Geographical indication for agricultural products: Getting is hard, maintaining is much more difficult
13/12/2018
At present, the requirement for food safety, traceability has become more and more popular, so geographical indication for agricultural products is increasingly needed. Registering and obtaining geographical indication is a time consuming and labor-intensive process for both local authorities, businesses and farmers. However, maintaining a geographical indication associated with the quality of agricultural products is much more difficult and costlier, still it is a must to do so
Many years have passed, but the story of Trung Nguyen coffee, Ben Tre coconut candy having their geographical indications registered in China, leading to noisy lawsuits is still fresh in everyone’s memory.
At present, the requirement for food safety, traceability has become more and more popular, so geographical indication for agricultural products is increasingly needed. Registering and obtaining geographical indication is a time consuming and labor-intensive process for both local authorities, businesses and farmers. However, maintaining a geographical indication associated with the quality of agricultural products is much more difficult and costlier, still it is a must to do so.
Mr. Bui Duong Thuat, Director of Mekong Fruit Import Export Co. Ltd., said his company has been exporting Ben Tre green Siamese coconut to 10 countries. In 2017 alone, the company exported 150 containers of coconuts to the United States. All the old and new partners, in their order emails, merely recorded as "Ben Tre Siamese coconut" but they could not know what type of Siamese coconut that could bring the taste they wanted. Since January this year, Ben Tre province has been granted geographical indications for "Green Siamese Coconut” with specific standards and proper quality control system, so customers know more clearly and feel more relaxed when putting the product name in the contract.
To a certain extent, the example of Mekong company shows that geographical indications for agricultural products are necessary and important in agricultural exports. But why has Vietnam only protected 66 geographical indications so far? This is because the process of obtaining a geographical indication is quite lengthy and expensive. It is even more costly to maintain geographical indications by agricultural product quality as it requires close cooperation between the growers and traders.
Mr. Phan Van Mai, 1st Deputy Secretary of Ben Tre Party Committee, where geographical indications for two products Green Siamese Coconut and Green Pomelo have just been granted, said that it took Ben Tre about 2 years to complete required procedures for proposed recognition of geography indications of green Siamese coconut and green pomelo.
Mr. Pham Xuan Da, Director General of Southern Affairs Bureau (Ministry of Science and Technology), acknowledged that 66 geographical indications being protected in Vietnam are too small compared to regional specialty products of the country. It is quite obvious that geographical indications have added economic value to agricultural products but building and maintaining them have been extremely difficult.
"In the past, we spent $ 1 to get a geographical indication, so now I think I have to spend $ 1,000 on developing and maintaining it. This, however, is just the first step. The value of geographical indication is high because it helps standardize the products, ensuring higher product quality. In order to do so, seeding and farming processes must be well managed and standardized before geographical indication stamps be affixed", said Mr. Da.
Consumers pay extra to find out how their products they buy are used, are organic, are sustainable for the environment, origin of products associated with characteristics of quality, For example, Halong and Cao Phong sausages after the geographical indication, the consumption increased significantly and the selling price also increased from 15% to 30%.
Dr. Delphin Marie Vivien, a French geographical indication specialist who has spent many years working in Vietnam to study and advise a number of localities on geographical indications for agricultural products, cautioned that collective organizations of producers and processors must be strengthened from the beginning as they have a property right from the start of a geographic indication and they themselves are setting the criteria for obtaining a geographical indication, and then they are the implementers and protectors of their own property: geographical indications.
It is fair to say that from current trade competition and food safety perspective, geographical indications are vital for agricultural products in particular and other products in general. It is difficult to obtain and maintain geographical indications for agricultural products, but it’s a must-do task for localities, enterprises and farmers.
After registering and being granted geographical indications in the Vietnamese market, the localities must also consider registering geographical indications in the major export markets as geographical indications registered in any country or any region now are only valid in that region or country.
(Source: VOV)
Mr. Bui Duong Thuat, Director of Mekong Fruit Import Export Co. Ltd., said his company has been exporting Ben Tre green Siamese coconut to 10 countries. In 2017 alone, the company exported 150 containers of coconuts to the United States. All the old and new partners, in their order emails, merely recorded as "Ben Tre Siamese coconut" but they could not know what type of Siamese coconut that could bring the taste they wanted. Since January this year, Ben Tre province has been granted geographical indications for "Green Siamese Coconut” with specific standards and proper quality control system, so customers know more clearly and feel more relaxed when putting the product name in the contract.
To a certain extent, the example of Mekong company shows that geographical indications for agricultural products are necessary and important in agricultural exports. But why has Vietnam only protected 66 geographical indications so far? This is because the process of obtaining a geographical indication is quite lengthy and expensive. It is even more costly to maintain geographical indications by agricultural product quality as it requires close cooperation between the growers and traders.
Mr. Phan Van Mai, 1st Deputy Secretary of Ben Tre Party Committee, where geographical indications for two products Green Siamese Coconut and Green Pomelo have just been granted, said that it took Ben Tre about 2 years to complete required procedures for proposed recognition of geography indications of green Siamese coconut and green pomelo.
Mr. Pham Xuan Da, Director General of Southern Affairs Bureau (Ministry of Science and Technology), acknowledged that 66 geographical indications being protected in Vietnam are too small compared to regional specialty products of the country. It is quite obvious that geographical indications have added economic value to agricultural products but building and maintaining them have been extremely difficult.
"In the past, we spent $ 1 to get a geographical indication, so now I think I have to spend $ 1,000 on developing and maintaining it. This, however, is just the first step. The value of geographical indication is high because it helps standardize the products, ensuring higher product quality. In order to do so, seeding and farming processes must be well managed and standardized before geographical indication stamps be affixed", said Mr. Da.
Consumers pay extra to find out how their products they buy are used, are organic, are sustainable for the environment, origin of products associated with characteristics of quality, For example, Halong and Cao Phong sausages after the geographical indication, the consumption increased significantly and the selling price also increased from 15% to 30%.
Dr. Delphin Marie Vivien, a French geographical indication specialist who has spent many years working in Vietnam to study and advise a number of localities on geographical indications for agricultural products, cautioned that collective organizations of producers and processors must be strengthened from the beginning as they have a property right from the start of a geographic indication and they themselves are setting the criteria for obtaining a geographical indication, and then they are the implementers and protectors of their own property: geographical indications.
It is fair to say that from current trade competition and food safety perspective, geographical indications are vital for agricultural products in particular and other products in general. It is difficult to obtain and maintain geographical indications for agricultural products, but it’s a must-do task for localities, enterprises and farmers.
After registering and being granted geographical indications in the Vietnamese market, the localities must also consider registering geographical indications in the major export markets as geographical indications registered in any country or any region now are only valid in that region or country.
(Source: VOV)