Kesko Food Ltd and the Finnish Association for Fairtrade Labelling sign a cooperation agreement

Kesko Food currently offers the widest range of Fairtrade products in Finland. The cooperation agreement signed on Monday, 26 February 2007 is aimed to further diversify the offer and make Kesko Food and K-food stores the market leader in the sales of Fairtrade products in Finland.

"Our customers' buying decisions are increasingly guided by ethical values. We want to be forerunners and offer the best food solutions at affordable prices. Therefore it's natural that K-food stores offer our customers the best selections of Fairtrade products, too. Providing a variety of choice is perfectly in line with our strategy that emphasizes service and quality," says Kesko Food Ltd's President Terho Kalliokoski.

Pirkka Fairtrade roses are a good example of a product which has rapidly gained popularity among consumers. By the end of 2006, the novelty introduced in September 2006 sold nearly 3.3 million items, representing a retail value of about 1.6 million euros. Of that amount Kesko Food paid approximately 54,000 euros in Fairtrade premiums to Kenyan flower and workers' families.

Kesko Food promotes the sales of Fairtrade products in K-food stores by developing new Fairtrade products in cooperation with the Finnish Association for Fairtrade Labelling, by increasing the availability of Fairtrade products in the stores, and by distributing information about Fairtrade products in its communications. New Pirkka Fairtrade products are also developed. Product Managers of the Finnish Association for Fairtrade Labelling support Kesko Food in finding suitable products, suppliers and producers.

"We are very happy about Kesko Food's decision. From the start, our cooperation has been close-knit, and now that it'll deepen, we'll be able to join our efforts to make a positive contribution to the lives of increasingly many people in developing countries. Our cooperation will also benefit K-food store customers even more than before," says Tuulia Syvänen, Executive Director of the Finnish Association for Fairtrade Labelling.

"I'm confident that our customers value Kesko's extensive work for corporate responsibility, concretely proved by, for example, the agreement we now signed. Our expertise in food and service, coupled with the most extensive grocery store network in Finland, provide a good basis also for selling Fairtrade products," says Kalliokoski.

Further information:
Vice President Ari Akseli, Kesko Food Ltd, tel. +358 1053 23456
Head of Corporate Responsibility Jouko Kuisma, Kesko Corporation, tel. +358 1053 23140
Executive Director Tuulia Syvänen, Finnish Association for Fairtrade Labelling,
tel. +358 9 5658 6811

Press service: www.vision.fi/ruokakesko or www.reilukauppa.fi > Lehdistö > Kuvapankki.

Kesko Food Ltd and the Finnish Association for Fairtrade Labelling started cooperation already in 1999.
Kesko is included on the list of the 100 most sustainable corporations in the world. In the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Kesko has been rated the best in its sector.