Extent of fair trade market and China potential for a bigger fair trade market

2.4.2 Commercial infrastructure

The rural areas are also marked by the development of Commercial infrastructure. The establishment of commercial and technological facilities contributes to smooth over the differences among regions and big cities. «[...] regional differences are diminishing due to an array of factors, including construction of new roads, availability of automobile and bus transportation, dissemination of mobile phones, television, the Internet and other communications to rural areas, reduced barriers to interprovincial trade, the emergence of national retail chains, and government policy that encourages investment and economic development in central and western provinces»^15(*). In the big cities, many major international supermarkets (Wal mart, Carrefour, Tesco, Pricemart, Metro, Vanguard etc.) are well spread with around 60% of the share of the market before their local counterparts (Lianhua, Suguo, Hualian, Bailian, Jingkelong etc).The supermarket channel is one of the main distribution routes of fair trade labelled products in many European and American countries (even if theoretically quarreled). In China both foreign and local supermarkets have not yet develop the sales of fair trade products (except few organic commodities like tea); in fact China is not yet considered to be a fair trade market by the fair trade organs. Next to supermarkets there are also the international and local fast food businesses very well attended that can also be sensitized in the sales of fair trade products. With its level of technology, China can be involved in processing variety of fair trade commodities locally produced or imported.

2.4.3 Existence of potential customers

China is among the countries with a great pace of economic dynamism resulting from the opening-up policies and various reforms initiated since the late 1970's. China ranks fourth, after the USA, Japan, Germany, and before The U.K in term of global GDP. The recent data predict a continuous growing trend of the GPD estimated to around 10.8. In 2008 the World Bank has indicated that the contribution of China in poverty reduction over the past 20 years has amounted to 75%. Also, there is an important expatiates community living and working in China. Many of them are already used to fair trade products in their home countries. Also many Chinese national have served abroad and may have tried out fair trade products. Figures show that since 2006 china represents the fifth country in the world in term of «millionaire households»; more than 310000 household are millionaire in China. Those figures reveal the existence of potential buyers of fair trade products, the latter can benefit from the sociopolitical environment favorable to ecological agriculture practices.

2.3.5 Organic trade background and tendency to favor ecological agriculture

Since 2000, the Ministry of agriculture acknowledges the importance of ecological agriculture^16(*). In these lines, the officials suggest «to develop ecologically modern agriculture, a fundamental change to the farming production model and way of life is essential»^17(*) in order to achieve a more balanced economic growth that is to build a "harmonious society" by narrowing the gap between rich and poor and curbing widespread environmental degradation (China daily, 2005). The Dazhangshan organic tea in one of the successful example of organic practices in China; China is also traditionally listed among the fair trade producing countries (namely for tea) but more can be done with other food products. Some initiatives for fair trade distribution exist; in Shanghai for instance, fair trade coffee from Ethiopia, Peru, Mexico, Guatemala and Bolivia are offered to customers by individual trader.

Due to the Central position of China in Asia, it is possible to develop a fair trade network with other Asian fair trade producing countries (India Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand. At the national level and just for agricultural products, the products that can be exploited range from tea, rice, cotton, banana, nuts and oilseeds, fresh fruits, dry fruits etc). About tea, we can notice that it is consumed in various forms such as hot or cold beverage, all seasons, it is clearly indicated to be used to launch the fair-trade market in china.

It can also be the case with rice with the fish farming system that can be exploited as another source of environmental friendly productions method. China can also open it market to fair trade products from African and Latin American producers, and if the fair trade feasibility studies about clothing are successfully conducted, they can be experienced in China that is endowed in the textile industry.

* ¹⁵ Fred Gale, Ping Tang, Xianhong Bai, and Huijun Xu, Commercialization of Food Consumption in Rural China, USDA,2005, p27.

* ¹⁶ "Facts have proved that ecological agriculture is an effective way to realize a coordinated development of the environment and rural economy," Vice-minister of Agriculture Zhang Baowen cited in people daily, Tuesday, June 06, 2000 http://english.peopledaily.com.cn

* ¹⁷ to Zhang Fengtong cited in «Survey of rural pollution start next year» in national Environment, 2007-12-14 http://n.ce.cn/National/environment