"Fairtrade has helped put development on the shopping list and, in improving many poorer producers’ incomes, is contributing to the Millennium Development Goals. But there are millions of other farmers in developing countries who want the fair prices and steady demand Fairtrade brings. That is why we are funding the Fairtrade Foundation to help them ‘Tip the Balance’ to expand the country and product coverage of Fairtrade and achieve a four-fold expansion in sales by 2012. Companies and retailers are critical to achieving this ambitious goal, in the choices about where they buy from, the terms of trade and how they share this information with customers.

"We congratulate all businesses who have helped put Fairtrade on the shelf, and call upon the business community to take Fairtrade to the next level, making it more mainstream still. The retail industry can open doors to more farmers in developing countries and play their part towards the MDGs by enabling shoppers to support Fairtrade every day."

It was announced at the conference today that sales of Fairtrade products for April to June 2008 grew by 55% from an estimated retail value of £113 million to £176 m in the same period last year. Volume, the best indicator of the amount of Fairtrade premiums that go back to producer groups to spend on community development projects, such as classrooms and clinics, increased by 42% in food alone.

• Sugar (including retail, catering and composites) increased in volume by 467%, an increase in sales value from £10 m to almost £24 m
• Items made with Fairtrade cotton creased by 323% from 1.4 million units to 6 million units
• Tea grew in volume by 186%, an increase in sales value from just under £7 m to almost £16 m

According to recent TNS figures, Fairtrade certified foods have increased their market penetration 61% to 70% over the last year (from 15.2 m households to 17.5 m), meaning that an extra 2.3 m households now purchase Fairtrade certified food products. In addition to this, the number of shopping trips on which a household purchases Fairtrade food has increased by 4.5 trips. Major category switches by Tate & Lyle, the Co-operative and Sainsbury’s have largely contributed to this increase in Fairtrade sales, but sales generated by dedicated Fairtrade companies such as Cafédirect, Divine Chocolate, AgroFair fruit company and the new Fairtrade nut company Liberation have also made their mark. Core categories such as bananas and coffee continued to show a steady growth of 27% and 23% in the 2^nd quarter of 2008 respectively.

Iain Ferguson, CBE, Chief Executive of Tate & Lyle plc, one of the keynote speakers, said:  “We have had an excellent response from consumers to our switch to Fairtrade and we have seen good volume growth in key customer accounts, somewhat ahead of our expectations. The reaction of our staff throughout the business to our Fairtrade commitment has also been very positive and even our recruitment programme has benefited!  We are proud to be involved with Fairtrade and proud that every time someone buys a pack of Tate & Lyle Fairtrade cane sugar, farming communities in Belize will benefit.”

The theme for Fairtrade Fortnight 2009 (23 February – 8 March), Make it happen. Choose Fairtrade, was also unveiled to conference delegates. Companies were encouraged to build on last year’s success, which saw several all-important conversions to Fairtrade from major high street companies. Fairtrade Fortnight presents companies with a unique opportunity to market Fairtrade and is the perfect time for companies to improve visibility at point-of-sale, or even consider extending their range of Fairtrade certified products.

“This continuing uplift in sales is great news and shows the public is still taking Fairtrade to heart. Every day in shops up and down the country consumers are becoming the champions of change. Times are tough for everyone, but producers need Fairtrade now more than ever,” said Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation. “The scale and level of poverty worldwide demands that businesses and consumers urgently need to play their part to scale up Fairtrade and in these tough economic times, people in developing countries who typically spend over 50% of their income on food, are the most severely affected.  In Kenya recently, a farmer told me that a bag of maize had increased by 100%.  On top of this, farmers are struggling to pay soaring fuel and fertilizer costs. Fairtrade offers people a ladder out of poverty, helping farmers themselves work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Business needs to play its part in offering farmers a market in the UK, so opening the way for more farmers to sell their goods on fairer terms.”

Presentations at the conference also stimulated discussion about the topical issues of global food prices and the credit crunch. The mood of the conference among many was that Fairtrade sales would maintain momentum.  One of the leading Fairtrade retailers, The Co-operative, reported that sales of Fairtrade certified products rose by 34% in the last year. Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s reported last week that sales of Fairtrade bananas, one of the top three items sold each week, have increased by 6%.

As well as Iain Ferguson of Tate & Lyle plc and Harriet Lamb of the Fairtrade Foundation, other keynote speakers included Olympic medallist Sir Steve Redgrave who has recently launched his FiveG range of menswear made from Fairtrade cotton, Valerie Nelson & Barry Pound from Natural Resources Institute, Carlos Magana from Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association, Teresa Fabian, from PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sian Davis from Henley Centre HeadlightVision, and Rwandan Ambassador, H.E. Claver Gatete, who talked about the importance of Fairtrade in allowing disadvantaged and marginalised farmers and workers to address the challenges of poverty and aspire to a better future.