Fair trade, organic avocados from Equal Exchange are back in stores. If you’re thinking it seems like the season just ended, you’re right: at last month’s Co-op Fair, we chatted with Nicole from Equal Exchange. She explained that PRAGOR, the co-op of small-scale avocado growers in Michoacán, Mexico, has added growers with avocado trees at higher altitudes, resulting in an extended growing season. We carried the avocados into the start of summer! (If you missed the Co-op Fair, check it out, here.)
The farmers of PRAGOR have faced many obstacles, from avoiding drug cartels to surviving the dishonest practices of the companies who used to buy their avocados. Since 2010, the farmers have been working to control their own sales, with Equal Exchange as the importer. Buying avocados directly from the farmers for a fair price has a huge impact. In one season, over a million avocados were purchased by Equal Exchange, resulting in $794,660 paid to the farmers, plus an additional $30,816 premium paid into a fund for projects like a music program and elderly center. (Read more.)
Last season (October to June), Weaver Street Market purchased 128,791 of these avocados from Equal Exchange! Buying directly enables us to sell the avocados for a reasonable price without ripping off the farmers. We’re glad they’re back–eat as many as you can this winter, and feel good about the farmers you’re supporting.