Fair trade 为发展中国家带来真的收益吗

The fair trade movement offers genuine benefits for the developing

world

Fair trade refers to

a special international

business

mode which aims at giving

more

profits

to

people

in

developing

countries.

The

definition

of

fair

trade

is

“

a

trading

partnership,

based

on

dialogue,

transparency

and

respect,

that

seeks

greater

equity

in

international

trade.

It

contributes

to

sustainable

development

by

offering

better

trading

conditions

to,

and

securing

the

right

of,

marginalized

producers

and

workers,

especially

in

the

South

”

(World

Fair

Trade

Organization

and

Fairtrade

International, 2009). Nowadays, there is a debate in the pubic over whether fair trade

movement offers genuine benefits for developing countries. Some critics claims that

the producers in the South can not get genuine benefits because premium is taken in

hands of the suppliers or powerful enterprises. However, the fair trade movement does

benefit developing countries in several respects, namely higher income for producers,

reducing

child

labor

and

more

education

opportunities,

promoting

infrastructure

construction as well as better health status.

There

are

a

number

of

critics

questioning

how

much

profits

producers

will

eventually get. Some claims that fair trade

“

merely guarantees that a fair price is paid

to the producer, and has no way of controlling margins in the rest of the supply chain

”

(Fairtrade Foundation, 2006). For instance, in African countries, with the demand of

cocoa still rising, many small producers struggle to sell as much cocoa as they can to

earn

a

sustainable

income.

However,

cocoa

processing

is

taken

control

of

by

a

few

players, which increases price pressure on producers who are at the end of the supply

chain (Fair Trade International, 2011). Harford also suggests that

“

For several

years

only 10 percent of the premium that Costa, a UK coffee bar, charged for Fair Trade

coffee reached the producer. The other 90 percent went to Costa

’

s bottom line

”

(2005).

In this regard, it seems that fair trade may fail to protect the interests of

the poorest

producers.

However,

from

various

research

and

academic

literature,

fair

trade

does

offer

great benefits to the South in terms of ensuring higher income for the producers and

workers. This is because producers can get premium by selling their products to fair

trade organizations or enterprises in the North. As Sushil (2010) states,

“

by providing

them

with

guaranteed

minimum

prices

that

may

be

higher

than

conventional

world

market prices

”

(p. 48), producers and workers are given a fair chance to produce and

market

their

own

products,

which

contributes

to

higher

income

and

better

living

standard. For instance,

“

In Mali, Fair trade certified organic cotton farmers earn 50%

more

than

conventional

farmers

”

(Fairtrade

Foundation,

2010).

Furthermore,

by

setting up institutes and experimental farms in under-developed regions, local farmers

are

trained

to

improve

the

quality

of

products

or

given

marketing

strategies,

after

which they will gain valuable knowledge and skills. Indeed, fair trade offers farmers

and workers a platform to increase the control over their own future,

“

have continuity

of

income

and

decent

working

and

living

conditions

through

sustainable

development

”

(Sushil, 2010 p. 49).

Other than giving producers higher income, the fair trade movement also helps

protect

children

’

s

rights

in

some

under-developed

places.

Fairtrade

International

(2015) claims that the number of children working in cocoa production in Africa rises,

and as a result of increasing demand of cocoa,

a child in

cocoa-growing

regions

in

Africa is more likely to be a child labor than previously (Fairtrade International, 2015).

However, there are more powerful and persuasive evidence pointing out that fair trade

organizations

have

taken

practical

measures

to

tackle

with

the

problem.

Leonardo,

Stefano, & Pierluigi (2015) notes that, though fair trade does not give a explicit ban

on child labor, it still contributes a lot to reducing child labor and promoting education

(as

cited

in

Laura

&

Elizabeth,

2015,

p.

533).

Another

evidence

is

that

the

International

Labor

Organization

has

set

a

standard

on

child

labor

to

prohibit

the

worst

form

of

child

labor

and

forced

labor

(Fairtrade

international,

2010).

More

demand for cocoa or other products means more job opportunities. Those who used to

have

no

job

may

get

a

job

to

make

a

living

by

selling

products

grew

in

their

own

garden

to

fair

trade

companies

in

the

North.

To

put

it

another

way,

because

of

the

benefits

fair

trade

brings,

parents

can

get

an

income

exceeding

a

minimum

income