The aviation and produce industries have slammed the Soil Association’s (SA) proposals to reduce the volume of organic fresh produce airfreighted to the UK, accusing the certification body of focusing on a purely “ideological” debate, rather than looking at the facts.
Speaking at a round table organised by FlyingMatters, an organisation promoting sustainable growth in aviation, Andrew Parker from airline Emirates said: “There is no discussion about roadfreight or seafreight in the SA’s document - this is an ideological basis against aviation, but from some of our African markets, air transportation is the only route to market. I can’t help wondering if this is just the SA’s protectionism of local production.”
Fresh Produce Consortium chief executive Nigel Jenney said: “We are very concerned about the emotive aspect of the SA’s debate. Airfreighted fresh produce accounts for less than 0.2 per cent of this country’s greenhouse gas emissions. More than 60 per cent of the produce comes in on passenger planes. If we stopped airfreighting tomorrow, it would not make a meaningful difference to emissions.”
The SA proposes that airfreighted organic produce should meet its Ethical Trade standards or similar, such as those of the Fairtrade Foundation; should be monitored by licensees; and should be the subject of a plan for reducing the amount of airfreighted products.
Ghanaian fresh-cut fruit firm Blue Skies relies on airfreighted organic produce for seven to 10 per cent of its turnover, and the added value of packing organic fruit at source creates greater cash flow to the firm’s 80 organic farmers. “Without airfreight, we have no business,” said general manager Mawunyo Puplampu. “Organic farming is sustainable farming - we need it in Ghana and other African countries to ensure a healthy environment. The SA debate has created uncertainty in the organic farming community, and if these proposals are accepted, growers who do not have Fairtrade or similar certifications will suffer. Blue Skies is already accredited, but for others, this will create problems.”
Terri Sarch from the government’s department for international development said: “We feel the government’s carbon pricing policy is the way forward. Including the cost of airfreight in the price would mean just an additional 2-18p per pack on, for example, organic green beans from Kenya. There is no evidence that a low cost increase would see the market fall away.
She added: “The reality is there are few, if any, Fairtrade standards in place for vegetables, and that would make it very difficult for farmers to get that certification quickly.”
Significant developments in the field of aviation should allow the industry to answer some of its critics. New technologies, a more efficient air traffic control regime, and the introduction of an effective emissions trading scheme were all put forward as solutions.
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