Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-07-06-Speech-4-045"
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"en.20060706.4.4-045"2
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".
Madam President, first of all I would like to congratulate the rapporteur on an excellent report, one that is long overdue.
Fair Trade is about paying poor producers a fair price and helping them gain the necessary skills and knowledge to develop their business and work their way out of poverty. I agree with the Commissioner. It is not the sole answer, but it is part of a solution.
Shoppers who choose produce with the Fair Trade mark play a vital role in alleviating poverty and supporting marginalised producers in a manner that promotes dignity and self-sufficiency. New figures released today reveal that global sales of Fair Trade certified products reached 1.1 billion in 2005. That represents an increase of 37% over 2004. The message is obvious: consumers are happy to support Fair Trade. To generate greater sales of Fair Trade terms for the benefit of more marginalised producers, it is important to involve commercial manufacturers and to encourage Fair Trade supply to supermarkets, where most people do their shopping.
Fair Trade’s significant worldwide growth in 2005 also shows that more and more producers, traders and suppliers trust the Fair Trade certificate mark and like to join the system. However, the challenge ahead will be to make sure that the standards in that certification are maintained.
I recently visited Guatemala with Trocaire, an Irish NGO. During our visit we visited the Claremont coffee estate, where 50 families who have lived and worked on that estate for three generations, living in what can only be described as feudal conditions, were thrown off their farm because the owner, who happens to be the sister-in-law of the country’s president, decided that she did not want them on the estate and wanted to change what they were doing. They are a group of people who want to start a co-op to produce Fair Trade coffee. They know how to produce coffee; as I said, they have been doing it for generations. I just want it put on record that I have raised the plight of these people in Guatemala in this House, because I think it is an absolute outrage that people can be treated like that in this day and age.
Fair Trade is not just about selling and buying, it is about creating justice for people globally."@en1
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