Fruit

The fruit trade is a lucrative one. But who’s benefiting?

Millions of people worldwide depend on the production, processing, and sale of produce for their livelihoods, incomes, and for food security. This includes many small farmers in developing countries around the world.

Developing countries increased their participation in the fruit trade by approximately US$4.5 billion between 1992 and 2001 (FAO, 2003). Today, fresh fruit is grown on both plantations and small family farms.

Unfortunately, there's a downside to this trade. Read more to learn about the problems that fruit producers face, as well as how Fair Trade is ensuring a better deal for farmers.

The rotten side

Today, there are large problems associated with the fruit industry. In many countries, workers on fresh fruit plantations face unsafe working conditions, as well as short-term contracts offering low wages and few benefits. Similarly, small farmers frequently find it difficult to cover their production costs, and to compete with large companies.

The expansion of world trade, and the recent advent of foodborne illness associated with fresh produce, have prompted the introduction of strict security measures. As a result, importing countries have increased their quality requirements.

Faced with this situation, producers in developing countries have no choice but to make additional investments to meet the new requirements. This further increases their production costs.

Fair fruit

Fair Trade allows both plantation workers and small fruit producers to receive a price that covers the costs of sustainable production. The minimum price varies depending on the fruit and the region where it is grown.

In addition, farmers receive a Fair Trade premium to invest in improving their social, economic, and environmental conditions. For example, many producers choose to use funds from the premium to convert their production to organic farming.

The Fair Trade system gives preference to small producers as they are often more restricted by trading conditions than are those on plantations.

Fair Trade Standards for small fresh fruit farmers:

• Profits must be equally distributed among the members of the co-operative or association.
• All the members of the producer organization have a voice in the decision-making process and in the group organization.

Fair Trade Standards for fresh fruit plantations:

• A Joint Body is formed and includes workers and a management team responsible for the use of the premium.
• Forced labour and child labour of children of 15 years and under is prohibited. Work for children over 15 must not interfere with their education and they must not do work that could risk their health.
• Workers have the right to establish or join an independent union.
• Salaries must be equal to or higher than the regional average or than the minimum wage in effect.
• Health and safety measures must be established in order to avoid work-related injuries.

Go (Fair Trade) bananas

Cultivated in Asia and the Pacific for almost 10,000 years, bananas were transported to the Middle East and Africa and came to the Americas with Spanish colonialism. Today, bananas are grown exclusively in tropical and sub-tropical climates, where the majority of bananas are also consumed.

Photo: Mr. Didier Gentilhomme

The banana plant is very unique. Interestingly, it is not actually a tree but an herb, the largest in the world. One bunch of bananas grows per “tree”, developing from the large reddish flower from the centre of the stem. Bananas do not have seeds; instead, new plants grow from the underground stems of already existing plants. 

In the banana industry, production, profits, and power are highly concentrated. Meanwhile, it’s hard for small banana farmers and workers on banana plantations to earn a living, and they must often work under very difficult conditions.

Since their launch in November 1996 in the Netherlands, international sales of Fair Trade bananas have increased steadily by an average of over 20% per year. Fair Trade Certified bananas have generated a total of at least $10 million for disadvantaged farmers and workers (FLO 2004).

Fair Trade Certified bananas come from 38 producer organizations in 8 different countries: Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Ghana, the Dominican Republic, and the Windward Islands. They were the first type of fruit to arrive in Canada, in 2004.