Looking Back: Fairtrade Raisins from Afghanistan

When we look back at the Tropical Wholefoods Fairtrade raisins project in Afghanistan, we recognize that things didn't go as planned. However, the experience left us wiser and more convinced that doing Fairtrade in difficult places is worth fighting for.

Why We Took It On.

Back in 2008–2009, there was optimism in some corners that Afghanistan could move beyond decades of conflict and rebuild its agricultural economy. We saw an opportunity. Raisins were once one of Afghanistan’s flagship crops, and the climate in regions like the Shomali Plain and Parwan province still lent itself to high-quality grape cultivation.

We began working with Mercy Corps and the Parwan Raisin Producer Cooperative (PRPC), aiming to bring Afghan raisin farmers into the Fairtrade fold. The plan involved technical training (for example, moving from drying grapes on the ground to using improved mats), washing, grading, de-stalking, and forging export links. We knew it would be hard. Fairtrade inspectors could not safely travel into many of the regions and we had to negotiate alternative auditing arrangements, local monitors, and new certification protocols. 

In early years, we saw real momentum. PRPC grew, more farmers joined, and labels began to appear in UK shops (e.g. via Oxfam and independent health food shops). 

Where Things Went Wrong.

Working in a fragile, insecure, and under-resourced country means that every link in the chain is vulnerable. Over time, several challenges became insurmountable:

1. Certification and trust
   Because FLO (Fairtrade Labelling Organization) auditors could not safely enter many parts of Afghanistan, we had to negotiate special arrangements where farmers or local monitors would be audited in Pakistan, or Mercy Corps staff would act as independent verifiers. This was not ideal and created tension around transparency and accountability.

2. Logistics, transport, and spoilage
   Raisins had to pass through multiple transit points to cover washing, packing, shipping via Pakistan, then on to ports and ultimately to the UK. Some containers were delayed, exposed to the elements, or mishandled. In one instance, containers were left on the roadside when Pakistani authorities unloaded the boxes and left them exposed to rain, damaging boxes and their contents beyond repair. 

3. Quality, adulteration, supply chain control
   In one pivotal year (around 2012), all four containers that reached the UK were rejected - two for food safety issues, and two due to the presence of stones. That financial loss alone was well over £100,000. The issue was, in part, that the supply chain was so long and low-quality raisins could creep in. Farmers blamed processing facilities - processors blamed farmers; neither side had the complete oversight.

4. Commercial scale and market pressure
   Larger supermarkets considered the product, but many deals fell through. Smaller, ethically minded retailers remained our strongest supporters. The margins in the raisin business are thin, and the risk premium for working in a conflict context is high.

5. Security and systemic instability
   Beyond war, there’s lawlessness that includes theft, unpredictable roadblocks, lack of consistent policing, corruption, and general infrastructural fragility. As Adam Brett (Founding Director of Tropical Wholefoods) noted, “If you go out on the road you can meet a man with a gun who says, ‘Give me your car.’ There isn’t a police force to get it back.” Also, many regions suffer from poor rainfall, extreme heat, and shortages of water, compounding the agricultural risk. 

Because of all of this, Tropical Wholefoods eventually made the painful decision to walk away. 

What Remains True.

Though the Afghan raisin project ultimately failed in its commercial form, it was not a failure of intent. It taught us several enduring lessons:

• Fairtrade in fragile states is inherently harder, not impossible. The process demands more trust, flexibility, patience, redundancy, and resources.

• Transparency and local ownership matter. Without strong local oversight, even a small point of leakage (a batch of contaminated raisins, stones creeping in) can sink the whole venture.

• The social and symbolic value is real. When Afghan raisins first hit UK shelves, it was a powerful statement: Fairtrade should not be limited to “safe” countries. It gave hope to farmers, and built buyer–farmer relationships that had never existed before. 

• Resilience is part of the journey. Even if one channel failed, other initiatives in dried fruit, nuts, or new regions may still find a foothold. 

• Learning over glory. We came away not only with losses but with richer institutional knowledge with regard to auditing in conflict zones, about resilience of supply chains, and about what additional buffers future projects would need.

Looking Forward.

It would be easy to look at the Afghan raisin story and say it was a mistake and not to try again in such difficult places. But we’ve chosen a different lens. Yes, it was brutally hard. No, it didn’t end in commercial success. But it was a path worth walking.

Fairtrade in places like Afghanistan will never be smooth. The scale of social, political, logistical and environmental adversity is extreme. Yet if we give in to fear, then the farmers in those places never get a chance.

For us at Tropical Wholefoods, the project remains a point of pride for daring. It reminds us why we do this work… so that the smallest, most marginalized farmers can have a shot at global markets, dignity, and sustainable incomes.

If we try again, we will do so better equipped. This time with new lessons, new models, and new humility. Because fair trade is not just for safe places. It is especially for places where the odds are stacked against the smallholder. And when we succeed , even partially, the impact is greater.

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A huge thank you to the New York Times, Inkl, Taipei Times, The Guardian, World Bank, FruitNet and Mercy Corps who supported this project with media coverage which is referred to in this retrospective post.