Sales of Fairtrade goods in UK rise thanks to bananas
Revenues from produce overseen by the Fairtrade Foundation body, which guarantees a minimum price to farmers and additional payments for use on social projects such as schools or clean water provision, rose 2% to £1.64bn in the UK last year.
“We are in growth despite tough economic times and while the grocery market continues to be in disarray,” said Michael Gidney, chief executive of Fairtrade. “There is a sense of businesses committing to Fairtrade backed by unstinting support from the public.”
The volume of bananas, by far the biggest Fairtrade product in the UK, rose 6% amid strong sales at the likes of Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, which only stock the Fairtrade version of the fruit, while Tesco, the UK’s biggest retailer, began stocking Fairtrade bananas for the first time.
source: theguardian.com
