Just a spoonful of Fairtrade sugar makes the world a fairer place. Sugar is one of the most important world commodities, produced and consumed around the globe. However, for the millions of farmers and plantation labourers working to cultivate sugarcane, there are significant obstacles to earning a decent livelihood. Because sugar is also produced by developed countries in the North who subsidize and protect their sugar industries, it becomes even more difficult for farmers in small, resource-producing countries to make enough income to live on.

Fair Trade guarantees southern sugar producers a stable income that covers their cost of production and living. It provides a long-term trading relationship and it offers the producers pre-financing and advanced payments if required.

Farmers who produce Fair Trade Certified sugar are guaranteed a social premium to invest in social and economic initiatives in their communities.

international fair trade standards for sugar:

• Producers are organized in cooperatives (or associations) which they own and govern democratically.
• The minimum guaranteed floor price and premium is paid directly to producer cooperatives that own their own sugar mills.
• Environmental standards restrict the use of agrochemicals and encourage sustainability.
• Pre-harvest lines of credit are given to the cooperatives if requested, of up to 60% of the purchase price.
• A social premium is paid directly to the coop and is used for social and economic investments such as education, health services, processing equipment, and loans to members.

In Paraguay, Fair Trade premiums double the income received by sugar farmers for their cane. These premiums assist the sugar producers of Montillo Co-operative to “buy livestock, send children to school, and expand production.”