The newspaper report claimed that following an analysis of the pricing structure, only a part of the premiums being charged by supermarkets is being fed back to producers with the bulk of the revenue being pocketed by the stores in profit.

A Sainsbury's spokesperson said: 'There are several inaccuracies in the Sunday Times article. Sainsbury's does not take an excessive margin on Fairtrade bananas or other Fairtrade products. With regards to the bananas, in addition to higher cost prices, there are other costs associated with distribution, handling and packaging which were not taken into account with respect to the margin quoted.' The items will always be more expensive than ordinary equivalents as the Fairtrade scheme is designed to ensure that the farmers who produce them are paid more.

'Across branded Fairtrade lines Sainsbury's pricing is in line with the marketplace, as the first retailer to stock Fairtrade products, we remain committed to offering product choice to those customers who wish to support farmers in developing countries. We continue to work closely with the Fairtrade Foundation to support a range of Fairtrade products and to find a better way of going forward.' Sainsbury's sells 1 million Fairtrade bananas a week while rival Tesco, which joined the scheme earlier this year, sells 500,000.

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