The Market Opportunity of Vegetables for Tanzania in the Fair Trade Sector

The Market Opportunity of vegetables for Tanzania in the Fair Trade Sector
 By KOMBA BRIGIDA BAPRM 47531



The Market Opportunity for Tanzania in the Fair Trade Sector Despite the constraints that go with this market sector, the fair trade label does add significant value for producers. If the market develops significantly for vegetables in the coming years, new opportunities may begin to emerge. Fair trade-certified vegetables appear to offer one of the most promising initial routes to market for Tanzanian producers. Mangetouts would be especially promising, because African producers are very competitive in them and they still fetch a premium, unlike fine beans, for example. It is recommended that the sector start to explore opportunities with key fair trade organizations (certifiers like the Fairtrade Foundation in the U.K., importers like AgroFair in the Netherlands, NGOs, and so on). Unlike in most other areas, Kenya’s lead here is relatively small. In this context, it should be pointed out that fair trade organizations evaluate, assist, and certify existing operations; they do not assist in establishing them. However, this would necessarily be a niche market, as the market for fair trade produce across Europe is still relatively small—not growing as fast as that for organics, for example, and not currently focused on vegetables—though this could change, of course. Sales of fair trade products are often heavily concentrated in certain periods of the year, such as the “Fairtrade Fortnight” held in the U.K. in early March. Over this time, fair trade issues are given a high degree of prominence by the media—and, increasingly, by major retailers. One of the key marketing challenges for the fair trade-based sector is to keep sales levels high for most of the rest of the year and not just during periods of special attention. The future for fair trade products lies largely in the prosperity of end markets across the EU. The general feeling in the market is that many people still buy fair trade items not due to a deep understanding (and subsequent rejection) of modern, intensive, high-tech international agrifood supply chains and trade conditions, but rather to make themselves “feel good” and, to some extent, to follow fashion. If economic prosperity dips in Europe, many in the industry believe that expensive products (such as fair trade) will be the first to leave people’s shopping baskets.