Band 9: 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. *Fairtrade: a category of products for which farmers from developing countries have been paid an officially agreed fair price. You should write at least 150 words.

Information is presented in the tables about the amount of Fairtrade-labelled coffee and bananas sold across five European countries in 1999 and 2004, measured in millions of euros.

Overall, the UK saw by far the most dramatic increase in sales of both products. While coffee sales rose in all countries, banana sales were more mixed, with some nations experiencing growth and others a decline.

In 2004, the UK stood out as the leading consumer of both Fairtrade coffee and bananas. However, while coffee sales in the UK grew sharply rising more than tenfold—banana sales saw an even larger absolute increase, more than tripling and reaching the highest figure among all countries and products. In contrast, Switzerland had moderate sales of both items, though coffee gained more popularity than bananas by the end of the period. In Denmark, there was a different trend: in 2004, banana sales slightly exceeded coffee sales, although there was an increase in both products.

Belgium and Sweden presented a contrasting pattern. In Belgium, coffee sales increased over time, but banana sales declined, with coffee eventually overtaking bananas in popularity. A similar shift occurred in Sweden, where both products started with relatively low sales, but bananas saw a significant drop, while coffee sales rose modestly, causing coffee to surpass bananas by 2004.