Monitoring the Scope and Benefits of Fairtrade
8th Edition
FOREWORD
A message from our Global CEO, Dario Soto Abril
When a banana is not just a banana. Dario reminds us that behind the Fairtrade figures presented in this report, there are human stories about how Fairtrade is changing lives and transforming entire communities.
INTRODUCTION
“The whole world is faced with economic uncertainty at the moment. In that climate, even modest growth is a huge achievement. The findings in this report will encourage us to redouble our efforts to scale up massively in order to empower Fairtrade farmers and workers to get a fairer share of global supply chains,” says Fairtrade International Chairperson.
Fairtrade farmers and workers grew to
((1.66)) million
in 2015
FAIRTRADE PRODUCER ORGANIZATIONS
2015 saw a small increase in the number of Fairtrade-certified producer organizations bringing the total to 1,240. Latin America and the Caribbean saw the biggest increase.
We are working with
((1240))
Fairtrade Producer Organizations
SMALL SCALE FARMERS
Almost 90 percent of farmers within the Fairtrade system produce one of the ‘Big Three’ products – coffee, tea and cocoa. In 2015, it was sugar and cotton farmers who were most affected by tough trading conditions.
There was a total of
((1466127))
Farmers in the Fairtrade System
HIRED WORKERS
The vast majority of hired labourers – about 90 percent – work in Fairtrade-certified organizations in Asia and the Pacific, and in Africa and the Middle East. Only seven percent work in Latin America, although 2015 saw rapid growth in that region.
There was a total of
((195701))
Hired Workers in the Fairtrade System
WOMEN IN FAIRTRADE
Low female participation rates in Fairtrade-certified producer organizations continues to be cause for concern in Fairtrade and deserves special attention.
In the whole Fairtrade System
((25)) percent
are Women
FAIRTRADE PRODUCTION AND SALES
Fairtrade sales performed well in 2015. Producers’ Fairtrade sales revenues were up by 14 percent in comparison with the previous year – mainly due to growth in banana, coffee, cocoa and flower sales.
Fairtrade Sales Revenues top the
€((1000000000))
mark for first time.
FAIRTRADE PREMIUM
Encouragingly, Fairtrade Premium payments continued to grow in 2015, increasing by ten percent on the previous year. In total, more than €117 million were channelled to Fairtrade-certified producer organizations.
Fairtrade farmers and workers received
€((117000000))
in Premium Payments
AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
The majority of Fairtrade farmers and workers – 64 percent – live in Africa and the Middle East. Despite significant progress, many of these producers are members of organizations which are not yet selling a high proportion of their certified crops on Fairtrade terms.
More than
((1000000))
of Fairtrade Farmers and Workers are in Africa and the Middle East
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Despite challenges in the tea and sport balls sectors, Fairtrade continued to expand in Asia and the Pacific in 2015. And, for the first time, the number of Fairtrade-certified producer organizations in the region reached 200, spread across 19 countries.
((50)) Percent
of Fairtrade Workers are in Asia and the Pacific
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Fairtrade grew only modestly in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2015. By the end of the year there were 665 Fairtrade-certified producer organizations in 24 countries – an increase of just under three percent.
Producers in Latin America and the Caribbean received
€((80000000))
of Fairtrade Premium
HOUSEHOLD SURVEY
The results of the first in a series of household surveys aimed at assessing long-term changes in farmers’ lives following Fairtrade certification. Our plan is to collect panel data from the selected Fairtrade households over three years to see how their lives change.
Fairtrade implemented
((460))
household surveys