Does fair trade really make a difference?
Fair trade in organic raw materials is something that is very dear to our hearts. Our aim? To pay smallholder families a fair wage for their work that will safeguard their futures. Every product that we can sell on as being not only certified organic but also with a fair trade label makes a big difference to the farming families. PRONATEC Direct Sourcing ensures that the premiums are guaranteed to reach the right target – namely the smallholder cooperatives and their members.
In 2024, together with our customers, we were able to pay out an impressive USD 2,111,370 in fair trade premiums to smallholders.
Demand for Fairtrade cocoa in 2024 even exceeded the volumes that we were able to supply due to a below-average harvest.
We are therefore confident that we will be able to increase the premium payments again in 2025.
There are various fair trade labels such as Fairtrade International, Fairtrade USA, Fair for Life and Biopartenaire. They all have the same objective: to guarantee that the people who actually produce the products receive a fair wage for their work. The key levers for achieving this are the fair trade premium and minimum prices.
Fair trade premium and minimum prices: the levers for fair trade
The fair trade minimum price that is agreed for the long term is a defined lower limit and covers the average production costs for sustainable production. Naturally, the cooperatives are free to agree a higher price at any time. In addition, there is a fair trade premium that is paid to the cooperative on top of the sales price. The members decide democratically how the premium should be invested and what goals they want to achieve.
Fair trade changes whole communities
Selling fair trade certified products has an impact on the environment, health and education of whole communities. The farmers benefit from a better income and more financial security thanks to the minimum price. The extra fair trade premium that is paid in addition goes to support health, education, organic farming or infrastructure projects in the community. However, fair trade also stands for better protection for the environment and a ban on child or slave labour.
What does physical traceability mean in fair trade?
A product is physically traceable if it comes 100% from a specific fair trade cooperative and has been kept in a separate delivery and processing chain throughout its processing and transportation. Wherever possible, we strive for full physical traceability for our products. This is guaranteed with the labels Fairtrade VPT (for Voluntary Physical Traceability – also called FLO traceable) and Fair for Life. Our organic cocoa beans, cocoa mass, vanilla, spices and chocolate bars, and most of our cocoa butter, cocoa powder and sugar are physically traceable back to the smallholder cooperatives.
How does Fairtrade International using the mass balance system work?
For certain products, physical traceability is difficult to implement, for logistical or technical production reasons. In order to enable producers of these products to also participate in the Fairtrade programme, the mass balance system was developed. In Fairtrade with mass balance, the volume of Fairtrade products that is sold is exactly the same as the volume of Fairtrade certified raw materials that was purchased. The principle is similar to that of green electricity where, for example, solar power is fed into the system. For every customer who pays the supplement for green electricity, the blend of power that is available in the network becomes a little greener. Of course, with mass balance, only the same volume of Fairtrade products can be sold as the volume of Fairtrade raw materials that was purchased. Tracing is carried out indirectly using a detailed system of documentation that is regularly audited by independent inspectors.
PRONATEC Direct Sourcing: knowing where the premiums go to
Thanks to our direct sourcing approach and the trusting relationships we have built up over many years with independent smallholder cooperatives, we know in every case exactly where the premiums for our fair trade products are going. The same applies to fair trade with mass balance. We use this if physical traceability is is very difficult to implement for technical production reasons. Some of our chocolates and coatings, for example, are only available with the Fairtrade label at all thanks to mass balance.
It is important to us to be able to offer Fairtrade certified chocolates and coatings – so in such cases we use mass balance as a suitable alternative. From the point of view of the smallholders, the Fairtrade premium is the main priority, and we pay that to the cooperatives assiduously even where the mass balance system has been used. Furthermore, the sooner we achieve a “critical mass” of Fairtrade volume, the sooner we can offer our customers full physical traceability.
Fair trade labels offered by PRONATEC
PRONATEC offers various fair trade labels, such as Fairtrade International, Fair Trade USA, Fair for Life and Biopartenaire. Compliance is assured by independent organisations.
Portrait Biopartenaire
The French non-profit association Biopartenaire was founded about twenty years ago by pioneers of the French organic sector. PRONATEC has been a member for over ten years, along with other producers, importers, processors and the professional association of French organic shops. The core concerns of Biopartenaire include socially and environmentally compatible food production with fair wages and cooperation with farmers on an equal footing. One of the label’s strengths is the direct link between consumers and producers.
