Fairtrade International seeks sustainable livelihoods for the producers of such crops as coffee, cocoa and bananas. More than 1.2 million farmers and workers are found at 991 Fairtrade-certified producer organizations in 66 countries.
The United Kingdom ranked as the largest buyer of Fairtrade-certified products with 2011 sales of €1,498 million, a 12% increase from €1,344 million in 2010. Also in 2011, Fairtrade-certified products entered the South Korean market and more than tripled in sales in South Africa.
“Fairtrade is the norm for millions of people,” said Tuulia Syvaenen, executive operations director at Fairtrade International. “It is a part of the regular weekly shopping, and now sales of Fairtrade-certified products are taking off in new countries as entirely new groups of people discover Fairtrade for the first time.”
In estimated sales in volume per product, bananas led all other food products in 2011. Estimated global sales of Fairtrade-certified bananas in 2011 were 321 million tonnes, a 9% increase from 295 million tonnes in 2010. Cocoa beans saw a 14% increase to 40 million tonnes from 35 million tonnes. Coffee increased 12% to 98 million tonnes from 88 million tonnes.
Cane sugar increased 9% to 138 million tonnes from 127 million tonnes, and tea increased 8% to 13.3 million tonnes from 12.4 million tonnes. Fairtrade-certified fruit juices increased 52% in 2011 to 38.8 million liters from 25.5 million liters.
