42 euros to buy products
Compiling the sales figures of several players in the sector, Enabel indicates that last year, Belgians spent on average 42 euros on the purchase of fair trade products. Including 29 euros for the purchase of products from the South. Figures up almost 5% compared to 2022… but in a context where “inflation for food products was 12.73% on an annual basis”. However, food products represent 97% of fair trade products sold in the country, underlines Enabel. Sales have therefore increased in value, but not in volume… Enabel therefore highlights the Belgian consumer’s dilemma: “supporting fair trade in a tense economic context”.
guillementMore than half of Belgians think that fair trade products are too expensive, and certainly among young people.”
Enabel further notes that the increase in the cost of living and concerns about purchasing power remain the biggest concerns of Belgians today, after health. “More than half of them think fair trade products are too expensive, and certainly among young people.” The price is and remains the biggest obstacle to purchasing these products.
Here are the champions of fair trade in Belgium
Fairtrade premium down
Last June, Fairtrade Belgium, in publishing its figures, already indicated: “Growth remains a challenge”. Certainly, the offer is diversifying with no less than 476 new Fairtrade labeled products launched last year. From energy bars at Decathlon to ironing covers at Brabantia. Or again, this year, with the appearance of a line of basic clothing in fairtrade cotton from the Belgian fashion brand Bel&Bo. Even in more “classic” categories such as coffee and chocolate, the offer is expanding.
Anchoring fair prices in law for producers everywhere
“But greater diversity does not easily translate into greater impact, noted Fairtrade Belgium. Because although the market value increased by 6% in 2023 to reach 330 million – mainly due to inflation – the Fairtrade premium, the main impact indicator, decreased by 4.6%. More “the label is holding strong in Belgium“, notes the organization”and the market share of coffee, bananas and cocoa remains almost unchanged.. “For this year, the trend is rather positive regarding cocoa and cottonsays Philippe Weiler, the CEO, but it is more complicated for bananas and for coffee, especially, for which the rise in prices is really an obstacle to the development of fair trade. But I have a lot of confidence in the future. Not only is there now a wide range of Fairtrade products for every type of consumer, but with new legislation coming, such as the EU Deforestation Act and the Due Diligence Directive, we are seeing that businesses are increasingly relying more on us to provide them with the necessary support.”
The week will start this Wednesday. An annual awareness campaign “which is known to half of the Belgian population”rejoices Enabel and who “has a direct impact on the purchasing behavior of 4 out of 10 participants”.
