Fair Trade wine in Cape Town

The following is a Business Development Update by Rachel Ngondo, Regional Development Executive, Africa

We have had rains in the past week here in Nairobi, however today has been a lovely sunny day and it’s beautiful to see the flowering Jacaranda trees all over the city. It’s that time of the year when Nairobi is truly the city in the sun.

Last week I was in Stellenbosch which is a beautiful rural town about 45 min west of Cape Town. I attended a two day conference for the Fair Trade South Africa Network. The high light of the conference was the launch of the fair trade label where fair trade labeled products will now be sold in various outlets in South Africa. You will now be able to buy FLO labeled wine produced locally and coffee (sourced from Ethiopia and Kenya) at selected South African outlets. A dip stick market research done in Cape Town shows that 19% of the people are aware of the FLO label. Among those aware of the label, half of them said they would be willing to buy fair trade products. There is now a recognition that fair trade is not only about the South producing and the North consuming.

The fair trade label South Africa is an initiative of Fair Trade South Africa whose aim is to grow the fair trade market in South Africa. It was established early this year and became an associate member of FLO in May. The first locally available FLO certified products launched are wine and coffee. Feasibility studies are now underway to select fair trade shops and outlets where products will be sold. Other activities will include promotional activities to create fair trade awareness.

So next time you are on holiday in South Africa, remember to ask for fair trade wine and coffee!