Record Premium makes big difference for farmers and workers

‘Monitoring the Scope and Benefits of Fairtrade’ in its seventh edition – reveals there are now more than 1.65 million Fairtrade farmers, workers and producers who together generated more than $984 million in sales revenue. The report analyzes the results of its annual monitoring and evaluation activities, and shows among other things that the Fairtrade Premium topped the $115 million mark.

“This report gives us a great overview of the impact and scope of Fairtrade’s work, but it also shows where we need to improve to drive impact for the farmers and workers we serve,” said Hans Theyer, Executive Director of Fairtrade America.

The US remains a relatively open market and we’re working with our partners to build long-term relationships that benefit producers and companies.

Hans Theyer, Executive Director of Fairtrade America

By the end of 2014 – the latest consolidated monitoring data available – there had been a nine percent increase in the number of farmers and workers participating in Fairtrade – nearly two-thirds of them in Africa and the Middle East. Overall, there was a small rise – just one percent – in total global sales revenues to Fairtrade producers, although hired labour organizations such as banana plantations did better, with revenues up 18 percent. The data shows the vast majority – 80 percent – of Fairtrade farmers are small-scale operations, with the average farmer working just 3.45 acres of land for their certified crop.

“The point of this report is to show us where we are performing well, and where we have challenges to overcome.” says Dr. Arisbe Mendoza, Head of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning at Fairtrade International. “Fairtrade is a constant work in progress, and we have to understand the challenges so we can reshape our approach and activities to address them.”

“Measuring our impact is essential if we are to scale up what is working and change what isn’t,” adds Marike de Peña, Chair of Fairtrade International. “The more we dig down into the data, and the more we learn about the human stories behind the statistics, the more we are challenged.”

‘Monitoring the Scope and Benefits of Fairtrade’ provides a wealth of data about the Fairtrade producers and summaries of recent research and evaluations of Fairtrade. This year these research results offer in-depth insight into Fairtrade’s work, and give a rich picture of the experiences of some of the farmers and workers in Fairtrade supply chains.

Click here to download the full report.

For more information, contact the Fairtrade America Media Team

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Learn more at www.fairtradeamerica.org or follow Fairtrade America on @FairtradeMarkUS.

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