Fairtrade Pioneer Agrofair Becomes First Dutch Multinational To Gain Fair Tax Mark

Barendrecht
05-04-2023

AgroFair has been awarded the Fair Tax Mark, becoming the first multinational head-quartered in the Netherlands to secure accreditation to the gold standard of responsible tax conduct.

AgroFair is a global distributor of Fairtrade and organic bananas, with sales of over €100m per annum. Its Oke and Latin Pride brands are on sale across Europe, New Zealand and Korea – and were recently rated as an ‘Ethical Consumer Best Buy’.

AgroFair works with producers in Peru, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua. Uniquely, these producers own a share of the business and have a material say in how the company is run. This includes the right to appoint a member to the supervisory board and to receive a share of dividends.

Fair Tax Mark accreditation is the global gold standard of responsible tax conduct. It recognises businesses that pay the right amount of corporation tax at the right time and in the right place. Accredited businesses include listed PLCs, co-operatives, social enterprises and large private businesses.

AgroFair has paid corporation tax at a commendable rate of 24% of their profit over the last five years. They have also gone above and beyond what is required by providing enhanced public country-by-country reporting, beneficial ownership disclosure and rock solid commitments against tax haven abuse and aggressive tax planning.

Hans Willem van der Waal, CEO, AgroFair said: “We have been the frontrunner to make the international banana business fairer and more sustainable. We believe that paying the fair amount of taxes in the countries where the profits are made, is indispensable if a company, like ours, is seriously committed to the Sustainable Development Goals. The Fair Tax Mark recognizes for the first time this important aspect of fairness of our company.”

Paul Monaghan, Chief Executive, Fair Tax Foundation, said: “The Netherlands is the birthplace of the Fairtrade label, so it is fitting that a long-time Fairtrade pioneer should be the first business in the Netherlands to secure a Fair Tax Mark. The global movements for trade justice and tax justice have common roots. They both seek to empower responsible business conduct and fair competition. In the UK, a large number of co-operatives have the secured the Fair Tax Mark over recent years, and we hope that AgroFair’s accreditation signifies the beginning of an expansion across Europe.”

“AgroFair are an exemplar of both responsible tax conduct and financial transparency. They have embraced public country-by-country disclosure of key economic data, and are open about their beneficial ownership in the face of company ownership registers being shut down across Europe, including in the Netherlands.”