Producers & Impacts

TACKLING POVERTY THROUGH TRADE: How Australians and New Zealanders Buying Fairtrade Benefits Producers in Developing Countries

A report produced by Fairtrade Labelling Australia and New Zealand and Oxfam Australia, analysing the period of ANZ Fairtrade purchases and sales from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2008.

Download the report here - for Australia (Adobe PDF, 1.2Mb), for New Zealand (Adobe PDF, 1.2Mb)
Read our media release here - for Australia (Adobe PDF, 59kb)

The report, Tackling Poverty Through Trade, released 27 April 2009, shows:

1. Australians spent more than AU$17 million on Fairtrade coffee in 2008, delivering AU$1.2 million of Fairtrade Economic Benefit to coffee growers on top of standard market prices. New Zealanders choosing Fairtrade coffee delivered almost NZ$800 000 in Fairtrade Economic Benefit to small farmer coffee cooperatives.

2. Fairtrade Certified coffee farmer cooperatives in the developing world invested the economic benefits from Fairtrade on activities such as improving infrastructure such as roads, building schools and enhancing education, growing new coffee trees to improve yields and quality, and providing health care in rural areas

3. Fairtrade's unique approach of guaranteeing minimum prices and ensuring buyers pay Fairtrade Premiums for cooperatives to invest in development delivers a range of economic, social and environmental benefits including:

security and stability of incomes to farmers
a safety net from highly volatile commodity markets
the capacity to plan for and invest in a future for their farms and their families
access to markets and creation of value adding opportunities
improvements in education and training opportunities and environmental farming practices

Read profiles of some of the Fairtrade Certified producers supplying coffee to Australia and New Zealand, and how they are benefiting from Fairtrade and investing their Fairtrade Economic Benefits: