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After about two days of information regarding definitions of fair trade and how a certification works, the participants worked in groups to identify the advantages and disadvantages of a FairTrade certification. This led to interesting discussions:
The producers are worried about the increased price for the end consumer in Europe. Since a certified — and therefore more expensive — product is a luxury product, the market must probably be small. Consequently, they can only sell small quantities.
But surely it should be normal that the price of the final product includes "survival-guaranteeing" prices at the farmers' level? So why aren’t all products "fair"?
Opinions were divided regarding the FLO premium. The premium does not flow back to the individual farmer, but to the cooperative. It is then decided together how the premium can be used to benefit the group.
Some participants saw an advantage in this system, as it promotes cohesion within the group. Others consider the collective use unfair. After all, it may be that certain group members deliver only small parts of their quantity to the cooperative. And these "scapegoats" would then benefit from the premium just as much as those who followed the rules.