USA: Fair Trade imports reach record highs

TransFair USA, the leading third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States, has released its annual Almanac. The 2009 edition shows record volumes of Fair Trade Certified imports, Fair Trade expansion into popular new product categories, and reflects a surge in consumer demand and increased brand recognition for  Fair Trade certified goods. TransFair USA bucked the trend and certified more than 100 million pounds of Fair Trade coffee - an increase of 20 million pounds over 2008 figures. Coffee is Fair Trade's flagship product, and its 2009 growth resulted in over 45 million $ in additional income paid to farmers, according to PR Newswire.

Wine was another product that saw growth in 2009, totaling a 460 % rise in imports in just its second year. TransFair USA certified the first Fair Trade wines for the market in the USA in 2008 and they have exploded in popularity since. This spike directly resulted in additional income for wine producers climbing from 15,000 $ in 2008 to 114,064 $ in the past year. Spices and vanilla saw a 240 % growth in imports, and sugar rose by 20 %. Some Fair Trade mainstays such as tea and flowers had similar numbers to 2008, while imports for cocoa represent the only category to fall in 2009. 

TransFair USA in 2009 was expansion into several new product categories, showing that there is a demand in the US market for Fair Trade items across the board. These new products include sports balls, olive oil, quinoa, Brazil nuts and shea butter. As a third party certifier, TransFair USA brings producers and companies together in order to provide consumers with access to quality Fair Trade products. At the end of 2009, more than 350 certified producer organizations were affiliated with 813 companies that ranged from boutique shops to artisan coffee roasters to multi-national corporations. This combination has given rise to the over 6,000 Fair Trade Certified products now available in the United States, 259 of which were newly added in 2009. The complete report is available here

PR Newswire