Fairtrade food boom registered

More and more Austrians are picking fair-trade products, new figures show.Fairtrade Austria said today (Thurs) shops across the country generated a turnover of 87 million Euros by selling products from its portfolio last year, up by 21 per cent compared to 2009.The organisation explained bananas have been the most popular foodstuff in recent years. The fruit achieved the strongest share of the overall turnover of Fairtrade Austria product sales at groceries, specialised organic food shops and supermarkets in 2010 with 24.3 million Euros.Coffee came in second with an annual turnover of 17.5 million Euros. Fairtrade Austria explained more than 1,000 cafes and restaurants in Austria are already offering its coffee range.The company also announced that strong increases of the sale of fruit juice and flowers were registered last year.More than 600 Fairtrade Austria products – including clothes and toys like footballs – are currently on offer at approximately 5,000 stores in all nine provinces of Austria. All goods featuring the official Fairtrade Austria logo were produced fulfilling strict requirements regarding work conditions and protection of the environment.