FIRST INTERNATIONAL FAIR
TRADE BUSINESS WEEK
COOPEAGRI 2009
United, we grow
Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica November 24th to 27th, 2009
INTRODUCTION
However, a certain perception The event is a pioneer in Central
remains on the buyers’ side that America. The goal is to reinforce
“Building and strengthening small producers have not and deepen the potential impact
long term relationships“ achieved the same level of evo- of Fair Trade to reduce poverty in
lution in competitiveness. the region through durable,
Organizations and producers commercial sustainability for all
The last decade has seen sub- deserve an opportunity to show actors involved in the system.
stantial development in the Fair their progress and present the
Trade business in Central challenges they have encoun- Therefore, we wish to create the
America. Producers have been tered in commercialization. setting to encourage direct en-
multiplying, the quality of the counter between Central Ameri-
products offered has increased It has become necessary to set can producers and the buyers and
and diversified and sales are the table for the various opera- traders working with the Fair
soaring. tors of the Fair Trade market to Trade label.
discuss the challenges in develop-
According to FLO’s latest report, ing the Fair Trade market for a This initiative should continue to
sales of Fair Trade certified producing country. evolve in the future, together
products have increased by 47%, with the local producers, possibly
which adds up to approximately CoopeAgri R.L., as a certified biannually, to promote the con-
2.3 billion Euros in 2008 alone. Fair Trade producing organiza- tinued improvement of commer-
tion, has taken the initiative to cial relationships as a basis for
With the growing increase of the organize the First Central Amer- mutual agreement about the
market, the number of certified ica Fair Trade Business Week in needs of both the market and the
producers has increased by 9% its own neighborhood, making the certified organizations.
in the last period. producers the main protagonists.
www.jornadanegocioscr2009.weebly.com
+00 (506) 2771-8554
comerciojusto@coopeagri.co.cr

PRESENTATION
The First International Fair Trade countries, who are committed to improve
Business Week will be held from No- the sustainable productive activity.
vember 23rd to 27th, 2009, in San Isidro As this is a pilot activity, the discussion
de El General, Costa Rica. Representa- themes will focus on the two products
tives from producer organizations from yielding the highest sales volumes in the
Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Hondu- area: coffee and sugar.
ras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama
are expected, as well as participants We are expecting approximately 50
from various Fair Trade purchasing organizations from all over the world,
-
GOALS
“Create the appropriate 3. Offer key information on the market: po-
tential offer and demand for Organic - Fair
setting to stimulate direct Trade products and certified and/or certifi-
discussion between Fair able Organics.
Trade certified Central 4. Perform an analysis of the evolution of the
American producers, the Fair Trade market and the challenges it
various traders from meets in the face of the conventional mar-
ket.
purchasing countries and the
Fair Trade labeling 5. Promulgate the work of the Labeling Initia-
tives and the traders in the consumer coun-
initiatives, in order to tries and analyze how producers can help
consolidate relationships tighten cooperative relationships.
and strengthen business 6. Externalize the participation of the Central
within the Fair Trade American Fair Trade liaison office to
System.“ strengthen its mission of supporting com-
mercial relationships and determine ac-
tions to cooperate with the producers’ sus-
tainability.
1. Facilitate connections between Fair Trade
producers and buyers. 7. Together, find alternatives and solutions to
improve the commercial relationships and
2. Present the advances producers have the competitiveness of Fair Trade within
made in crucial areas of interest to im- the consumer countries.
porters and retailers: quality, traceability,
exportation capability and competitive-
ness.
www.jornadanegocioscr2009.weebly.com
+00 (506) 2771-8554
comerciojusto@coopeagri.co.cr

-
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
-
FINANCING
Registration 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, USA
SWIFT: BOFAUS3M.
* Finally, it is very important indicate “final credit to” (beneficiary’s name and account number).
www.jornadanegocioscr2009.weebly.com
+00 (506) 2771-8554
comerciojusto@coopeagri.co.cr

GENERAL PROGRAM
Monday, 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
www.jornadanegocioscr2009.weebly.com
+00 (506) 2771-8554
comerciojusto@coopeagri.co.cr

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 Challenges and Power of the Latin
American producer American sugar producer
A CoopeAgri R.L. presentation A CoopeAgri R.L. presentation
9:30 Negotiation mechanisms and orien- Alternative means of
tation in the Fair Trade model commercializing sugar
A Javataza presentation A CTM presentation
10:00 Coffee break
10:15 The influence of Fair Trade Uniting through Fair Trade
Community case studies Community case studies
11:30 Selecting the discussion themes for Selecting the discussion themes for
the afternoon 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 models Commercial experiences
Case studies Case studies
16:00 Challenges and commitment: An integration proposal to the commercial
chain
A FLO Centroamerica presentation
18:00 CoopeAgri R.L. 47th anniversary celebration
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+00 (506) 2771-8554
comerciojusto@coopeagri.co.cr

Thursday, November 26 - Rural Outing
8:00 Organic / Fair Trade Breakfast
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 consumer
A 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
8:00 Organic / Fair Trade Breakfast
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!
www.jornadanegocioscr2009.weebly.com
+00 (506) 2771-8554
comerciojusto@coopeagri.co.cr