The Co-operative Group is to become the first supermarket to stock Fairtrade Palestinian olive oil – the first Palestinian product to receive Fairtrade certification. The Equal Exchange Fairtrade Palestinian Extra Virgin Olive Oil will be available in around 300 stores across the UK for £5.99.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also welcomed the announcement, saying: "I'm delighted that, at the beginning of Fairtrade Fortnight, Fairtrade-certificated Palestinian olive oil is to go on sale in British supermarkets. Olive oil production plays an essential part in the West Bank economy. In buying this oil, British shoppers will be helping the farmers of Palestine to make a living."
Almost 75% of Palestinians live below the United Nations poverty line. Olive and olive oil production is a vital source of livelihood for Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza, where olive production is a crucial alternative to abandonment or desertification. For many, the olive harvest provides their main means of survival.
The Daily Mirror writes, "The Co-op has stepped in to help deprived Palestinian farmers by stocking olive oil from war-torn Gaza. Growers are struggling to make a living in the devastated region and the supermarket hopes to boost their income with the move."
Initially some 265 growers will benefit from Fairtrade status, but the intention is to bring as many growers as possible into the scheme through the registered small farmers’ co-operatives, which include some 1,700 growers.
Nasser Abufarha, founder and director of the Palestine Fair Trade Producers’ Company, which has played a key part in 
achieving Fairtrade accreditation, said: “This is a ground-breaking move, and the importance to us of having the first Palestinian Fairtrade product on sale nationally at The
Co-operative cannot be under-estimated.”
Brad Hill, Fairtrade Strategic Development Manager for The Co-operative Group, commented: “The Co-operative has supported Fairtrade since its inception, because we believe trade is one of the most important ways in which a country can lift itself out of poverty.
“This is a particularly significant development, given the circumstances of many of the Palestinian olive growers. Fairtrade certification should make an enormous difference to them, and we are delighted to be the first supermarket to be taking the first Fairtrade product to come out of Palestine.”
Palestinian olive oil producer Mahmoud Issa officially launched the product at Coop's Archway store in London today [Monday 23 February] – the start of Fairtrade Fortnight – along with Minister for International Development Mike Foster, and Harriet Lamb, Chief Executive Officer of the Fairtrade Foundation.
