The choice of Fairtrade goods has never been greater in Ireland. Available products include tea, coffee, chocolate, cocoa, fruit juice, biscuits and bananas.

Because Fairtrade guarantees a minimum price to producers, Fairtrade retail products tend to cost slightly more than regular brands in shops, with prices varying depending on the outlet.

Last year, the value of Fairtrade coffee to the wholesale market topped €1 million for the first time. The total value of the wholesale coffee market is approximately €25 million.

Bewleys offers two blends of Fairtrade coffee - Bewleys Direct and Bewleys Organic Direct - to the retail and wholesale markets.

"Fairtrade coffee is 6 per cent of our output, and growing," according to a spokesman. A cup of Fairtrade coffee in one of Bewleys Oriental Cafés is the same price as a regular cup of coffee - €1.75.

Munchies sandwich bars in Dublin also offer Fairtrade coffee for the same price as their regular coffee - €2 takeaway, €2.50 in house.

O'Brien's Irish Sandwich Bars don't have Fairtrade coffee at present, but a spokesperson says they are looking into it, and hope to in the very near

future.

Standards for brands whose products bear the Fairtrade mark stipulate that traders must:

pay a price to producers that covers the costs of sustainable production and living

pay a "premium" that producers can invest in development

sign contracts that allow for long-term planning and sustainable production practices

The problems experienced by poor producers and workers in developing countries differ greatly across products, says Peter Gaynor of Fairtrade Mark Ireland.

"Most coffee and cocoa is grown by independent small farmers, for whom receiving a fair price for their beans is more important than any other aspect of a fair trade," he explains. In contrast, he says, most tea is grown on plantations, so the concern of workers is fair wages and decent working conditions.