Question –
WRITING TASK 1
You should spend 20 minutes on this task.
The tables below give information about sales of Fairtrade*-labelled coffee and bananas in 1999 and 2004 in five European countries.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
You should write at least 150 words.
Answer –
The tables display how many millions of euros worth of coffee and bananas were sold under the label of Fairtrade products in five nations in Europe in 1999 and 2004.
Overall, coffee and banana sales went up in all the nations, except for banana sales in Sweden and Denmark, where the figures dropped over the period in question. Moreover, coffee sales saw the most substantial increase in the UK, while banana trade saw the highest growth in Denmark over the recorded period.
In terms of coffee sales, in the UK, the value started at 1.5 million euros in 1999, and it then increased exponentially to € 20 million in 2004. The sales for Switzerland doubled from 3 million euros to 6 million euros, while the figures for Denmark, Belgium, and Sweden ranged from 0.8 million euros to 2 million euros during the period.
Regarding trade in bananas, Switzerland’s value accounted for 15 million euros in 1999; after that, sales roughly tripled to 47 million euros in 2004, and unlike coffee, whose value was the highest in the first year, its value was the greatest in both years. Similarly, the UK and Belgium’s banana commerce skyrocketed by around six times, as the former rose to €5.5 million and the latter to €4 million. In contrast, sales in Sweden and Denmark roughly halved to 1 million euros and 0.9 million euros, respectively.