Fair Trade coffee, in the market (markets of EU countires/ US etc) means Fair Tarde certified/ labeled coffee. Eg Cafedirect, Gepa etc. FLO-Cert in Bonn, Germany is the agency which certifies coffee. But the WFTO partner organisations are those who marketed it to the supermarkets in the major destinations of FT coffee. Traidcraft Exchange and Gepa are the examples. Traidcraft Exchange is one of the stakeholders of Fair Trade Forumdation, the FLO's national body in UK.Fair Trade coffee came into market as an alternative to very lower/ unfair prices given to poor farmers by some of the transnational coffee giants which had (have even now) monopoly in coffee procurement. Now most of the Fair Trade coffee to the western markets is coming from Africa/ latin America.
.jpg) This change was brought by Fair Trade organizations in the west which worked to ensure Fair income / Fair Price to the farmers & workers, during the last five decades. And Fair Trade is responsibly addressed problems of starvation/suicides of many coffee farmers, workers in several developing countries. By offering Fair price it has also ensured all-round development of lakhs of coffee farmers' families in developing/ underdeveloped regions in Africa & Latin America.
But now, with the enormous popularity of Fair Trade coffee in the major coffee consuming markets in the West, Nestle has brought a Fair Trade certified brand named 'Partners Blend’. Starbucks, the Coffee house network-giant also had, started procuring some part of their coffee business on Fair Trade criteria’s i. e. Fair income / Fair Price to the farmers & workers . It was necessary for them to ensure the credibility of their businesses among the aware/ learned consumers of the West & north America.
As far as Fair Trade Coffee production is concerned, India is at present not a big contributor. But there are a few Fair Trade certified coffee producing organizations in India, which are at present mainly export oriented. 'Fair Trade Alliance - Kerala' is an example. Mainly such organisations are working in the regions such as Wayanad-Kerala & Coorg-Karnataka.
In India, 'Mother Earth' - a branded Fair Trade shops-chain promoted by Industree Crafts Foundation, sells Fair Trade certified/ labeled coffee. You can contact Ms. Neelam Chibber, founder of Mother Earth in neelam@motherearth.co.in. They have Fair Trade stores in all major metros including Delhi, Bangalore etc.
But I know that quite a few organizations in India are at present working on the spirit of Fair Trade i. e (1) giving Fair income / Fair Price to the farmers & workers as well as (2) giving opportunity for Fair Consumption (consumption without exploiting the farmer/ worker).
Another example is 'Small and Marginal Tribal Farmers Mutually Aided Coop. Society (SAMTFMACS)', Arukuvalley situated in the boarder of Orissa and Andhra. They supply bulk quantities of organic coffee beans in wholesale. You can get more info on this from Mr. Prakash Babu ( prakash@naandi.org). They have not become Fair Tarde certified organisation yet, but they are in touch with FTF-I. But (as far as I know) they trying to give Fair income / Fair Price to the farmers & workers .
I also suggest to cover government promoted cooperatives like 'Supplyco', Kerala, which is working to ensure better income / better price to the farmers.
Also, India is not really consuming Fair Trade certified coffee in considerable quantities at present. But there are some organisations which sell (retail) imported Fair Trade certified coffee in very small/ negligible quantities. But the awareness of Fair Trade movement, which is growing in India as it offers Fair income / Fair Price to the farmers & workers, is attracting consumers now. For consumers Fair Trade can be a tool to practice Fair/ un-exploitative/ Responsible/ People Friendly consumption.
So there is an increasing demand among elite/ young consumers for Fair Trade products. FTF-I is trying to tap this opportunity by building up networking with coffee & other food producers in India through Fair Trade branding.
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