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Fair trade chocolate: sales increase of seven percent
Photo: Henning Kaiser/ dpa
Sales of fair trade products in Germany rose to a record level last year despite the corona pandemic.
The association Fairtrade Germany announced that consumers spent around 2.1 billion euros on goods with the "Fairtrade" seal, an increase of nine percent.
In 2020, sales fell for the first time in 20 years.
Fairtrade CEO Dieter Overath rated the latest development as a "strong sign in difficult times".
Sales of fair trade coffee in 2021 remained at the level of the previous year at a good 24,000 tons.
The market share in Germany is five percent, said Overath.
Sales of cocoa rose by seven percent to almost 82,000 tons, while sales of bananas fell by three percent to a good 108,000 tons.
Overath criticized the considerable price wars in the banana supply in Germany, which can also be observed in the organic sector.
There was strong growth in a product that many people don't automatically think of as fair trade, said Overath: Sales of roses with the Fair Trade seal increased by 25 percent to around 631 million.
At 36 percent, the market share is larger than that of any other fair trade product.
According to Overath, in the 30th year of Fairtrade Germany's existence, there are no indications of any sales slumps to be expected in the near future.
"We're not too worried about getting under the price wheels," he said, referring to rising inflation and the economic fallout from the war in Ukraine.
“Fortunately, we have customers who buy out of conviction.” Initial data from this year even indicated double-digit growth for coffee.
However, a decline in sales cannot be ruled out: "If fewer flowers are bought overall, this will also have an impact on fair trade," said Overath.
In addition, the decline in trade in organic products also gives food for thought.
Fair trade continues to make up only a small proportion of the total trade turnover in Germany, but has increased overall in recent years.
The club did not release an exact number.
There are several seals for products whose suppliers value fair wages and better working conditions.
»Fairtrade« is by far the most common.
mike/dpa