I need statistics on "fair trade" sales figures over past year

---

Clarification of Question by vickyji-ga on 11 Apr 2004 22:06 PDT

"Fair Trade" is to be construed as trade wherein the producers have
been paid a "fair price" for goods produced. Say for example, Coffee -
where the producer farmers get only about 10% of the end-buyers value,
while middlemen, processors, and retailers get the rest.

Dear vickyji:

"TransFair USA, a certification agency...certified $208 million worth
of Fair Trade coffee. That's not much, given the $19.2 billion
American coffee market. But Fair Trade sales have tripled in the past
three years and constitute a growing slice of the booming $8.4 billion
gourmet-coffee market. Today Fair Trade coffee is imported and roasted
by 280 U.S. companies and sold at 18,000 retail outlets."

"Meanwhile, the Fair Trade seal has expanded to tea, chocolate and
bananas. Mangoes, pineapples and grapes are short-listed."

"The Coffee Clash" by Margot Roosevelt, March 8, 2004, Time Magazine
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/subscriber/0,10987,1101040308-596156,00.html

Lots of additional information and statistics can be found at the
homepage of TransFair USA www.transfairusa.org, the only fair trade
certification agency in the United States.

"Press Releases" March 29, 2004 TransFair USA
http://www.transfairusa.org/content/about/pr_040329.php

Sincerely,

Wonko

There is generally room to dispute that any transaction is unfair to a
third party,  if not one of the principles, so statistics would be
mostly guess work. World wide  in 2003 USA$764,000,000 in trade
occured between countries. Not included are trade amounts that were
disputed and/or had significant elements of unfairness affecting
someone including competitors. I picked that number out of the air.
Perhaps you can clarify.   Neil