Fairtrade extended to British produce

The Fairtrade mark designed to reassure consumers of the ethical soundness of produce from the Third World is to be extended in a pilot project that will help struggling organic farmers in Britain.

The symbol will be given only to produce that also meets the organic standards of the Soil Association, which started a one-year joint labelling scheme with the Fairtrade Foundation yesterday.

The Fairtrade mark tells shoppers that farmers and workers in the developing world are given a price that covers the sustainable cost of production, which includes margins for profit and investment. Buyers are also encouraged to commit to long-term relationships with growers.

The Soil Association label is given to produce that meets requirements to keep produce free from chemicals, pesticides and additives.

Coffee, tea, chocolate, sugar, honey and fruit are among 100 products sold in the UK that already carry the Fairtrade mark. Only six companies – trading mainly in chocolate, coffee and bananas – also carry the Soil Association mark.

The first products to be marked under the new scheme will be grapes from South Africa, which are expected to go on the shelves in the next two months. British potatoes, as well as beef, bacon, lamb and pork are to follow over the next year. Milk and dairy products may also be included.

Harriet Lamb, executive director of the Fairtrade Foundation, said: "While our priority is to assist producers in the South who suffer most from the problems of world trade, we recognise that many of these problems are shared by farmers in developed countries."

Patrick Holden, the director of the Soil Association, said that many British organic farmers were struggling to survive and needed fairer terms from supermarkets, which still enforced low prices and demanded cosmetic perfection in produce. Such demands are often incompatible with organic farming methods.