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Fiji’s sugar industry is seeking to obtain “Fairtrade Accreditation”, which is about fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world.
The local sugar industry will jointly work with Tate and Lyle PL (T&L) and the Fairtrade Foundation in obtaining Fairtrade accreditation for Fiji sugar, Sugar Minister Mahendra Chaudhry said in Cabinet today.
Chaudhry said that obtaining Fairtrade accreditation for Fiji sugar was part of the recently concluded Long Term Supply Agreement between the Fiji Sugar Corporation Ltd (FSC) and T&L and the potential for and other areas of cooperation under the agreement to gain further mutual benefits.
“The FSC and T&L entered into a long term agreement on the supply of raw sugar for preferential import into the European Union (EU) market on 17 April 2008.
“The agreement commenced on 1 March 2008 and will remain in force until the end of the relevant delivery period in 2015.”
Chaudhry said that the main features of the new long term contract were the quantity and price of sugar, and payment terms.
He also said that T&L has made the ground-breaking decision to switch its entire retail sugar range to Fairtrade.
“The FAIRTRADE Mark is a product certification label whereby it indicates that the products are coming from certified organisations of farmers working to social, environmental standards; Fairtrade premiums are being paid to these producers; and that the traders in the supply chain are being audited against these sales.”
Chaudhry said the switch by T&L is going to increase sugar sales tenfold, and this commitment by T&L comes at a crucial time for sugar growers.
He added that the Fairtrade Foundation and the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation will be undertaking a pre-assessment visit to Fiji later this year.
