What proportion of the final price do fair trade farmers receive?
This is a complex question and the actual amount varies by product and location. We have looked in detail at the costs involved in 2 products (coffee, chocolate) to help explore this area. The cost of producing the final product is obviously much greater than merely the cost of the raw materials, whether in a bar of chocolate or a cup of coffee. There are multiple costs involved in transportation, extraction, roasting, processing, packaging and manufacturing. For our coffee farmers, the overall picture is that they receive about 50% more in a Fair Trade situation than they would in a non Fair Trade situation. For example, for a bag of our Fair Trade coffee the coffee farmers themselves will be paid approximately 17% of the final retail price. The equivalent in a non Fair Trade bag would be about 5%. However, it is hard to capture the importance of Fair Trade in terms of increased price alone. Local development created by local capital is huge. Additionally, Fair Trade farmers receive a
