ASDA is adding zest to Fairtrade Fortnight by being the first retailer to bring the Fairtrade lime to market from Brazil. 

The popularity of limes is growing with people preferring them to lemons for cookery ingredients and serving with drinks. 

With the sales of limes increasing ASDA has introduced the Fairtrade variety to give customers more choice and to enable the Fairtrade brand to benefit from the fruit’s increased status.   

Neil Nugent, ASDA Chef says: “Fairtrade limes are the slice to have with your ice, and we’re now selling nearly 25,000 Fairtrade limes a week. 

The lime has a sharper, sweeter flavour plus, with the increasing popularity of cooking from scratch and experimenting with Far Eastern and fish dishes, many customers prefer a squeeze of lime, or a pinch of green zest to the mellow yellow lemon.”

 ASDA has seen a 35% increase in Fairtrade sales year on year and is rolling back the price of all Fairtrade products to continue to encourage shoppers to sample the range and support the initiative*.   

The Fairtrade lime is part of a wide selection of luscious Fairtrade fruit available at ASDA, which currently includes bananas from the Windward Islands, oranges from Egypt and mangos from Peru. 

Another ASDA exclusive line, the Fairtrade lily, joins fabulous Fairtrade roses from Kenya. Cathryn Ramsden, ASDA Fairtrade Manager, explains, “Ever since we sold our first Fairtrade banana 10 years ago, ASDA’s been a strong supporter of Fairtrade, which ensures workers and farmers are paid a fair price for their produce. 

ASDA customers are great supporters of Fairtrade too, in fact we sell twice as many Fairtrade citrus fruits than any other major supermarket."

Fairtrade projects supported by ASDA and shoppers include turning a hut with a leaky roof into a brand new school near the Ghanaian village of Awutu, and a subsidised bike scheme for workers.