"The fruits of their labour – The low wages behind Moroccan tomatoes sold in European supermarkets", Sep 2014

Fairfood International’s newest report exposes the poverty wages paid to workers in the Moroccan tomato sector. These tomatoes are picked and packed by tens of thousands of workers who do not receive a living wage for their arduous work. The fruit is then sold by European supermarkets who receive the lion’s share of the profits...The key issues in the report are:In winter, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Albert Heijn (part of Ahold) and other European supermarkets sell tomatoes which are sourced from Morocco;They are picked and packed by tens of thousands Moroccan workers, mainly female, who earn painfully low wages;Moroccan tomato pickers and packers earn between 5 and 8 Euros a day, while their costs of living are around 15 Euros a day. Therefore they are unable to make ends meet and must live in poverty;Supermarkets have the power and influence to determine what consumers buy, as well as how and under what conditions the food is produced;Fairfood calls upon supermarkets to take up their responsibility and to ensure a living wage for all their workers in their supply chains.