Fair Trade News

Published October 8, 2005

Fair shake for 3rd World farmers
Ecuadorean grower touts TransFair products at Case

by Joe Guillen, Plain Dealer Reporter

A fair-trade fruit importer approached Jovanny Coronel and a handful of other Ecuadorean banana farmers in 1997 with the promise of better, more stable wages.

The importer's offer was hard to believe.

The farmers had encountered many deceptive importers and exporters who paid them less than promised. But with their wages already low, the farmers agreed to register as producers for the worldwide pro gram, which is aimed at getting fair prices for farm ers in emerging economies.

Their wages have since tripled, Coronel said, improving the standard of living for them and their families.

Coronel, 41, is one of more than 600,000 producers worldwide who benefit from fair-trade practices, according to TransFair USA, the nation's only certifier of fair-trade products.

He was in Cleveland this week promoting October as the second annual Fair Trade Month, speaking at Case Western Reserve University and regional grocery stores.

The fair-trade movement opposes exploitation of poor or disadvantaged farmers who harvest agricultural products such as coffee, sugar and cocoa. TransFair marks certified products with its logo so customers know the goods have been fairly traded.

International organizations regulate and enforce fair-trade practices among both producer groups and distributors. Producers must provide their employees with decent working conditions, for example. And distributors must open their books to inspectors as proof of fair payment.

Fair-trade sales in this country have channeled more than $60 million in additional income to farmers and farm workers worldwide since 1999, according to TransFair.

For Coronel and his colleagues, the system has brought stability.