AUSTRIA

The structure of fair trade

The fair trade scene in Austria is made up of three umbrella organizations: TransFair (Verein zur Forderung des fairen Handels met der "Dritten Welt"), EZA (Entwicklungszusammenarbeit mit der Dritten Welt) with one small subsidiary company called AH-Alternativ Handel, and the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Dritte Welt L„den (ARGE). The scene is completed with another import organization called CONA.

TransFair is present as a trademark organization with 7 coffee licensees. These licence holders import coffee from registered producers in the South and supply 10 chains of supermarkets with their products. A total of 2000 to 2500 supermarkets and other retail outlets sell coffee with the TransFair trademark.

EZA/AH is the biggest importer and wholesaler of fair trade products in Austria. Its main customers are 69 world shops. Three of them are being run directly by EZA, the others are independent shops, each organized in the form of a foundation by local groups of private individuals. 68% of the world shops are members of ARGE; 5 representatives of different shops sit on its board.

TransFair employs 2 persons, while EZA/AH has a staff of 40, most of them full-timers. Volunteers are the mainstay of the world shops - with around 900 people (approximately 750 women and 150 men) involved in sales. The world shops provide employment to 54 persons (50 women, 4 men), most of them on a part-time basis. Also a significant number of not officially registered local action groups, involving some 3000 volunteers, sell fair trade products.

In the past few years, the world shops have become more professional in terms of location of their premises, presentation of the products and opening hours. Increasing efforts and money are being put into awareness-raising with respect to the background of the products and into improving the marketing system.

The market for fair trade

No figures are available about the turnover rates of TransFair products because the trademark was introduced only in 1994. Total turnover of EZA was around 5.1 million ECU (1993/94). The retail turnover of the world shops amounted to approximately 4 million ECU in 1993. Public awareness of fair trade and the system of world shops is reasonable. 70% of the Austrian population have heard about alternative trade and 56% know the world shops; 30% are familiar with EZA, while 5- 10% know the TransFair trademark.

Coffee sold with a TransFair trademark is 10-20% more expensive than comparable brands in regular trading (dec. 94). According to EZA, there is no price difference between the products in the world shops and those in the regular retail system, when taking the high quality of the world shops' products into account. The quality of fair trade products is said to be comparable to the standards applied in regular trade, especially with regard to coffee and a number of other food items. The quality of handicrafts varies, but certain items are of rather good quality. According to a recent survey by TransFair, nearly a quarter of the population is willing to pay a higher price for fair trade products but, as in other countries, it remains to be seen whether such outcomes are reflected in actual buying behaviour. Women between 25 and 45 years of age are the world shops' main customers, especially in the cities.

Coffee is the most important fair trade product. 28% of the turnover of world shops is generated by the sale of coffee. The market share of TransFair coffee in the retail trade is 0.8%.

Table 1: The structure of fair trade in Austria

Table 2: The market for fair trade in Austria

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