The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa)
24 March 2008

By Fikremariam Tesfaye
Addis Abeba
Black Gold, a documentary film revolving around the Ethiopian coffee farmers and their ill treatment by the lucrative global coffee industry, was premiered in Ethiopia as the 2nd Addis International Film Festival was launched here on Friday in Addis Ababa. Continue Reading »

Inter Press Service (Johannesburg)
24 March 2008

By Hilaire Avril
Paris
France is expected to push for the further entrenchment of trade-distorting agricultural subsidies when it ascends to the presidency of the European Union (EU) on July 1 this year.

Despite amendments to the EU’s controversial Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and skyrocketing crop prices worldwide, Europe’s farm subsidies for 2007 still amounted to 54.7 billion euros (85 billion US dollars).

African states have been agitating against the EU and U.S.’s subsidies for many years as they cause overproduction which distorts world prices and leads to the dumping of commodities on African markets. Many African states are also dependent on agriculture as their main source of exports and foreign exchange. Continue Reading »

[Note from Blog Admin: Alaffia will also have a booth at Expo West this weekend. However, Alaffia is not a Transfair “licensee” because Transfair has opted not to consider fair trade certification for shea butter, stating that there is not enough evidence of unfair market practices in the shea butter market. You don’t need a Tranfair guide however to check us out. If you’re at the Expo, you are most welcome to come by the Alaffia booth and find out more about fair trade shea butter.]

Fair Trade Certified Products Step into the Natural Foods Limelight at Expo West

Oakland, CA (February 26, 2008) -In 1998, Will Smith’s “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” became a billboard chart-topper, organic became a new buzzword for the mainstream consumer, and TransFair USA opened its doors with Fair Trade Certified™ coffee.

Ten years later, Will Smith pulls up 22,000 hits on You Tube, Certified Organic captures 70% of U.S. consumer recognition, and a record 46 companies will showcase Fair Trade Certified products among their offerings at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, Ca. on March 13-16, 2008. In 2008, Fair Trade is emerging as a leading trend within the Natural Products industry. Continue Reading »

Accessed 3/13/08 at www.transfairusa.org/content/about/pr/pr_080110.php

Oakland, CA (January 10, 2008) - TransFair USA, the nation’s only independent, third-party certifier of Fair Trade Certified™ products, has been awarded a $100,000 grant from The Tiffany & Co. Foundation to assess the feasibility of Fair Trade certification for diamonds. TransFair USA will begin conducting the study in early 2008 to investigate this possible new category, which would support the development efforts and reward best practices of diamond producers. Continue Reading »

Tate & Lyle sugar sold in shops is to be Fairtrade accredited, making it the biggest UK firm to carry the label. Continue Reading »