1. Ana. Succeed in CPE. Test 2 Question 1
Fairtrade products: fraud or actual support?
The so-called “fairtrade” products have become more and more popular over the last
decade, since they are seen as the last opportunity for some small-scale farmers to
keep making a living from agriculture. However, there is a widespread belief that they
are actually not being used to help farmers but to increase the enrichment of the
companies involved in their sale.
On the one hand, it is true that there are some people who suspect companies are not
being completely honest and are charging more than they should for their products.
This would mean they would earn huge amounts of money whereas the farmers would
continue to receive just a small share. Therefore, there are some sectors claiming that
“fairtrade” has become a corrupted brand, just one more part of capitalism disguised
as charity.
On the other hand, the fact that “fairtrade” has turned into a well-known brand does
not necessarily imply that farmers are not getting any benefit whatsoever. Indeed,
most of them consider fairtrade products as a good measure to enhance short-scale
farming and the ultimate opportunity to see their farms thrive.
Finally, in my opinion companies involved in fair trade should reconsider their prices,
because I am sure they can reduce their share of benefits to support farmers. After all,
they are their mean suppliers and they depend on them to offer quality products.
Furthermore, they had better replan their advertisement strategy by showing they are

2. really using all their available resources to help farmers and, thus, encourage the
public to buy their products on a daily basis.