A first batch of 10 Lebanese towns join the world Fair Trade network

Fair Trade Lebanon organized a press conference last Tuesday under the auspices of the Minister for Administrative Reform and in collaboration with Social Movement. The event was held at the Media Syndicate in order to announce that ten Lebanese towns have joined the Fair Trade network, which groups more than 1700 towns worldwide and which aims at spreading the concept of Fair Trade worldwide. The ten Lebanese towns in questions are: Ain Ebel in Bent Jbeil, Qlea in Marjeyoun, Abra in the district of Sidon, Kafr Tibnit in Nabatiyeh, Sidoon in Jezzine, Biskinta in the district of Metn, Albisariya in Sidon, Mhaydtheh in Rashaya, Ferzol in Zahle, and Monjaz in Akkar. According to L’Orient le Jour, joining the network entails that Fair Trade Lebanon will buy the products of the cooperatives in these towns at prices exceeding cost price by 20 to 30 %.  FTL will then certify the products and facilitate their marketing. In his speech, Fair Trade president Philippe Adaime noted that FTL is currently working on certifying a number of domestic products such as thyme, chickpeas, lentils and spices. For his part, De Freige added that fair trading seeks at over-passing the chain of middlepersons between producers to consumers while taking into consideration the realities of small agricultural and handcrafts producers. De Freige further noted that his Ministry’s support of Fair Trade is because it considers trading to be a vital economic sector as it contributes to 30% of the GDP and is likely to help other sectors develop and improve. In addition, he said that there is a need to adopt a new vision for commercial activities, one that mainstream and propagates Fair Trade principles. In concluding, De Freige invited the ten concerned towns to work further on a sustainable development which will assist in securing the rights of small farmers and producers away from any form of exploitation. (L’Orient Le Jour, Al Mustaqbal, 29 April 2015)