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Consumers and retailers urged to stick with Fairtrade sugar

3rd November 2014 Print
Farmers

UK consumers and businesses are being called on to continue buying Fairtrade cane sugar, even if the recent crash in sugar prices within the EU means they could save a couple of pence a bag by switching to non-Fairtrade.

The Fairtrade Foundation says that the recent sugar price crash puts the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of sugar cane farmers and workers in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries at risk, and is the first sign of a crisis that could push 200,000 people into poverty.

The dramatic drop in sugar prices took place after additional supplies of domestically-produced beet sugar were release onto the European market. A reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will mean that unlimited European beet sugar can be sold in the EU from 2017, which puts farmers in the developing world at further risk of being squeezed out of the market.

Fairtrade currently works with 62,000 smallholder sugar cane farmers in 19 countries, to help them secure a fair deal and a more sustainable future. Through Fairtrade certification, sugar farmers are supported to develop democratically-run farmers’ associations and for every tonne of sugar they sell on Fairtrade terms, they earn a $60 premium to invest in productivity improvements or social projects of their choice, such as schools, new roads or clean drinking water. In Malawi, investment of the premium has improved food security for cane farmers while in Belize, investment of premiums has improved production by 30%.

Fairtrade sugar is currently stocked by major retailers including the Co-operative, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose, and over £5.8 million in Fairtrade premiums was earned by Fairtrade-certified sugar cane farmers last year as a result of British consumers and companies choosing Fairtrade sugar. But less than 1% of the world’s cane sugar is currently sold on Fairtrade terms.

Jon Walker, Sugar Product Manager at the Fairtrade Foundation, said: “We urge consumers and businesses in the UK to choose Fairtrade sugar, even if the alternative could save them a few pence a bag, as we know that by making this simple choice they can make a significant difference to the lives of farmers and their communities in the developing world.”

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Farmers