade Labelling Organizations
International, which was founded in 1997. It has an association of some 17
members.
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