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Central Perc Coffee is the only TransFair Canada Licencee in
BC, North of the Okanagan.
What
is TransFair Canada?
TransFair Canada (TFC) is the Canadian affiliate of Fairtrade
Labeling Organizations International (FLO). It is a not-for- profit company.
Its members include major Canadian churches, trade unions and such
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as Oxfam-Canada, and World Vision. FLO is
a growing world-wide movement working for the fairer trade of products in
global markets. |
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What is TransFair Canada
committed to?
TransFair Canada
supports the alleviation of poverty in Southern countries by expanding sales of
certified fair trade coffee and tea in Canada. The goal is to have sales of one
million kilograms of coffee sold in the Canadian coffee market under a fair
trade license by year-end 2001. TFC is working to show coffee importers and
retailers in Canada that they can do good business by doing good. It wants them
to offer coffee that's more fairly traded and expand this "niche market." It
wants Canadian consumers to have more choice. TransFair Canada is about
rewarding the coffee industry by helping it grow, not about punishing it for
today's wrongs. It promotes a 'buycott' not a boycott. |
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How does TransFair Canada
work?
TFC is an independent
certifier and monitor. It licenses the TransFair logo to Canadian Roasters for
a fee. When Canadians buying coffee see it, they know they're improving life
for coffee farmers in the developing world, and for their families and
communities. TFC licensees buy from importers who pay a fair price and deal
directly with the democratic co-ops, which the small farmers began forming in
the 1980s. There are now over 300 coffee co-ops on FLO's international register
of producers in Latin America, South America, Africa, and Asia. |
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How is today's coffee trade
unfair?
Of the 25 million coffee
producers in 70 countries, over one third are small farmers. Typically, each
has only two to five acres of land. Since each coffee bush provides only a
pound of coffee per year, the farmers must tend thousands. They are at the
bottom of a long food chain from farm to supermarket and local cafe. Usually
they get no more than 10% of the retail price. This means earning as little as
$5 a day. Unable to export directly, they turn to dealing with mid-level
traders or "coyotes," as they're called in Latin America. With their monopoly
coyotes force farmers to sell low and as lenders, coyotes charge extremely high
interest. |
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How does fair trade benefit
farmers?
1) Guaranteed minimum
price of US $1.26 per pound, which covers the cost of production and basic
living costs. If the world price is higher than $1.26, importers pay a premium
of US$0.05/lb more.
2) Direct
trade/reduced reliance on the middlemen.
3) Pre-financing by the importer to the producer if requested, which
helps avoid debt traps.
4) Long term
contracts: So producers can invest in social and ecological development
projects such as organic or shade grown coffee which is healthier for the
environment, workers and consumers, produces higher quality beans, and allows
families to inter-plant fruit trees and vegetables at the same time. Under fair
trade, consumers pay a more 'realistic cost, which acknowledges the farmers'
basic human rights, environmental concerns, and sustainability in return for
quality coffee. Through the skills learned from direct fair trade, farmers know
the value of their coffee and capture a higher percent of the world price even
on their conventional market sales. |
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| To learn more
follow this link to the TransFair Canada website. |
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