Written - Fairtrade Fortnight - 25 February to 9 March 2008

I am very pleased to report the success of Fairtrade Fortnight (25 February to 9 March 2008) in Wales in raising awareness of the issue of fair trade.

The use of fair trade products in Wales is helping thousands of farmers and producers to trade their way out of poverty. Fairtrade Fortnight is a valuable time to engage all sections of society by raising awareness of fair trade in Wales. This is a way for us all to play our part in Making Poverty History and making the world a fairer place.

Lots of activities have been taking place across Wales during Fairtrade Fortnight this year, supported and publicised by the Wales Fair Trade Forum. Three fair trade producers have also visited Wales during the fortnight to help promote and explain the impact of fair trade: a grapefruit farmer from South Africa and two representatives from the ‘Kuapa Kokoo’ cocoa farmers organisation in Ghana.

I attended a Fairtrade breakfast at the Bethlehem Welsh Presbyterian Church in Treorchy on Saturday 1 March 2008, where the first anniversary of Rhondda Cynon Taf becoming a Fairtrade county was celebrated. There I met Martha Musonza-Holman, originally from Zimbabwe but now living in Wales, who sells Fair Trade crafts produced in Zimbabwe.

I will also be attending one of the final Fairtrade Fortnight activities taking place in Wales: a bus from the UK Fairtrade Foundation will be visiting the Cardiff Bay Oval Basin on Saturday 8 March between approximately 11:00am – 3:00pm. This is in recognition of the fact that Cardiff was the world’s first Fairtrade capital city. Along with the bus, a marquee and stalls will be promoting fair trade to visitors and members of the public, and entertainment will be provided by a samba band.

Two years ago the Welsh Assembly Government started supporting the campaign to make Wales the world’s first Fair Trade Country, which is led by the Wales Fair Trade Forum. Since then we have seen enormous progress. Over 1,000 volunteers across Wales have also been working hard to support the campaign. A panel of international fair trade sector representatives will be meeting in April 2008 to assess whether Wales has achieved Fair Trade Country status.

Two years ago only 8 local authorities in Wales had Fairtrade status or were actively seeking it. Now all 22 local authorities in Wales have active Fairtrade groups.

Two years ago only 11 towns had active Fairtrade groups, encouraging local shops and cafes to stock Fairtrade products and raising awareness of Fairtrade in the local community. Now 57 towns have active groups.

Two years ago there were no Fairtrade schools in Wales and only a handful trying to become Fairtrade. Now 247 schools across Wales have registered to become Fairtrade schools – which is over half of all the schools that have registered in the whole of the UK.

Just 1 year ago a survey showed that only 44% of people in Wales recognised the Fairtrade mark. By November last year that figure had risen to 61%.

I would like to thank everyone who has helped to promote Fairtrade Fortnight in Wales this year, and all those who are working on the Fair Trade Country campaign. Together we are providing important support to the fair trade movement, which guarantees a fair price for farmers/producers in developing countries and support for community initiatives to improve the standard of living for some of the world’s poorest people.