A rice farmer in Suphan Buri, north of Bangkok. Before the disaster, Thailand was the world's largest rice exporter, with a government export target of 9.5 million tonnes and a forecast for a 'golden age for Thai rice'.
EPA/EMPICS
Fair trade
Fair trade
Many goods that people in Britain eat, drink, wear or use every day are produced in other countries. For example, we get tea from Sri Lanka, coffee from Kenya, sugar from Central America, clothes from India, trainers from Southeast Asia and footballs from Pakistan. A range of consumer goods return to these countries through the trading system. This system has the potential to satisfy the needs of people globally and provide them with goods that are difficult or expensive to produce or manufacture domestically.