§ Mr. McGradyTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to encourage(a) chocolate producers and (b) supermarket chains in the United Kingdom to (i) transfer to fair trade products and (ii) source chocolate from Ghana. [85398]
§ Clare ShortDFID is supporting Kuapa Kokoo, a cocoa producers association, and the Day Chocolate Company. In 1999 DFID provided a loan guarantee agreement of £400,000 to Natwest Bank in respect of a loan made to Day Chocolate Company. The Day Chocolate Company has succeeded in encouraging a large number of supermarket chains in the UK (eg Coop, Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Tesco) to stock its products. Furthermore it has succeeded in securing contracts with supermarket chains, such as the Co-op and Sainsbury's, to produce their own brand Fairtrade chocolate products—the cocoa for which is sourced from Ghana.