Fairtrade coffee sales continue to strengthen in Canada

Students performing a school dance in honour of the cocoa fruit in the gym hall of their school, Sol del Nor Oriente in Peru. Sol del Nor Oriente welcomes children from the local community, many of them from coffee- and cocoa-farming families. It has a strong focus on agriculture: the football field also serves as a drying area for coffee and cocoa beans, and school lunches are prepared using crops grown by the students themselves. The school is partly financed through the Fairtrade Premium. Fabian Sturm, Fairtrade Sweden

Despite tight budgets and rising grocery costs, Canadians are stepping up to support Fairtrade-certified products, demonstrating a willingness to pay more to purchase coffee and other goods they trust to be ethically sourced.

Canadians’ commitment to values-driven purchases is illustrated by recent data from Fairtrade Canada, a national non-profit organization that promotes Fairtrade products across the country. In 2025, Canadian sales of products certified with the FAIRTRADE Mark reached a significant milestone: generating $10-million (U.S.) in Fairtrade Premium paid to farmers and workers.

Producers of Fairtrade-certified goods receive a guaranteed minimum price protecting them from price drops and market volatility, plus an extra Fairtrade Premium fund to invest in community projects like schools, clean water and health care.

Coffee is the largest Fairtrade-certified product category in Canada, and coffee sales generated the largest portion of the Fairtrade Premium yield last year, accounting for $7.8-million (U.S.) – a 9.7 per cent increase in Premium from the previous year.

“Fairtrade is a trusted signal for the country’s shoppers,” says Julie Francoeur, CEO of Fairtrade Canada.  “The strength of Fairtrade-certified brands shows that Canadians care about improved outcomes for farmers and workers and support Fairtrade’s commitment to bringing those outcomes to life.”

While sales of coffee generally have declined, brands with a Fairtrade offering grew by 17 per cent in volume and 32 per cent in value in 2025, significantly outperforming non-Fairtrade brands.

A Canadian consumer survey conducted by GlobeScan in 2025 found that nearly four out of five have a positive perception of brands carrying the Mark, over half of consumers say Fairtrade is worth paying more for, and 76 per cent say the Mark makes it easy to decide if a product is ethically and responsibly produced.

“Farmers and workers can decide democratically how to use the Fairtrade Premium to invest in their workplaces and communities. Choosing Fairtrade products means that Canadians are helping to build a fairer future,” said Francoeur.

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