FAIRTRADE AND SUPERMARKET PROFIT MARGINS

That this House welcomes the increase in the range of Fairtrade food and clothing available to consumers, but regrets that of the estimated £200 million spent on certified Fairtrade products in the United Kingdom only about £42 million gets back to those in developing countries; notes with concern that British supermarkets take about 32 pence in every pound spent by customers on Fairtrade goods, generating a higher profit margin than achieved with non-Fairtrade products which is a practice also undertaken by supply chain operators; believes that public support for producers in the developing world to get fair prices for their goods, as promoted by global charity Fairtrade, is being exploited by supply chain operators and UK supermarkets; and calls on the Government to impress upon all involved in the distribution and sale of Fairtrade products not to apply profit margins higher than those for non-Fairtrade goods and preferably to apply lower margins.