As Fairtrade Fortnight 2003 kicks off on Monday, all Wales Euro-MP Jill Evans has challenged Welsh chocoholics, tea and coffee drinkers to only buy Fairtrade goods in order to support the efforts of farmers and workers in developing countries to improve their lives.

The Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales MEP said:

“The aim of Fairtrade Fortnight 2003 is to convince new consumers that Fairtrade foods not only guarantee a better deal for growers in the developing countries - but that they taste great too."

“That is why I want to encourage everyone in Wales to fill their shopping baskets with Fairtrade goods. With more than 100 Fairtrade products available there is something for everyone - including chocolate, coffee, tea, cocoa, snacks and biscuits, sugar, honey, fruit juice and fresh fruit.”

Most Fairtrade foods now carry the new international FAIRTRADE Mark which is gradually replacing the seven different Marks that have been used around the world.

“The prices paid for commodities such as coffee, tea and chocolate have not risen in real terms over the last forty years. At the same time the value of fertilisers, pesticides and machinery imported from the rich countries has increased substantially. This has had a catastrophic effect on the lives of millions of small farmers, forcing many into crippling debt and countless others to lose their land."

“Buying Fairtrade goods helps to improve the situation for producers. Thanks to Fairtrade hundreds of small poor farmers have been able to get back on their feet and trade their way out of poverty with a renewed sense of pride.”

Fairtrade Fortnight 2003 runs from 3rd – 16th March and more information is available on the Fairtrade Foundation website: www.fairtrade.org.uk where you can also download a copy of the new Fairtrade Mark.

Ends.