The issues
Pastry and desserts make extensive use of global commodities such as cocoa, vanilla and sugar, as well as exotic fruits such as mango, passion fruit and citrus. Often grown in developing countries, it can be difficult to know exactly where these products come from and how they are grown.
Why it matters
- Sourcing certain items from outside of your country such as cocoa, vanilla, sugar and fruit can present challenges in terms of transparency (having visibility of the supply chain), social issues (workers’ rights and conditions) and environmental standards (growing and farming practices)
- Producers of these goods often end up with only a small amount of money for their crops when compared to the price paid by the end customer. Yet farmers deserve to be paid fairly for their produce. Ensuring that this is the case can in turn allow farmers to improve social and environmental practices on their farms
- A responsible business needs to understand where its ingredients come from and how they have been produced and use its purchasing to support economic development of farmers around the world
Top tips to support global farmers
- Ask your suppliers for details on where your dry store goods (cocoa, sugar, vanilla, tea, coffee etc.) and any exotic fruit come from. Ask for the country of origin and ideally the farm where they have been grown
- Buy from suppliers who have policies in place around workers’ rights and environmental standards
