Fair trade is a term that implies the fair treatment and

fair pay for the workers/farmers who have

produced a fair trade product. It’s a trading partnership that aims at sustainable
development for excluded and disadvantaged producers. Fair trade goods often
cost a bit more, but the extra money goes towards other aspects of the
producers’ welfare, such as education.

Global fair trade sales have soared over the past decade. In 2007, Fair trade
certified sales amounted to approximately €2.3 billion (US $3.62 billion)
worldwide, a 47% year-to-year increase. Coffee is the biggest Fair Trade product:
about 1/3 of total Fair Trade turnover or in 2008 came from coffee sales. Sales
are further expected to grow significantly in the coming years: according to the
Just-Food Global Market Review, Fairtrade sales should reach US$ 9 billion in
2012 and US$ 20-25 billion by 2020.

The market share of Fair Trade products has become significant in some
countries: In Switzerland 47% of all bananas, 28% of all the flowers and 9% of
all the sugar are now Fair Trade. In the UK (a market 8x the size of Switzerland)
5% of the tea, 5.5 % of the bananas and 20% of the ground coffee are now
supplied by Fair Trade producers. Fair Trade products can now be found in
55,000 supermarkets in Europe.

The Secretary-General of the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry

(LNCCI) Mr. Khampanh Dalavong confirmed the potential that Fair Trade has for
the Lao business sector last week in an interview when he stated that:

Fair Trade can be an interesting new path for some of the members of the LNCCI.
Its focus on assisting producers from developing countries can help small
enterprises to enter new markets, and producers often benefit from better trade
conditions and / or higher prices. Worldwide Fair Trade turnover is growing fast
and is expected to grow to $9 billion by 2012 which provides an opportunity for
the Lao producers.

Mr. Khampanh Sengthongkham, Deputy Director General of the department of

Production & Trade Promotion of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry visited
Europe last year and met with some of the large Fair Trade importers based in
western Europe:

There is a clear and growing demand for Fair Trade products like coffee, tea,
herbs and handicrafts, all products that Lao already produces. Lao enterprises
should therefore really consider to go Fair Trade, which enables them to reach
new markets and at the same time support Lao farmers and producers to climb
out of poverty.

Mr. Vorasone Dengkayaphichith, president of the Jhai Coffee Farmers

Cooperative that produces Lao Fair Trade certified coffee from the Bolaven
plateau, explained during an interview last week what it means to be a Fair
Trade producer :

Once we got Fair Trade certification, the people came to us to ask if they could
buy our product. In this way we got access to the higher-end European and
American market. We don’t need work hard on promoting our coffee. Another
thing is that it got a lot easier to get loans while banks come to approach us
themselves to offer us loans. However, Fair Trade does not only have benefits.
It is also hard work to comply with all the standards and requirements.

The Fair Trade standards are rules that producers have to follow to gain the
right to become a Fair Trade producer. These standards concern things as the
payment of a fair price for labor, safe and healthy working conditions and
greater equity. To support the developing Lao Fair Trade sector in achieving
these standards the Fair Trade Laos business association is set-up. As the
LNCCI’s Secretary General stated:

By applying Fair Trade standards, small and medium Lao enterprises can get
assistance in improving their product quality and it enables them to aim for a
market where quality and the story of the product count. This is why LNCCI
hopes to see the Fair Trade Laos network register as a business association
this year. This will make it easier to provide services and information to our
members and in this way supports further development of the Lao Fair Trade
sector.

Fair Trade Laos offers information on fair trade products and producers in Laos,
and on fair trade markets and certification. It is an initiative established by a
small group of motivated enterprises and NGO’s that recognize the potential of
Fair Trade to improve producers’ and farmers’ lives and at the same time offer
customers a high-quality product. Fair Trade Laos presently has 16 members, in
both the food and non-food sectors, and is in the process of registration as a
Business Association under LNCCI. It is inviting interested producers to apply for
membership.

More information on Fair Trade Laos and its members can be found at:
http://laosfairtrade.net/

For questions / more information please contact:

Rio Pals - Fair Trade Laos Coordinator

0205717859 / rio_pals@hotmail.com

Links

Fair Trade Laos Members can be found at: http://laosfairtrade.net/

World Fair Trade Day 2010 Website: http://www.wftday.org/

Camacrafts – Handicrafts from the Lao PDR Website:
http://camacrafts.org/

Mulberries – Lao sericulture company: http://mulberries.org

The World Fair Trade Organisation: http://www.wfto.com

FLO-Cert: http://www.flo-cert.net/flo-cert/index.php

The Fair Trade Labeling Organisation: http://www.fairtrade.net/

Fair Trade wiki in Thai:

Http://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/
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Tables

Fair Trade products estimated retail value

LI Unit 2007 2008 Growth Rate

AUS/NZ €10,800,000 €18,567,280 72%
Austria €52,794,306 €65,200,000 23%
Belgium €35,000,000 €45,780,141 31%
Canada €79,628,241 €128,545,666 67%
Denmark €39,559,534 €51,220,106 40%
Finland €34,643,000 €54,445,645 57%
FLO eV €127,297
France €210,000,000 €255,570,000 22%
Germany €141,686,350 €212,798,451 50%
Ireland €23,335,678 €30,131,421 29%
Italy €39,000,000 €41,180,027 6%
Japan €6,200,000 €9,567,132 44%
Luxemburg €3,200,000 €4,249,301 33%
Netherlands €47,500,000 €60,913,968 28%
Norway €18,069,198 €30,961,160 73%
Spain €3,928,213 €5,483,106 40%
Sweden €42,546,039 €72,830,302 75%
Switzerland €158,101,911 €168,766,526 7%
UK €704,314,576 €880,620,304 43%
USA €730,820,000 €757,753,382 10%
Global Total €2,381,127,046 €2,894,711,217 22%

Fair Trade Product Ranking

Rank Product
1 Coffee
2 Banana
3 Tea
4 Cocoa
5 Cotton
6 Sugar
7 Flowers and plants
8 Others
9 Fruit juice
10 Fresh fruit/vegetable
11 Wine
12 Honey
13 Rice
14 Nut oil seed
15 Dried fruit
16 Herbs and spices
17 Sports ball
18 Quinoa
19 Fonio