Chocolate Report PDF - Fair Trade Barrie

Conditions vary depending on country, region and produce, but there
are five common characteristics.
Growers tend to be:
subject to massive fluctuations in the price they receive for their
produce, caused by the speculation of commodity traders
in New York and London
dominated by local or regional wholesalers, who are often
profiteering middlemen
disparate, small scale and remote - many living on subsistence levels,
with little or no money to invest in improvements
dependent on crops that are labour intensive and use
low-technology means of planting, crop protection and harvesting
exposed to climatic conditions that drastically affect
quantity and quality of crop.
The combination of these factors makes growers weak and vulnerable. When
prices fall, growers are faced with uncomfortable choices: they want to send
their children to school but they cannot afford the books or uniforms. They need
the support of all members of the family, but they cannot afford medicine to
keep their family well.
Food self-sufficiency becomes the first goal of survival, which can lead to the
neglect of the cash crop, especially where the price they get for selling it is less than
the cost of producing it. If things get worse, even basic expenditure on food will
need to be cut, weakening growers’ capacity for productive work and leaving
them vulnerable to health problems.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Brian Moody
As a retailer we can make a difference through our choice of supplier and
the conditions of supply. And we can provide moral support for producers,
in the knowledge that they are being supported by a major retailer.
We can offer a decent and - equally as important - stable price
for their produce
We can shorten the supply chain, by cutting out exploitative
middlemen and dealing more directly
We can reduce fragmentation by encouraging the development
of co-operatives, bringing economies of scale, mutual support
and more negotiating muscle.
Perhaps the best example of this is the Fairtrade initiative, on which the
Co-op has a unique track record, and which it has supported more than any
other retailer since its inception.
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