Kraft Foods has secured Fairtrade certification for Cadbury Dairy Milk in South Africa, the company said today (8 June).
The US company’s local subsidiary claimed it was the “first major South African business” to achieve Fairtrade certification.
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“The Fairtrade accreditation means that the cocoa used in the making of our leading chocolate brand will be sourced from certified Fairtrade producers” said Kraft Foods South Africa marketing director Mike Middleton. “It demonstrates our commitment to fair trade practices and to the sustainability of cocoa farmers and their communities. We are very proud to be the first major business to achieve this certification in South Africa.”
Kraft has partnered with cocoa farmers in west Africa, who will now receive internationally-agreed Fairtrade prices for their product and the Fairtrade Premium of US$200 per tonne for investment in the development of their businesses and communities.
In 2009, Fairtrade-certified sales in South Africa reached ZAR5.7m. Although Fairtrade has been operational in South Africa for the past two years, the agreement with Kraft is set to increase retail sales of Fairtrade products by over eight times.
Boudewijn Goossens, executive director of Fairtrade Label SA (FLSA), said: “This move to Fairtrade is great news for cocoa growers in west Africa, opening up opportunities for more and more farmers to join the system, and for those already in the system to be able to sell more under Fairtrade terms. As one of the largest and most well-known confectionery companies in the world, we are delighted that Kraft Foods is setting an example by following the lead of its Cadbury operations elsewhere in the world.”
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By GlobalDataSince Cadbury Dairy Milk’s first move to Fairtrade in the UK and Ireland in 2009, and subsequently in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, GBP2.7m of premiums have been transferred to farmers in Ghana to be spent on farming equipment and mobile health clinics. The amount of cocoa sold under Fairtrade terms from Ghana has quadrupled from 5,000 to 20,000 tonnes.
Click here for more on Kraft’s South African plans.
