In its pre-election manifesto, Labour promised ‘to create a world free from poverty on a liveable planet’. Now the party is in government, and chancellor Rachel Reeves has set out a plan for economic growth that will be ‘guided by one clear principle above all: to act in the national interest’. At Fairtrade, we believe that these two statements can and must be reconciled; the UK’s national interest cannot be separated from the wellbeing of people and planet.
The UK’s long-term economic growth is inextricably linked to the livelihoods of the millions of smallholder farmers across the world that work to feed the UK. The UK is not food secure – we import almost half our food.
Yet at Fairtrade we hear every day from farmers and producers who tell us that international trade is too often synonymous with exploitation: And unless we achieve a system that genuinely meets the needs of overseas farmers, we cannot continue to rely on the food they provide or their contribution to UK trade.
Take tea as an example. In the UK, we drink around 100 million cups every day (almost as many as in Turkey and Ireland!). A product we can’t grow in our climate, tea is one of Britain’s most loved drinks – and over centuries its trade has brought many benefits to our economy and culture. Yet throughout its history, these benefits have often come at the expense of those who grow and pick it.
Farmers in many tea-growing parts of the world such as Kenya are dealing with challenges, including prices that are unpredictable and often extremely low (around $2 per kg) resulting in uncertain and insufficient incomes. “Tea prices are not going up, yet the cost of production has been going up every year,” Kenyan tea cooperative member Erastus Ndumia, told us recently. This impacts on the livelihoods of millions of tea growers.
Erastus is a member of a Fairtrade-certified co-operative, who can rely on a Fairtrade Minimum Price and Fairtrade Premium for the tea they sell on Fairtrade terms. He is also benefiting from established long-term relationships with Fairtrade buyers. But many tea farmers lack the certainty that they will be able to sell on terms that enable them to support themselves and their families.
In the Trade Strategy due to be published in Spring, the UK government has the power to support farmers and workers growing tea, and other food and drink products that we rely on in the UK.
The strategy can put a focus on the need for businesses to pay fair prices for commodities that we import into the UK and to address the needs of those in the first mile of food supply chains. Too often the terms of trade for smallholder farmers and workers in low-income countries are imposed upon them. The first step to delivering fairer purchasing practices is to consult with them when agreeing the terms of trade.
It can also ensure coherence between its trade, development, and climate policies. Trade policies must not encourage a race to the bottom in the name of immediate growth. When trade is made fair, it can help to drive progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and deliver the UK’s commitments on climate and biodiversity, as well as supporting a resilient supply of food into the UK.
Finally, fairer supply chains are at the heart of Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) legislation, another important commitment that the trade strategy should make. This law can ensure that supply chains are environmentally and socially sustainable and that there is greater transparency for consumers. It should be designed so that the costs and burdens of compliance are not passed onto overseas smallholder farmers and workers themselves.
The UK must therefore carefully craft its approach to trade in a way that supports businesses and the livelihoods of the millions of small-holder farmers in low-income countries – like Erastus – that produce a third of the world’s food. This is what will deliver sustainability in our food supply chains, which is ultimately ‘in the national interest’.
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