international fair trade business week

FIRST INTERNATIONAL FAIR TRADE BUSINESS WEEK

COOPEAGRI 2009

United, we grow

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“Building and strengthening long term relationships“

The last decade has seen sub-stantial development in the Fair Trade business in Central America. Producers have been multiplying, the quality of the products offered has increased and diversified and sales are soaring.

According to FLO’s latest report, sales of Fair Trade certified products have increased by 47%, which adds up to approximately 2.3 billion Euros in 2008 alone.

With the growing increase of the market, the number of certified producers has increased by 9% in the last period.

However, a certain perception remains on the buyers’ side that small producers have not achieved the same level of evo-lution in competitiveness. Organizations and producers deserve an opportunity to show their progress and present the challenges they have encoun-tered in commercialization.

It has become necessary to set the table for the various opera-tors of the Fair Trade market to discuss the challenges in develop-ing the Fair Trade market for a producing country.

CoopeAgri R.L., as a certified Fair Trade producing organiza-tion, has taken the initiative to organize the First Central Amer-ica Fair Trade Business Week in its own neighborhood, making the producers the main protagonists.

The event is a pioneer in Central America. The goal is to reinforce and deepen the potential impact of Fair Trade to reduce poverty in the region through durable, commercial sustainability for all actors involved in the system.

Therefore, we wish to create the setting to encourage direct en-counter between Central Ameri-can producers and the buyers and traders working with the Fair Trade label.

This initiative should continue to evolve in the future, together with the local producers, possibly biannually, to promote the con-tinued improvement of commer-cial relationships as a basis for mutual agreement about the needs of both the market and the certified organizations.

INTRODUCTION

Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica November 24th to 27th, 2009

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PRESENTATIONThe First International Fair Trade Business Week will be held from No-vember 23rd to 27th, 2009, in San Isidro de El General, Costa Rica. Representa-tives from producer organizations from Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Hondu-ras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama are expected, as well as participants from various Fair Trade purchasing

countries, who are committed to improve the sustainable productive activity.

As this is a pilot activity, the discussion themes will focus on the two products yielding the highest sales volumes in the area: coffee and sugar.

We are expecting approximately 50 organizations from all over the world,

GOALS“Create the appropriate

setting to stimulate direct discussion between Fair Trade certified Central

American producers, the various traders from

purchasing countries and the Fair Trade labeling

initiatives, in order to consolidate relationships and strengthen business

within the Fair Trade System.“

1. Facilitate connections between Fair Trade producers and buyers.

2. Present the advances producers have made in crucial areas of interest to im-porters and retailers: quality, traceability, exportation capability and competitive-ness.

3. Offer key information on the market: po-tential offer and demand for Organic - Fair Trade products and certified and/or certifi-able Organics.

4. Perform an analysis of the evolution of the Fair Trade market and the challenges it meets in the face of the conventional mar-ket.

5. Promulgate the work of the Labeling Initia-tives and the traders in the consumer coun-tries and analyze how producers can help tighten cooperative relationships.

6. Externalize the participation of the Central American Fair Trade liaison office to strengthen its mission of supporting com-mercial relationships and determine ac-tions to cooperate with the producers’ sus-tainability.

7. Together, find alternatives and solutions to improve the commercial relationships and the competitiveness of Fair Trade within the consumer countries.





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PARTICIPANTS AND GUESTS‣ Central American producers

‣ Fair Trade Labeling Initiatives

‣ Fair Trade coffee and sugar importers

‣ CLAC delegates

‣ Liaison officials (Central American FLO)

‣ FLO Ev Germany representatives: United Standards, United Services and Producer Rela-tions

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FINANCINGRegistration Fee:

A $450 US registration fee has been set for the producers participating in the business week. This includes all four (4) event days, five (5) nights of housing and fourteen (14) meals (dinner on Monday the 23rd, three meals per day from the 24th to the 27th and breakfast on Saturday the 28th), as well as local transportation between the Juan Santa Maria airport in San José and San Isidro in Pérez Ze-ledón.

