Bringing quality to life for developing countries

FOR everyone with an interest in helping to relieve Africa of poverty, July 24 marked a sad turning point, when the global free trade talks collapsed, putting the World Trade Organisation’s Doha development negotiations on hold. It is increasingly unlikely an agreement can be found on making trade fairer.

At this point, even the most optimistic of observers describe the chances of success as ‘wafer-thin’. From my own experience at a company which has been pioneering Fairtrade for the past 15 years, I know trading fairly does make a positive impact.

We ensure more goes back for the benefit of growers per pack of coffee, tea or cocoa sold. We pay above Fairtrade minimum prices to all the growers we purchase from and we form long-term partnerships that help them to develop sustainable businesses.