Sales of Fairtrade products have risen despite the global economic downturn making 2009 a tough year for poor people seeking a fair deal for their produce, according to the Fairtrade Foundation.

According to UN Millennium Development Goal figures, the global economic turndown hit developing countries hardest, where an estimated 50 to 90 million were pushed into extreme poverty last year.

In the UK, the recession forced people to tighten their purses, with just over 7 in 10 people telling a YouGov poll that they had cut back on their personal budgets in some way as a result of the recession, like eating out less.

Despite the financial pressures, however, the Fairtrade Foundation said the public had remained staunchly loyal to Fairtrade resulting in another increase in the value of Fairtrade sales, which rose by 12 per cent on 2008 figures to an estimated retail value of over £799m.

According to the YouGov poll commissioned by the Fairtrade Foundation, 71 per cent of people said they would willing to swap one or more products to Fairtrade in the next two weeks for Fairtrade Fortnight, which starts today.

"2009 was a tough year for everyone, but a desperate year for many poor communities and small farmers in developing countries," said Harriet Lamb, Chief Executive of the Fairtrade Foundation, will say at a reception in London tonight.

"For millions of growers and their families and communities, Fairtrade was able to make the difference that has helped them survive a difficult year and plan for the future. It is to the credit of the decent British and Irish public that they do care and, despite the recession, they are still voting with their wallets for fairness and want to change the indignities of an unjust trading system.

"These challenging times have been a wake-up call and forward-thinking companies have also been re-evaluating their priorities, seeing sustainability as the way forward for business, building relations with producers and introducing many Fairtrade products in the past year."

Several big brands made the switch to Fairtrade in 2009, including Cadbury's Dairy Milk, all Starbucks espresso-based coffee, Nestle’s four-finger KitKat, Sainsbury’s tea and coffee, Morrison’s roast and ground coffee, Tesco Finest Tea and Tate & Lyle sugar. Boots, Lush, Bubble & Balm, and Neal’s Yard all introduced Fairtrade lines.

This week Ben & Jerry’s icecream announced its plans to go 100 per cent Fairtrade in the UK and throughout Europe by the end of 2011 and globally by the end of 2013, while Green & Black’s announced last month that they would be making their entire range of chocolate bars and beverages 100 per cent Fairtrade by the end of 2011.

International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander will be on a panel at the launch of Fairtrade Fortnight today.

He said: "Farmers and producers in some of the world’s poorest countries have suffered at the sharp end of the economic crisis and, in many cases, it is thanks to Fairtrade that they have been able to feed their families and keep their children in education.

"The label’s success on the high street is testament to UK shoppers’ desire to make a difference through their everyday purchases.

"I'm delighted that the Government’s recent promise of £12m for Fairtrade will help increase the amount of products on our supermarket shelves and support thousands of extra families in the years ahead."

Fairtrade Fortnight is the annual nationwide campaign to promote awareness of Fairtrade and encourage people to help farmers in developing countries by buying products which carry the Fairtrade mark. The theme of this year's Fairtrade Fortnight 2010 is ‘The Big Swap’, which is challenging people to swap their normal shopping items to Fairtrade.

Ms Lamb said: "The message is unequivocal: for producers to benefit, shoppers must actually put Fairtrade products in their baskets – they can only sell more if we buy more."