Fair Trade, page 1

Activist Sixy explores the injustices of world trade. Highlighted in the article are examples of the Wests monopoly on trade, keeping the poor - poor. As well as highlighting issues surrounding global trade she also suggests ways of promoting fair trade.

www.rinf.com
The 48 least developed counties of the world make up 10% of the worlds population. Their share of world exports have dropped to 0.4% over the last 20 years. However, the EU and US (which together roughly accounts for 10% of the worlds population) own nearly 50% of the worlds exports. However, the good news is that sales of Fair Trade goods in the UK have grown by 40 per cent during the past year. With CafeDirect being ranked the 6th coffee brand in the UK, and TeaDirect the 8th.

There has been a fair amount of discussion about fair trade and ending global poverty within the mainstream media. Therefore, I decided to look at some of the issues surrounding fair trade for myself.

Coffee

Coffee is the second most valuable traded commodity globally … first is oil. However, the countries producing coffee are amongst the poorest in the world.

This is due mainly to the amount of money earned by the coffee producers and the amount of profit western companies are making. The price of coffee has fallen by almost 50 per cent in the past three years to a 30-year low.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

The media needs to highlight this information as the mainstream 'news' have been sweeping this growing concern under the carpet for too long allowing the fat cats to get fatter. In my opinion this is a vital issue everyone should be made aware of. Your actions can make a difference.

Related News Links:
www.speak.org.uk
www.fairtradefederation.com
www.maketradefair.com

[edit on 11-2-2005 by mickmeaney]

[edit on 29-3-2005 by Spectre]