Organic, Fairtrade and ethical products will keep their market, despite the volatile, economic climate, keynote speakers concurred at the International Trade Centre’s World Export Development Forum in Switzerland last week.

The market for such goods is likely to suffer a temporary setback, but should bounce back, they predicted making the sector a good investment.

Gareth Thomas, UK minister of state at the Department for International Development said: “The market is relatively robust. Given the current downturn, there will likely be a short-term hit, but there is much more potential than its current size.” Thomas told the conference that UK sales of Fairtrade-labelled goods rose 1,000 per cent in the last decade, with a 50 per cent increase in the past quarter compared to a year earlier.

Alex Brigham, executive director of the US-based research company The Ethisphere Institute said: “Not only is the market for ethically grown and traded products here to stay, it is a growth market.” Brigham also told delegates it still makes sense for developing countries to put money into Fairtrade projects, but warned that in a consolidating market there will be winners and losers. He said: “Do not pull back investment in this time of crisis. Strong organisations invest in times of trouble. Indications are that Fairtrade products keep their market when the price premium stays below three per cent.”

Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), said that from the point of view of an exporter from a developing country, organic and/or Fairtrade, while still a small proportion of total trade, often represents opportunity. He said: “For banana growers in the Caribbean islands, going organic was a question of survival. They jumped to another category of the market where they were safe.”

Lamy also urged developing countries to come together to make their voice heard with those setting requirements and rules - whether private or governmental bodies.

At the same time, safety issues can create a “bottleneck that must be addressed”. Lamy cited the example of the level of pesticides in flowers exported tariff-free to the EU. “If the maximum pesticide residue deviates a few milligrammes from EU standards, it is no longer free trade, it is no trade at all,” he said. “Addressing this is a priority and it is being done.” It is being addressed through the Aid for Trade Initiative launched in 2005.

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