WFTO Conference Begins
‘Strengthen fair trade for marginal producers’
A three-day biannual conference of World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO) of Asia region kicked off yesterday with a call to strengthen fair trade to create opportunities for small and marginal producers and artisans.
Fair trade is an alternative trading approach that seeks greater equity in international trade to help empower marginal producers.
Participants said fair trade, as a movement, is expanding both at home and abroad. But more needs to be done to help small producers, artisans and workers so they get greater share of the growing global trade, they added.
From 2004 to 2009, fair trade has seen four-fold growth in sales taking the number from 832 million euros to 3,400, said Durreen Shahnaz, founder and chairperson of Impact Investment Exchange, a social stock exchange in Asia.
“This is an average yearly growth of over 30 percent for five years running. In other words, the world is waking up to your [fair trade organisations and social enterprises] efforts and embracing the practices wholeheartedly,” added Durreen in her keynote speech.
She, however, demanded that social enterprises (SEs) get easier access to capital to expand their business.
ECOTA Fair Trade Forum (EFTF) organised the meet at Brac-CDM at Ashulia, on the outskirt of Dhaka. More than 120 local and foreign delegates including from European countries, USA, Japan, China, and India attended the programme.
Dhaka University (DU) Vice-chancellor Professor AAMS Arefin Siddique, World Fair Trade Forum (WFTF) Chair Paul Myers and WFTF Asia Representative Claribel David addressed the opening session.
Prof Arefin stressed the importance of fair trade for economic empowerment of the marginal communities.
Paul Myers called upon fair trade promoters for awareness building campaigns among consumers to create wider markets for the producers of poor artisan communities.
Organisers said global trade is expanding and export of developing countries is increasing with large inequalities still looming.
For every $1 generated through exports in the international trading system, low-income countries account for only three cents, according to a publication of ECOTA Fair Trade Forum that works with the artisan communities at home and abroad.
Presently, EFTF members work with over 1,15,000 artisans. Of them 80 percent are women, it claims.
Abdul Awal, chairperson of EFTF in Bangladesh, said governments should provide support to create congenial environment for small producers and social enterprises.
The conference is scheduled to conclude on September 26.
