UK Fairtrade sales jumped 40 per cent to an estimated retail value of £1.17bn in 2010 from £836m in 2009.

Sales of Fairtrade chocolate confectionery have more than quadrupled in 2010 to an estimated retail value of £342m, making chocolate the leading Fairtrade product by value in the UK, according to the Foundation. Sales of Fairtrade drinking chocolate have nearly trebled to an estimated retail value of £34m, it added.

Eileen Maybin, a spokesperson for the Fairtrade Foundation told that the organisation was confident of further growth in Fairtrade products. “The UK public has a great appetite for Fairtrade,” she continued.

Maybin said that the Foundation expects more brands to be rolling out Fairtrade lines in the coming year and that those already involved in Fairtrade to expand on what they are doing.

Ben & Jerry’s has made a commitment to make every ingredient they use, from sugar to cocoa, to be Fairtrade in the UK by the end of 2011. January saw confectionery maker, Green & Blacks, also announce the aim of converting its entire range of chocolate bars and beverages in the UK to 100 per cent Fairtrade by the end of this year.

According to the spokesperson, major company moves to Fairtrade on certain brands have contributed to the 2010 growth figures in the UK and it referenced Cadbury's move to the ethical standard for Dairy Milk, Nestle switch to Fairtrade on its four-finger KitKat and Tate & Lyle on its retail sugar.