In order to amortize the costs, we ask the Fair Trade buyers to cover the cost of their registration for $550 US, which also includes all of the above.

Transportation fees from the country of origin to San José, Costa Rica will be left in the participants’ charge. We hope to offer, through donations and sponsorships, financial backing to help cover the costs for representatives of producing organizations. Donations from the international cooperation would be most valuable to help finance the transportation for those participating organizations who deserve it, at least up to 50% of the cost of plane tickets.

Payment Instructions:

* Give the next information to your bank:Credit account No. 19011-08821 of Banco BCT, S.A., San José, Costa Rica, Swift Code: CCIOCRSJ, with BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., 100 SE 2nd Street, Suite 3100 Miami, Florida 33131-2150, USASWIFT: BOFAUS3M.

* Finally, it is very important indicate “final credit to” (beneficiary’s name and account number).






GENERAL PROGRAMMonday, November 23

Arrival in Costa Rica. Night in San José.

Tuesday, November 24 - Welcome to Costa Rica!

8:00 Leaving the hotel and the road to San Isidro de El General

‣ Visit of the Irazú volcano

11:00 Visit of the Los Valles exportation center

‣ Product quality and traceability

‣ Analysis of the Quality And Traceability advancements by producers

‣ Realities and challenges of Traceability in the Fair Trade System (Discussion between producers and importers)

12:00 Lunch

13:30 Towards San Isidro de El General

16:00 Registration at the Hotel

18:00 Opening cocktail

‣ Social, environmental and economic impact of the cooperative model + Fair Trade

‣ Awarding Pérez Zeledón the title of Fair Trade city

‣ Solidarity cocktail and artistic presentations






Wednesday, November 25 - Presentation Day

6:00 Organic / Fair Trade Breakfast

8:00 Thanksgiving Mass (47th anniversary)

Keynotes and presentations

Coffee Sugar

9:00 Realities and dynamic of the Central American producer

A CoopeAgri R.L. presentation

Challenges and Power of the Latin American sugar producer

A CoopeAgri R.L. presentation

9:30 Negotiation mechanisms and orien-tation in the Fair Trade model

A Javataza presentation

Alternative means of commercializing sugar

A CTM presentation

10:00 Coffee breakCoffee break

10:15 The influence of Fair TradeCommunity case studies

Uniting through Fair TradeCommunity case studies

11:30 Selecting the discussion themes for the afternoon

Selecting the discussion themes for the afternoon

12:00 Fair Trade Lunch

Workshops assisted by a moderator

Coffee Sugar

13:00 Challenges (themes) of the coffee activity Challenges (themes) of the coffee activity

14:30 Workshop conclusions Workshop conclusions

15:00 Alliance modelsCase studies

Commercial experiencesCase studies

16:00 Challenges and commitment: An integration proposal to the commercial chainA FLO Centroamerica presentation

Challenges and commitment: An integration proposal to the commercial chainA FLO Centroamerica presentation

18:00 CoopeAgri R.L. 47th anniversary celebration






Thursday, November 26 - Rural Outing


9:00 Visit to communities

Coffee Sugar

11:30 Visiting the producer La Presa Farm

Coffee-picking contest Technical assistance to producers

12:00 Rural lunch

A cup of coffee with the people who work with the Fair Trade consumers

13:00 Analysis of the ways producers and help strengthen then contact with the consumerA FLO Centroamerica presentation

Coffee Sugar

15:00 Central American coffee tasting Visit of the basin of Río Peñas Blancas

17:00 Return to the hotel and night off

20:00 Visit of the industrial process at the Beneficio Ecológico La Ceniza (op-tional)

Friday, November 27 - Business Day


9:30 Negotiation Table

*Personalized agenda for each client

12:30 Fair Trade Lunch

14:00 Negotiation Table (cont.)

*Personalized agenda for each client

16:00 Closing cocktail

‣ Recreative activities

‣ Until next year!




