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Int'l workshop boosts principles of fair trade
Laos is hosting an international workshop on fair trade, a movement which aims to enhance the capacity of agriculture-based economies to access international markets.
The Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Promotion and Development Office and Asian Productivity Organisation yesterday kicked off the workshop to help developing countries export their agriculture products to niche markets.
Representatives from major agriculture producers in Asia, including Laos, Cambodia, China, Thailand, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan and Mongolia, are attending the five-day workshop in Vientiane.
Workshop participants will be given an historical overview of the fair trade movement's principles, current state of affairs and major stakeholders, and will be briefed on the opportunities provided by the initiative. During the workshop, participants will also take a field trip to a handicraft maker in Vientiane.
According to the workshop organisers, fair trade is an initiative aimed at establishing supply chains whereby consumers are informed whether the products they buy are produced in compliance with conditions that allow farmers and producers in developing nations to obtain fair prices to ensure sustainable production and livelihoods.
Fair trade increases opportunities for producers in developing countries to gain market access and fair prices, so it is important for local people to become familiar with the initiative so they can obtain the greatest benefit and export their goods to world markets.
Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Promotion and Development Office Deputy Director General Soutchay Sisouvong said yesterday the workshop provides an important chance for Laos and other developing nations to study the fair trade market-based approach.
Fair trade labelling organisations certify products on the basis of production, quality and pricing standards, which means consumers can be confident in their purchases, he said, adding that certification protects against the exploitation of labourers.
He also said that fair trade enhances producers' knowledge of the market, so they can tailor their products to the demands of customers.
Mr Soutchay said Laos has great potential to produce agricultural goods for regional and international markets, but faces a major challenge in that local producers do not yet meet global demands for quality.
“The question is not what we can produce but what the market wants,” he said, adding that most Lao producers do not take market demand into account. He said Laos needs to learn the fair trade approach to consistently export agricultural products to world markets.
Mr Soutchay said one Lao handicraft maker has so far been certified as operating in line with fair trade principles and is now able to export goods to international markets, including the US.
vientiane times
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